I know it’s become cliché to talk about depression and anxiety as part of the response to COVID19, but that really ignores the fact that the rates were going up even before the pandemic. Why? I think our cultish belief in productivity, and “hustling” is a big part of that. If you can’t ever rest, and take a break from your to-do list, you’re going to struggle.
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So, when I see a study like this, I don’t feel defeated, I don’t feel like we are all just broken and doomed to poorer outcomes. I see the possibility that there is room to change this current reality, but it’s going to take changing how we deal with childhood adversity and doing it in an open, honest, and immediate way.
High levels of childhood adversity don’t have to be an early death sentence. We can, and should, intervene early in order to prevent many of these outcomes. We just need the determination and will to make it happen.
Do we have that?
It’s being offered by the NHS in the UK. Basically, the idea is simple, answer five quick questions about how you’re sleeping, stress, anxiety, etc. and they’ll put together some resources that might help.
Of course, they will also suggest getting some professional help, and more formal resources and those kinds of suggestions should not be taken lightly, but I took the survey, and the things they offered me were things like plans to physically move more, sleep aids, and a mental health app that might help with some of my issues.
“Though not a replacement to therapy, Therapy Toolkit is a gentle primer for or complement to therapy. A comprehensive booklet that includes an introduction to the therapeutic process, tips on using the deck, and a list of resources for further guidance accompanies the deck.”
Actually, I think it usually takes something like this, or the scandal in the Boy Scouts, etc, to remind people that oh yeah, sometimes it’s boys who are targeted en masse for sexual abuse. I suspect we don’t often think about it because, as it turns out, many men don’t feel like they can talk about having been abused.
That’s why it was a bit heartbreaking to read Phil Goldstein’s recent opinion piece:
French Catholic Church abuse report highlights the special toll faced by boys
As Phil points out, for a variety of reasons, male survivors tend not to talk about being an abuse victim, and the numbers back that up.
