Survivors News and Reviews

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Sharing – Trauma-Related Dissociation: Symptoms, Treatment, Coping, and More
ByMikeM September 16, 2021September 15, 2021 Reading Time: 1 minute

Of course, using this same defense mechanism in later life can be a problem, and when your brain has used this as a sort of “last resort” choice to survive, that might also mean that your memory of the event isn’t what others would like it to be. That’s OK, it helped you survive, that is the important thing. The rest is irrelevant if you don’t survive, so we are glad about that. Once you’ve survived, we can work on the rest of it.

Read more about the what, why, and how of dissociation at the link below.

Read More Sharing – Trauma-Related Dissociation: Symptoms, Treatment, Coping, and More
Links

Sharing – Sexual violence within families: – It’s not a private matter
ByMikeM September 15, 2021September 14, 2021 Reading Time: 1 minute

There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t read a story in the news, or on social media that follows a similar path.

Child abused by a family member
The child tells someone in the family
The child isn’t believed or is accused of trying to embarrass the family.
Or, the child tells someone outside of the family
The child isn’t believed, or the person doesn’t want to make trouble for the parents.

Read More Sharing – Sexual violence within families: – It’s not a private matter
Announcements

Seattle Times Launching Mental Health Project
ByMikeM September 14, 2021September 13, 2021 Reading Time: 1 minute

I’m not in the Pacific Northwest any longer, but if you are, or if you’re interested in learning about the issues surrounding mental health in Washington State, which I assume are going to be similar to everywhere else in the US, they will be launching a two-year project to look at mental health.

Read More Seattle Times Launching Mental Health Project
Links

Sharing – I Feel Nothing: Emotional Numbness and How to Cope
ByMikeM September 13, 2021September 13, 2021 Reading Time: 2 minutes

In my experience all of that is true. The trauma of my childhood left me numb in early adulthood. The current pandemic and all of the other things going on around us every day have left me numb from time to time now. It’s the overwhelming stress that just living every day can bring right now. So, I find myself doing some of the things recommended in the article below to help in the short term, while also knowing that if that doesn’t work, I need to consider the long-term options as well.

Read More Sharing – I Feel Nothing: Emotional Numbness and How to Cope
Links

Sharing – We Need More Comprehensive Suicide Prevention
ByMikeM September 10, 2021September 10, 2021 Reading Time: 2 minutes

I, obviously, agree. Awareness is great. Ending stigma, and having a crisis resource is great. It’s also not enough. What are we doing after the immediate crisis to prevent the next one, or to provide treatment and resources for all of the people who aren’t getting any now? What are we doing to accommodate people in the workplace who need to see a therapist on the regular, or need to be medicated and have some accommodation made? What are insurance companies doing to make sure mental health coverage is on par with physical health coverage, and who is enforcing the law when it isn’t? What are we doing to support families and loved ones who are doing their best to support people dealing with mental health issues?

As long as there are still so many not getting the help they need, the obvious answer to all of these questions is, not enough.

Read More Sharing – We Need More Comprehensive Suicide Prevention
Recommendations

Suicide Prevention in Ireland
ByMikeM September 9, 2021September 9, 2021 Reading Time: 1 minute

Yesterday we shared some Australian resources, today I came across an Irish resource for suicide prevention, and thought we should give the Irish readers some equal time:

Read More Suicide Prevention in Ireland