Shared Links (weekly) August 10, 2025
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In the mental health field, I would agree with the experts quoted in the article. We treat mental health and trauma recovery based on the symptoms shown most often by women, because it is most often women who are seeking help. We define the symptoms based on what we see in those women, which are not the symptoms that every woman would have, let alone others. Someone who is abusing a substance, dealing with anger, taking risks, etc., isn’t typically what we consider “depressed,” but that might be the reality.
There’s been an ongoing debate about the memory of child sexual abuse and whether it would be better to have forgotten entirely and never have remembered after shutting down the initial trauma, compared to processing the experiences through therapy. The Guardian newspaper ran a Weekend magazine article today about a survivor whose memories had to…
Those folks need the opportunity to see another side to the story, and the more people who can safely tell their stories, the more we can let those folks know that they are, in fact, not alone.
If I’ve learned one thing from having this website for close to 20 years and being active on various social media platforms, it’s that you never know who is reading, and how it might impact them. Some people will tell you, and others will never mention it, but they are reading it. Would you rather be the person who helped someone feel less alone, and provided some hope, or the person who shut them down?
I know which one I have chosen.
Honestly, we put a birdfeeder in our yard a few years ago, and I will occasionally go out and watch some of the birds as they come to the feeder. It is relaxing. Having a few moments of relaxation in my day is good for my mental health. Maybe you can’t get a feeder and keep it stocked, but maybe there’s a park or lake nearby where you can hear and see the birds.
Give it a shot. See what happens.
“But when you make an appointment to see a therapist, do you know what’s going to happen? Many people aren’t quite certain. Will you just talk? Will you have to discuss your childhood? Will you be “hypnotized?” And what’s the “point” of seeing a therapist, anyway? Why not just talk to a friend? There is…