Sharing – What the Most Common Advice About Grief Gets So Wrong
Fixing someone else’s grief, just like healing their trauma, isn’t possible. It’s not your job. Your job is to keep the space open for them to heal.Â
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Sharing – How I Misunderstood the Meaning of Rest
I say this applies to all forms of self-care because we have a culture that tells us all the time that being productive and getting things done is the entire basis of our value as human beings. Naturally, we look at activities like resting, eating, and other forms of self-care as a necessary part of being productive, but we never see their value on their own. We’re resting because we worked hard during the week or because our bodies are exhausted and need a refresh before returning to it. We eat because we need the calories to burn. We meditate so that we can focus better on our work. We spend time with others to build relationships and extend our network. We read to seem interesting to others.
We never do things just because we want to.
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Good News From 2023
Those issues aside, the list is a reminder that for all the negative talk, many good things are still happening in the world. I know I appreciated the reminder.
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Mental Health Resources for the LGBTQ Community
In the past few days, I came across a couple of resources targeted toward the LGBTQ community, and I wanted to share them here.
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How Are You, Really? And How To Answer, Really
Some replies are pithy, witty, and sarcastic, and one is even “meh.” But, what they get at is the underlying fact that answering “good,” “fine,” etc., is not the only way to answer the question. We can be honest with ourselves and each other. We can admit that right now, things are far from great. We can all be a little more human and recognize the struggle of being alive sometimes.
It won’t hurt us to be more up-front and honest with each other. That’s how you eliminate stigma.
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The Positive Impacts of Social Media
This is the world we live in. Not one where teens would be fine if only they didn’t have social media, but one where teens take to social media to get information about mental health and other issues that they can’t talk to anyone else about. Getting rid of social media for minors will leave a void similar to the one I had growing up, where no one I knew talked about abuse or mental health issues, so I assumed I was the only one dealing with it.
That’s not a better world. I think a world where minors can access information provided by advocates who educate themselves about the facts and share their own lived experiences is invaluable. That’s what following these accounts can provide.
