The takeaway, of course, is that we should believe survivors when they talk about their trauma; they do know what they are talking about. Secondly, maybe we should stop trying to convince ourselves that young children will move past it and likely not even remember it when they’re an adult.
That’s not how trauma works.
This program is making a difference for veterans, and I have no doubt it would be the sme for many: The Safety Planning Intervention is a structured process that involves six distinct steps. A healthcare provider and a patient work collaboratively to identify personal warning signs that a crisis might be developing. They also outline…
There’s no time to be thoughtful and purposeful when you’re plowing through all of your “recovery goals” at once, and without those things, you won’t get there. They’re kind of required.
I’ve been heard to say in a few places that a big part of why I keep different blogs and social media profiles on different topics is because it keeps me honest. Yes, I am interested in those things and enjoy learning and sharing. But, I have been able to keep this little website going for over 20 years because it is just a part of my life, taking part of my time and part of my mental energy. It’s not everything. I know it doesn’t work for me if it is.
That’s important, and it keeps me from getting burned out.
My first thought, obviously, was about the workplace and the culture we have created there that rewards being “always-on” but I think so much of this pressure permeates beyond work. As technology has become commonplace we all live with this pressure and this expectation. Think about it, how many times in a given week are you apologizing to friends and family because you couldn’t get back to them right away?
I do it all the time.
Heck, I’ve gotten text messages while having lunch or dinner with a friend, catching up with someone I haven’t gotten to see much for the last couple of years, and then apologized for doing that and being unavailable. Why? That makes no sense but we live in a culture where being connected to technology all the time also means that we should be responsive all the time. Or at least we feel like we should. Frankly, that’s a lot of pressure.
I’m a firm believer that we don’t need any kind of special permission to talk about mental health and the stories of people dealing with mental health issues any day that we want to, but I also wanted to bring a couple of special days that are being set aside in Canada and the UK for the purpose.
