Link – Mental Health Facts, Stats, and Data
Hint – the current state is not great. But, if you want to know more, there is a ton of information available here.
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/issues/state-mental-health-america
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Sharing – Childhood suicide: thoughts, plans and behaviours
I think the intro paragraph Ellen wrote is reason enough to go read the whole thing. But, I also want you to pay attention to what this study has to say about the reported rates of suicidal thoughts reported by kids, versus their parents.(The statistics she quotes should clue you in on how often parents…
The Other Mental Health Crisis – Older Men
I don’t think we are on a path to create that world. I think a world where human beings are valued based on how much money they make and how “strong” they are does not even care if older men are lost. They feel like a burden because society treats them like one. How much could they contribute to our community if we didn’t think that way? If we had a community that involved them instead of isolating them, and a healthcare system that didn’t cause people to go bankrupt because they grew old and became sick, perhaps we’d find out.
Sharing – How to Improve Self-Esteem When You Live with Depression
There are other ways in the article below but this one? This one is pure gold right now because we are all so overwhelmed, stressed, anxious and uncertain about everything. In the midst of that?
Keep track of your wins
Childhood Trauma and Adult Mental Health Issues – It’s not That Simple
That’s the take-away from this more recent study. We cannot point to childhood trauma as the explanation for all mental health issues in adulthood. Sometimes, it is a contributing factor. Sometimes, it isn’t. Mental Health is much more complicated. There is no simple explanation for why it happens, and there’s no simple explanation for why it’s been getting worse. Beware those who want to paint all mental health issues with the same brush. Human beings are a bit more complicated than that.
Does Childhood Trauma Disrupt Our Storytelling Abilities?
I will admit, in healthcare, these two types of narrative incoherence could cause a problem. How would a medical professional move forward with a diagnosis when our response to the first question is to dump an overwhelming amount of possibly relevant, possibly not, information, or to dismiss any symptoms? It really would be difficult to know. We know that the folks who get to the quickest, and best, healthcare are the ones who come in with details like what is wrong, how long it’s been going on, what happened previously to an illness or injury, etc. Trauma survivors typically struggle with exactly that.
This is only one way where not being able to tell a story in a coherent, effective, way hurts survivors. It blocks us from legal proceedings, as I said before, and it blocks us from being understood by those closest to us quite often. So, if you really want to connect with others, and maybe get better healthcare, learn to tell stories. That’s how the world communicates. But, if you’re confronted with someone who is struggling to tell a coherent story, consider what kind of trauma they may be dealing with, and have a little patience.
Sharing – Healed is a Myth and Marketing Tool
So many survivors want the answer to that first question. They want to know when this will be over and done with, but that’s not realistic. It would be like me asking when will I be “healed” from diabetes. I won’t be. My disease is something that is part of me that I have to manage. I take medicine, I watch what I eat, I don’t drink, etc. That’s not going to end. I fully understand that there is no future version of me where I don’t have to do any of those things.
Similarly, there is no future version of me that isn’t a survivor of child abuse. It happened. There is no cure I can buy that will create a version of me where I didn’t have that experience and be shaped by it. That’s not to say that I cannot have a great life, but I will always have a life impacted by those events.
