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We’ve Misunderstood Wellness
I saw this article the other day and it covers many of the things we’ve been talking about here over the last few weeks and months. It’s about what is referred to as the wellness industry, which is a bit of a vague term, but it encompasses all of the wellness rituals and products that…
Sharing – We Should Be Careful Before Celebrating the Suicide Rate Decrease
The truth is we’ve all been living through one of the most uncertain, and terrible, times that many of us have ever experienced, all at the same time. Saying that you’ve been struggling with all of it doesn’t really raise any eyebrows, we all nod in agreement and share our own struggles. The stigma, the isolation, the fear of talking about it, is gone.
But, what happens when it’s no longer a pandemic, and someone is still struggling? Does the stigma come back? Do the “what do you have to be depressed about?” questions start back up, does the fear of not belonging, of not being enough, come back?
Link – Americans more open about mental health issues, but stigma lingers
This is good: The survey, of more than 3,000 U.S. adults, found that 70 percent said they feel people are more open to discussing mental health compared with a decade ago. Most respondents also said they’d want to help a family member or friend struggling with depression or other mental health conditions. Awesome news! They…
Sharing – Fewer friends, outlets and direction: Why boys are dying by suicide at an inordinate pace.
We know that connection is a key indicator of mental health, and the number of people, not just men, who lack meaningful connections is increasing. Perhaps instead of telling boys all how they shouldn’t connect unless it’s in a very short list of acceptable ways, we should embrace all the ways they can connect.
What I’ve known since I was a child being abused is that boys who are withdrawn and disconnected are easy targets for some evil people. It’s dangerous. Stop limiting the ways they can connect; young men need to stop limiting themselves and find healthy connections.Â
Sharing – Is social media as bad for mental health as we think? New study challenges screen time fears
You can see how it’s not simple. Mental health across a generation of individuals defies every attempt at a one-size-fits-all narrative, because we are not all one size. On the other hand, our brains want a simple narrative because what they want more than anything else is a reason to think that this won’t happen to our kids or us. So we run to simple solutions like bees to a hive. Sometimes that causes us to miss a lot of the details.Â
Let’s hope we continue to see improvements, but understand that there are a host of things we can and should be doing that don’t involve social media at all.Â
