This is an opinion piece from the UK, but I think the same could be said for the US, or many other places as well. We simply don’t provide for mental health care the way that we should, and we pay the price.
The state of our mental health system is one of the great scandals of our time
Unspoken in this article, but of obvious importance as well, is that all of the things that secure attachment help a child attain, are the same things that predators are known to look for the absence of. Kids with a healthy sense of self, real self-esteem, self-reliance, healthy relationships? Those are the kind of kids…
I’ve had people refer to me as someone who is surprisingly self-aware. I don’t really think of myself that way, but what I do know is that reading and writing about mental health topics, as well as my own experience in therapy, provides me with constant reminders about the importance of mental health, and how that information either resonates with me, or doesn’t, and why.
I don’t think our current culture really encourages that kind of behavior. We are encouraged to be busy, productive, constantly hustling and then showing it off on social media. Self-reflection? Ha! No time for that.
But there should be time for that. Without knowing ourselves, how can we even start to care for our own mental health?
We have gotten better at discussing some mental health issues, but there’s still so much more to do. It’s still not safe for too many people to even admit they need help with anxiety and depression, even though right now we all need support. There is still a severe shortage of help available, and we still treat other mental health issues with something other than fear.
If not now, when? Those of us who can share our stories, should be doing exactly that. For all the people who can’t. And, maybe even more, we need to remind the world that these issues affect people everywhere, from all backgrounds. It’s not just Hollywood, and it’s not just on poor neighborhoods, it affects plenty of people that we probably come in contact with every day. People we know, people we love, people we work with, neighbors, friends, family, etc. are, or have been, struggling with their mental health.
Maybe once we convince enough people of that, they’ll care enough to do something about it.
Great book review by Amy and Mel! The review itself makes for some interesting reading about how survivors are bonded to their abuser, and how it can be important to understand that the abuser is doing things because of their own problems, not because the child is deserving. Have you read this book? What did…
No one wants to be affected by child sexual abuse. No one wants it as part of their own personal experience. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen every day. One in 10 children will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old. Childhood sexual trauma affects a person forever. It can be a…
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RT @SurvivorNetwork: Reading – The state of our mental health system is one of the great scandals of our time: This is an opinion piece.. h…
RT @SurvivorNetwork: Reading – The state of our mental health system is one of the great scandals of our time: This is an opinion piece.. h…
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