Sharing – But first, we need to talk about it
Seth isn’t talking specifically about child abuse and mental health, but his point hits the nail on the head when it comes to those subjects as well.
“What all of these systems have in common is that they maintain their position in the status quo by creating a force field that somehow keeps us from talking about them.
On the other hand, we talk about quarterly profits, sports rankings, celebrities and the horserace of the day’s politics all the time. Which is why so much time and energy is spent on polishing and optimizing those systems.
Figure out what’s important, then create the conditions for people to talk about it.”
We have gotten better at discussing mental health over the last couple of years, and one thing that has become clear is how broken that system is. How underfunded and under-resourced mental health services are and how many people are forced to go without them.
We wouldn’t know all this if we didn’t start talking about it. Hopefully, this increased attention brings about real change, not a return to not talking about it. The subject of child abuse is still considered a “downer” that people don’t want to discuss. So we don’t, and we don’t spend much time and energy as a society finding solid solutions. The problem just gets worse in silence, and the people living with that kind of trauma live in silence without the things they need.
So consider what you can do to get people talking about it. It could be sharing your own story if you’re up to it. It could be sharing someone else’s story or blog posts or looking into what kinds of resources are available around you and helping promote them. There are many ways to help, but it all starts with making space to talk about it.
