Family

  • Sharing – Lost in the Storm

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

    If you’re not familiar with what it can be like to try and get the proper mental health care in the US you should read this story. However, as you do read it, I need you to understand that this story, as hard as it is, actually represents the better side of the Mental Healthcare system. Ash’s parents have some financial means and expertise to help them navigate the system, even if her Mom had to leave her job. Now imagine what this looks like for someone without those things.

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    Thoughts After Watching “Shiny Happy People” – The Duggars Documentary

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 5 minutes

    As shocking and dark as the details of the Duggar family and their relgious beliefs may be to many of us, it shouldn’t surprise us at all that they were so many people with a vested interest in the show, the religious organization, and the family were encouraged and even forced to gloss over the reality of what happened. If you’re shocked that anyone would go to such lengths to hide child abuse and ignore victims, you simply haven’t been paying attention. It goes on everywhere, and I hope the more cases like this one that we can bring to light, the more we’ll start to understand how horrible this is.

  • Another Tool in Abuse Prevention – Community

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 3 minutes

    This is where the community comes in. Kids with strong connections to safe adults are less likely to be targeted and more likely to tell if they are. LGBTQ kids are less likely to struggle with suicidal ideation when they have adults who accept them as they are. Kids dealing with anxiety and depression have better outcomes when they have safe adults to talk through their emotions with, who can support them through difficult times. I’ve discussed at length the importance of strong relationships with parents as the best preventive measure we have for keeping children safe and supported. I’ve also discussed, on my other site, the importance of work-life balance and inclusivity in the workplace for parents. That’s what being a community that supports families’ needs to succeed includes.

  • Sharing – Why Siblings Can Have Different Childhoods And Impressions Of Their Parents

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 3 minutes

    The article below describes how this can happen, mostly focused on several factors. One, things change. The family’s circumstances change over the years, your parents change over the years, and so an older or younger sibling might have been raised differently than we were. Also, we are different. Some kids’ personalities mesh differently with their parents compared to their siblings. That’s all pretty normal. 

    I want to talk about childhood abuse, especially why it can seem like our siblings don’t understand when we tell them about our abuse. One of the things that becomes clear as you read the link is that kids might grow up in the same biological family but not necessarily in the same circumstances.

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    Connection Matters – An Example

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

    As I read this, I couldn’t help but compare it to the hundreds of stories where the opposite was true. People are so afraid of saying the wrong thing or so uncomfortable with the idea of mental health issues that they run the other way. They disconnect from someone who so desperately needs connection. Someone they love is feeling all that embarrassment and pain and no longer has anyone to connect to and remind them of their value, their humanness.

    As the title of Elizabeth’s post says, we need each other.