This seems like the should be obvious, but it’s not: When someone is upset about something, validating and understanding their feelings isn’t going to necessarily make them suddenly forget why they’re angry. That person will still be upset, but validation helps them maintain some self-worth and optimism. So often, when we talk about our mental…
I may not necessarily agree with everything on Dr. Zoe’s list, but I am on-board with the idea of knowing ahead of time what kinds of activities, people, etc. will help take care of your mental health when you need it. You and I may not have a current mental health diagnosis right now, but we all are having low days, struggle days. Doing something about those, might just help us avoid spiraling into a situation where we do end up with something more serious.
PBS not only did a report on childhood trauma they are also sharing some helpful information.
This might be worth bookmarking, or if you are currently dealing with children in trauma in your own family, you may find some resources that can help you today. So, I’m sharing and if you know someone in that situation, I’d ask that you share with them too.
You’re not being kind, you are blaming people for a ton of things that are completely beyond their control, because your own identify is tied to a world-view that has no explanation for suffering beyond “welp, guess you failed at being positive”.
That’s not a world-view, that’s a privileged, self-centered, view.
We have gotten better at discussing some mental health issues, but there’s still so much more to do. It’s still not safe for too many people to even admit they need help with anxiety and depression, even though right now we all need support. There is still a severe shortage of help available, and we still treat other mental health issues with something other than fear.
If not now, when? Those of us who can share our stories, should be doing exactly that. For all the people who can’t. And, maybe even more, we need to remind the world that these issues affect people everywhere, from all backgrounds. It’s not just Hollywood, and it’s not just on poor neighborhoods, it affects plenty of people that we probably come in contact with every day. People we know, people we love, people we work with, neighbors, friends, family, etc. are, or have been, struggling with their mental health.
Maybe once we convince enough people of that, they’ll care enough to do something about it.
Is technology a panacea for everything that’s wrong with mental health care in the US? No. Are they always the appropriate solution? No. But do we need to find some way for technology to step in a fill this gaps when the need has been going unmet like this for so long?
“We have a crisis in mental health care in the United States. Sixty percent of young people with major depression received no mental health treatment in 2017-2018, and one quarter of adults with mental illness reported an unmet need for treatment. In the U.S., 55% of counties have no psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker, and 70% don’t have a single child psychiatrist. Queues for substance abuse care can be weeks long; 70% of those who needed substance use treatment in 2017 did not receive it. To make it worse, many practices have closed or reduced their capacity in response to pandemic health concerns.”
