Links I’m Sharing (weekly)
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
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Shared Links (weekly) Feb 8, 2026
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Sharing – Don’t insist on being positive – allowing negative emotions has much to teach us
The article goes on to discuss the various ways those emotions we are trying to avoid by always being positive are actually good for us. How sitting with and processing those emotions help us learn and grow.
Of course, the one thing I will say about that is this. Be prepared to do that work alone, or very nearly alone. The world is full of people who are not comfortable with their pain, sadness, grief, etc., and refuse to do anything but “be grateful.” They also have zero tolerance for other people “bringing them down” with their own emotions.
These people are not capable of being a support to anyone else. The refusal to acknowledge the entirety of human emotion makes them utterly incapable of sitting with someone in their pain. Sadly, as these ideas have gained popularity, they have also limited our support networks. They have created a shortage of people who will sit with us.
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.
Mental Health Resources for the LGBTQ Community
In the past few days, I came across a couple of resources targeted toward the LGBTQ community, and I wanted to share them here.
Sharing – When Scrolling Through Social, Keep Your Mental Health in Mind
This is an older post from the Mental Health First Aid site, but I’ve been thinking a lot about this and being much more purposeful in who I follow and what kinds of things I want in my feeds. I think it’s something to consider because simply using social media is not bad for our…
Shared Links (weekly) Aug. 21, 2022
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Someone is having a mental breakdown in public. What is the compassionate way to respond?
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Encouraging Messages to Read If You’re Struggling With Depression Right Now
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Stamping out the stigma: throwaway saying and why they’re so damaging to mental health
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It’s OK to Have Complicated Feelings About an Abusive Parent Dying
