Middle School can be a trying time for kids. They are getting older but aren’t teenagers yet. They are going through changes and dealing with big issues without much experience dealing with emotions. Luckily, Sarah Zellner offers up these suggestions for books about mental health targeted at this age range.
Beth gives some concrete examples and, more than that, reminds us all to remember how good it felt when someone acted in a small, compassionate way for us too. It’s important to remember those moments and how much of an impact they can have.
Of course, he’s right. What he sees in the UK is the same thing I see from my “much less qualified but simply paying attention” seat in the US, and I’m sure many of you see where you live as well. Our current mental health resources are designed to help “fix” something wrong with us. I can’t say they even do that well, but at least that is the plan, and that plan makes sense for many mental health struggles.
It is only part of the picture, though. In all seriousness, how would the 6-8 therapist sessions a good insurance plan covers help someone escaping domestic abuse or trying to feed a family on a minimum wage job? How is the teenager being abused at home, bullied at school, and overwhelmed by the bleakness of what the world might look like when they are an adult supposed to find hope in one crisis text line conversation?
How will we provide hope and connection to people without first understanding their world and how they navigate it every day?
The rest of the article talks about the detrimental impacts of less connection to the people in our lives, our communities, etc., and some ways to help build those back. Things like reaching out, doing more than doom, scrolling your social media feeds, leaving thoughtful comments, interacting with your friends and family, etc.
It’s worth a read. Connectivity is an essential part of maintaining our physical and mental health.
This is true for trafficking, and it’s true for child sexual abuse, and it’s true for a variety of other ways in which people might try to take advantage of someone. People with poor mental health, poor connections to other people, and living in chaotic situations are more vulnerable. The best tool to prevent these things is to work on having fewer vulnerable people.
Mental health resources could go a long way.
I especially identified with the section on maladaptive schemas that may have developed during childhood because I’ve always been a big believer that children growing up in abusive situations will develop whatever mechanism they need to survive and then carry those same mechanisms into adulthood instead of learning the things they should learn as kids.
That’s a maladaptive schema if there ever was one.
Read, and learn more below:
