Add new post

Sharing – Wording On Social Media Can Influence Views On Mental Health

I’m sharing this because I write on this blog and social media, and often, I don’t think deeply about the words I use and the tone I use. Reading this, I learned that it might impact the mental health of my readers.

The wording of social media posts and messages can be enough to influence how people feel about mental illness and mental health treatment.

Research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that students in college felt more optimistic about the chances of successfully treating mental health issues after they read social media posts that showed a “growth mindset”.

I’m going to consider this as I write going forward. Not that I’ll suddenly become the source of toxic positivity, but I will think more about hope, healing, and growth because as hard as many things are, there is hope. We should remind people of that.

If you plan to talk about mental health topics, take a look at the research.

https://www.theravive.com/today/post/wording-on-social-media-can-influence-views-on-mental-health-0004986.aspx

Similar Posts

  • Link – Finding Truth In The Hall Of Flames

    Ever since I have opened up about my depression, people keep approaching me to understand more granularly, what I go through on a day-to-day basis. In a way, this has helped many depression survivors understand closely, what they too are going through, and why. These are the guys that need help, but have forever been…

  • The Positive Impacts of Social Media

    This is the world we live in. Not one where teens would be fine if only they didn’t have social media, but one where teens take to social media to get information about mental health and other issues that they can’t talk to anyone else about. Getting rid of social media for minors will leave a void similar to the one I had growing up, where no one I knew talked about abuse or mental health issues, so I assumed I was the only one dealing with it.

    That’s not a better world. I think a world where minors can access information provided by advocates who educate themselves about the facts and share their own lived experiences is invaluable. That’s what following these accounts can provide.

  • Sharing – What Happens When a Trauma Is Also a Betrayal

    In addition to the original betrayal, many survivors are then betrayed a second time when they are not believed or the abuse is minimized. When the people who should be protecting them refuse to see what is happening or refuse to believe that person that they trust would do such a thing, the child is betrayed by a second person, or a third, fourth, etc. Add in the fact that while these extra betrayals are happening it is also unlikely that the child is getting any assistance that could help alleviate PTSD with early interventions.

    In short, the more betrayal, the more suffering. We all have a responsibility to, at the very least, not add to the betrayal.

  • 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. 

  • Sharing – 5 Powerful Self-Care Tips for Abuse and Trauma Survivors

    This was written on the website for the Domestic Violence hotline, but the tips are relevant to anyone who has been abused or gone through trauma. This, for example, is similar to many things I’ve written about child abuse too:

    “Throughout this journey of healing from trauma and abuse, make sure that you are being compassionate towards yourself. A great deal of trauma survivors suffer from toxic shame and self-blame. It’s important that we are gentle towards ourselves during this journey, that we acknowledge that we are doing our very best, and that we ask ourselves every day, “What would be the most loving thing I can do for myself in this moment?” in any circumstance. There is no time limit to learning and healing, there is only the power of transforming our adversity into victory, one small step at a time.”

    Check out the article below to read more about how, exactly, to be gentle towards ourselves while still taking those small steps.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

To respond on your own website, enter the URL of your response which should contain a link to this post's permalink URL. Your response will then appear (possibly after moderation) on this page. Want to update or remove your response? Update or delete your post and re-enter your post's URL again. (Find out more about Webmentions.)