It all comes down to having safe, supportive, and involved adults (parents and others). Kids need that more than anything else. No social media or screen bans can replace that.Â
The stress of financial instability is not something that we can eliminate with positive vibes. Being on the verge of poverty or in poverty is a mental health risk factor unto itself. No self-help apps will provide for you if you’re laid off or prevent you from becoming homeless or hungry as the cost of living continues to outpace your income.Â
I’ve never been taken to mediation the way other people have. I don’t particularly like the experience. It makes me profoundly uncomfortable.
I don’t know why; I know it doesn’t seem to work for me. I wonder, however, if part of my issue is that I need to live with some low-level dissociation. Maybe I’m so used to being slightly detached that focusing my attention entirely inward is too much. It’s overwhelming. It’s too much of a risk.Â
That’s the winner right there. Kids who are not isolated or lonely and who know they are loved and supported are the ones who tell you about grooming behavior from the very start. They have adults they trust and are connected to people who are more likely to notice grooming and believe the child who reports inappropriate behavior.
That’s the best tool we have to prevent child sexual abuse.
Boys get molested. I was one of them. Lots of other men you know were likely molested, too. Some of them may not even know because we weren’t taught that boys could be victims of sexual abuse. After all, if our bodies reacted, we must have wanted it somehow.Â
This reasoning is so outdated and harmful. Men who were sexually abused as children deserve to have their stories told. All survivors deserve access to support and resources. It’s the very least we can do.Â
We need more resources and more access to care. Not less.Â
We need care located where people live and work so they can remain part of their communities.Â
We need NIH grants to pay for more mental health research.Â
Our government is in the process of doing the exact opposite while claiming to care about mental health.Â
