Sharing – Mental Health Recovery Burnout Is Real and It’s a Problem

Sharing – Mental Health Recovery Burnout Is Real and It’s a Problem

ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

There’s no time to be thoughtful and purposeful when you’re plowing through all of your “recovery goals” at once, and without those things, you won’t get there. They’re kind of required.

I’ve been heard to say in a few places that a big part of why I keep different blogs and social media profiles on different topics is because it keeps me honest. Yes, I am interested in those things and enjoy learning and sharing. But, I have been able to keep this little website going for over 20 years because it is just a part of my life, taking part of my time and part of my mental energy. It’s not everything. I know it doesn’t work for me if it is.

That’s important, and it keeps me from getting burned out.

Want to Share Your Story for Mental Health Month? Check This First

Want to Share Your Story for Mental Health Month? Check This First

ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

Choosing to tell your story for the first time or to a more public audience is not a decision you want to take lightly. Many of us who have done it and are “public” about our past or current issues can tell you that while there are great things that can come from sharing, there are also things you should be prepared for.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was not prepared for things. As much as I have never regretted starting this site and sharing my story, there have been times when it’s been a bit awkward. Times I did not think enough about ahead of time and might have handled differently if I had thought more about it.

So, with that in mind, let me share this resource from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:

Sharing – Nature helps mental health, research says—but only for rich, white people?

Sharing – Nature helps mental health, research says—but only for rich, white people?

ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

See, it’s easy to tell people who live pretty comfortable lives what a difference some time in nature can make for their anxiety or other issues. People living in poverty or dealing with racism every day might not get the same benefit from an afternoon hike. We don’t know what impact it would have, because we’ve mainly only been testing in relatively wealthy countries with relatively wealthy subjects.

We should be considering all of the societal and environmental obstacles that exist for people when it comes to mental health challenges. I suspect it’s only very recently that we’ve begun to do that, so any of our typical “advice” about self-care might not be appropriate until we’ve done more.

Sharing – Sexual abuse: Why young males are often invisible victims

Sharing – Sexual abuse: Why young males are often invisible victims

ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

I grew up in a world where having my friends and other parents think I was gay seemed worse than just continuing to be abused. Think about that for a minute. Think about what we tell boys about being a man and how society reacts to men who share that they were sexually abused as a child? Is there anything about it that screams “Tell your story. We support you!”.

There are some small pockets of that online and in certain circles, but it’s going to also come with a lot of questions about why you didn’t fight, how you’re destined to now be an abuser, that you enjoyed it, etc.

Female victims of almost all ages will get asked about what they were wearing, how much they drank, etc. That’s wrong.

Male victims will get out own set of questions, mostly about why we didn’t fight, why we were so weak, are we gay? That’s equally as wrong.

Sharing – Don’t insist on being positive – allowing negative emotions has much to teach us

Sharing – Don’t insist on being positive – allowing negative emotions has much to teach us

ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

The article goes on to discuss the various ways those emotions we are trying to avoid by always being positive are actually good for us. How sitting with and processing those emotions help us learn and grow.

Of course, the one thing I will say about that is this. Be prepared to do that work alone, or very nearly alone. The world is full of people who are not comfortable with their pain, sadness, grief, etc., and refuse to do anything but “be grateful.” They also have zero tolerance for other people “bringing them down” with their own emotions.

These people are not capable of being a support to anyone else. The refusal to acknowledge the entirety of human emotion makes them utterly incapable of sitting with someone in their pain. Sadly, as these ideas have gained popularity, they have also limited our support networks. They have created a shortage of people who will sit with us.