Look, the empty cup analogy is a good one for people who feel the need to put aside their own care to take care of others, but the truth of the matter is that is only part of the equation. We need rest, we need food, and we need self-care because we need those things. There doesn’t need to be another reason, and we sure don’t need to “earn” them.
Why is this so hard for so many people to understand? Why are some of you so dead-set on causing harm to people who are different than you? If your religious leaders encourage you to harm people or treat any other group of human beings as anything less than human, they are not to be taken seriously. We need to stop giving these leaders our attention or our money.
The act of going from being silent and ashamed of your trauma to talking about it without shame is not something that just happens. It takes time, and it’s a step-by-step process. You won’t one day get out of bed ready to address 1,000 people and tell your story. You’ll find one person you feel safe enough with to share your story, probably shaking with nerves. You’ll be afraid of how they will react, you might even feel a little ashamed but you’re starting to realize that the shame shouldn’t be yours.
That’s a victory. That’s a step in the healing direction. Celebrate it instead of kicking yourself for not being ready to speak to a large audience. You can’t get there without these intermediate steps. So see them as signs of healing.
Mental health is complicated. The solution to one individual case is complicated. The solution to the lack of resources is complicated. Telling people to get more exercise, let alone selling them the diet and workout that will solve all their mental health issues, is a fraud, isn’t it? Saying that we simply need to give everyone free therapy without addressing the serious shortage of therapists is as well.
Anyone who suggests there is a simple solution to the mental health problem facing us as a country and the world is not to be taken seriously.
This study shows us something really interesting. I don’t know that I can remember the last time I just spent a short period thinking and not doing something to distract me from thinking.
I wanted to share this with you because John Oliver makes some important points about how we have made so many strides in acceptance and encouraging people that it is OK to ask for help, and then the system doesn’t provide it. Sadly things have gotten so bad that we’re trying just about anything, and even the technology isn’t living up to the hype.
Real people with real needs are left with nowhere to turn. A society that claims to care about people cannot accept that status quo.
