How To Cope When We Feel Overwhelmed
Stigma and experiences of abuse stopped me from speaking out about my mental health
From Childhood Pain to Empowerment
Celebrating differences: World Mental Health Day 2020 toolkit : Mentally Healthy Schools
Facebook Introduces Mental Health Resource Hub
How to Set Limits When People Demand Too Much of You
What is psychological first aid and how do i practice it?
October Mental Health Awareness Events
So let’s get this out there. Tomorrow is a day to raise awareness about the importance of mental health. It’s an opportunity for anyone who is dealing with mental health issues to see that there are many people who get it, and do support them, even if only virtually. It’s also a day to be reminded, sometimes literally, that there is still far too much stigma, and far too little investment, in mental health. That’s not fun. That’s not uplifting.
Taking care of yourself is an incredibly important part of looking out for your own mental health. Tomorrow is also Saturday. If your mental health will be better off by you not being online tomorrow, go do exactly that. Go enjoy your weekend, and know that I see you, and I feel what you’re saying. Your frustration is my frustration too. Being tired of the stigma, and how hard it is for people to get help is normal. I’m exhausted. I’m tired of talking about it, tired of reading about it, and tired of seeing stories of people who can’t get help when they need it, all around the world. I’m also tired of all the people on social media who make talking about it even harder than it already is, who want to troll, or just create drama because it’s never enough for them.
Again, I’m exhausted. I also know how incredibly lucky I was the get help, and I want that same thing available for everyone. So, I’ll find away to continue talking about it here, while also taking care of my own mental health. I hope you will too, even if we don’t all take part in the same events.
Every once in awhile, though, these lists provide me with something that causes me to do a double take. Like this:
“5. Only people without friends need therapists”
Huh? Look, I have some great friends, who I love dearly. I even have some friends who are therapists, but none of those relationships is the equivalent of going to therapy
In the article there’s even a story of a man who was chained up in a room with no windows for 30 years, who suffered from psychosis. Which is terrible.
But, isn’t this just the same stigma we have here too? Is it any “better” that we have people living on the streets or in prison when they suffer from psychosis or delusions? Aren’t we just locking them away in a different way, because we understand that we don’t actually have any way to help them, so we just want to ignore the issue?
In Nigeria, there is less than one psychiatrist per 100,000 people. 0.15, in fact. There is no rational way that someone suffering with psychosis in Nigeria is going to get professional help with those kinds of numbers, yet rather than coming together to support the families involved, they feel so much shame about having a “sick” family member that they try and hide them away for years, or completely abandon them to the streets.
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.
Support group helps men who survived child sex abuse cope with the trauma
Real friends are our best antidepressants
Child abuse survivor fights for justice for all victims
A Glance at a Broken Mental Health System
A few of the best (and simplest) things I do for my mental health
