Depression

Sharing – You don’t have to earn your mental health struggles

ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

There is so much wrong with this statement, but it’s also kind of where we are.

“Yet those who feel lucky enough to have made it as far as they have — to attend a good college, to land a solid summer internship, to earn a coveted spot on a sports team or in a club — often report that coming from privilege or having access to privilege makes them feel like they should not be “allowed” to claim the diagnosis of depression because they have not “earned” it.

Several of the female undergrads I spoke with described a strong sense of guilt about reaching out to others regarding their mental health for this very reason. They feared others would take their cry for help as distasteful attention seeking.”

Yes, it’s the victim Olympics on college campuses. The more you’ve suffered, the more right you have to voice your concerns, and the more seriously they will be taken.

If, on the other hand, you really haven’t suffered enough, shut up about your problems.

Hint – mental health struggles don’t care your status, your privilege, your income, your family background, your ethnicity, or your gender. Anyone can be dealing with depression, and need help.

No one has to “earn” the right to take care of their physical health, why should mental health be any different?

https://theweek.com/articles/853321/dont-have-earn-mental-health-struggles

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ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

What to Do When You Suspect Child Abuse tags: CA ChildAbuse U.N. Report: Child Abuse Is Rampant Globally tags: CA ChildAbuse The untold story of how a culture of shame perpetuates abuse. I know, I was a victim tags: CA ChildAbuse Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Sharing – Common Mental Health Advice We Should Actually Ignore Right Now

Sharing – Common Mental Health Advice We Should Actually Ignore Right Now

ByMikeM Reading Time: 3 minutes

For example, I’m not anxious JUST because my brain is working overtime, or because I find myself focusing on the negative. I’m also anxious because over 400,000 people in the US have died from COVID-19 and a large number of people in my local area feel no need to change their behavior in acknowledgement of that fact.

You know what that is? That is reality, and there’s no amount of “good vibes” that is going to make that reality not a reality. It’s totally normal to feel anxious about that, and telling me to “think positive”, or get more sleep, or exercise, isn’t going to change that.

We all live in a very uncertain, and difficult, reality right now. The answer to social injustice and racism, again, is not just thinking positively about it. It’s having difficult, often painful, conversations about the topic. It’s about listening to other people’s experiences and working hard to understand the world differently than we did yesterday.

That too, is a source of anxiety.

Sharing – How to Respond When Mental Health Advice Feels Like Judgment

Sharing – How to Respond When Mental Health Advice Feels Like Judgment

ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

Look, I get it, you tried something and it helped you, or you’ve seen it help someone else. Clearly, you are excited about the possibility of helping others, but you’re forgetting something. You’re forgetting that the person you are sharing this advice with, isn’t you.

When you come walking into a conversation with friends, or especially into online communities with statements like the ones above, the message you are actually sending is “Gee, fixing this is easy, you’re just doing it wrong”.

Imagine using those actual words towards someone you barely know. You wouldn’t, would you? At least if you’re a decent human being, you wouldn’t. But you are totally willing to take your beliefs, your own experience, and completely railroad another person’s current reality with it, you are doing something awfully similar. In a moment of emotional vulnerability, you have come in, guns blazing, with the suggestion that all of this pain they are in, and all of this struggling they are going through, should have been easy to avoid.

Link – To Prevent Suicide, We Need To Do More Than Just Share A Hotline Number

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Link – Mental health data shows stark difference between girls and boys

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Sharing – Coronavirus, police violence boost risks of rising black youth suicide

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