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Link – Child Abuse Won’t Stop Until We Stop Ignoring Its Victims
“When children run away from home or care, they are often running from something. Theirs are childhoods blighted by abuse, violence, family instability, and parental drug or alcohol misuse. For girls particularly, running away can be an attempt to escape sexual violence and abuse.” It’s definitely something those who work with runaways should stop to…
Link – National Alliance on Mental Illness – April’s Story
“After losing a friend to suicide, parents getting divorced, watching addiction take over my sister’s life, tearing my ACL and taking on all the other random obstacles life brought, living in silence became too loud for my mind. Believing and living the lies that society has placed on mental illnesses—keeping silent in struggle—ended up leaving…
Reviews Elsewhere – The Inflamed Mind: A Radical New Approach to Depression
Tina Arnoldi’s review of Edward Bullmore’s book includes some interesting observations about the multiple possible causes of depression, and the multiple possible treatments. The book focuses on inflammation, but I think this paragraph is the way we should be looking at something like depression: Bullmore provides a thorough analysis of the latest research on how…
Sharing – A Look at Mental Health Treatment Stigma
As a blogger, and social media user, yes I want to try and be as careful as I can to post supportive messages, and not make anyone feel stigmatized through my words. That’s important, but I also have to remember that everyone is different. When you’re talking with someone through whatever medium, it’s important to not assume ill-intent. If the term “getting help” feels stigmatizing to you, simply ask people not to use it, suggest some other terms, etc. Have a conversation about how you want to talk about your mental health. Keep the lines of communication open, on both sides.
That’s how you end stigma. By communicating, instead of shutting anyone down.
Tomorrow Is World Mental Health Day, and If You Don’t want to Participate, That’s Cool
So let’s get this out there. Tomorrow is a day to raise awareness about the importance of mental health. It’s an opportunity for anyone who is dealing with mental health issues to see that there are many people who get it, and do support them, even if only virtually. It’s also a day to be reminded, sometimes literally, that there is still far too much stigma, and far too little investment, in mental health. That’s not fun. That’s not uplifting.
Taking care of yourself is an incredibly important part of looking out for your own mental health. Tomorrow is also Saturday. If your mental health will be better off by you not being online tomorrow, go do exactly that. Go enjoy your weekend, and know that I see you, and I feel what you’re saying. Your frustration is my frustration too. Being tired of the stigma, and how hard it is for people to get help is normal. I’m exhausted. I’m tired of talking about it, tired of reading about it, and tired of seeing stories of people who can’t get help when they need it, all around the world. I’m also tired of all the people on social media who make talking about it even harder than it already is, who want to troll, or just create drama because it’s never enough for them.
Again, I’m exhausted. I also know how incredibly lucky I was the get help, and I want that same thing available for everyone. So, I’ll find away to continue talking about it here, while also taking care of my own mental health. I hope you will too, even if we don’t all take part in the same events.
Shared Links (weekly) May 21, 2023
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Teens say social media is stressing them out. Here’s how to help them
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How to Cope with being Touch Starved– “Whether we accept it or not, humans need physical touch or skin-to-skin contact to maintain good health and well-being.”
