Mental Health

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    Sharing – What Not to Do: Seven Things to Keep in Mind When Helping Someone with a Mental Health Challenge

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

    I think the entire list of seven things provided by Mental Health First Aid below, is good, but this one, in particular, is something I think we all need to keep in mind:

    “Do not be hostile or sarcastic when the person attempts to be responsive, but instead accept their responses as the best the person has to offer at that time.”

    I think it’s fair to say that right now, most of us are dealing with some challenges. If ever there was a time to accept that replying to your text, or responding to a question you have might not be the foremost thing on someone’s mind, it’s now.

    Between dealing with kids going back to school, and whatever that looks like, protests and violence, constant pandemic concerns around illness or loss of loved ones, and massive employment insecurity, there’s a lot going on that we are all trying to deal with as best as we can. I’d argue that we are all dealing with some pretty huge mental health challenges right now, so if you have people trying to stay in contact with you, to check in, or support you, give them a little grace. The fact that they are even trying right now should say a lot, and I hope we can all appreciate the imperfect efforts anyone puts in.

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    Links I’m Sharing (weekly)

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

    How To Live With Someone Else’s Mental Illness
    PTSD Physical Symptoms Can Be Confounding for Sexual Assault Survivors
    Growing up I Often Heard “Therapy Is for White People”
    How the Pandemic Is Taking Its Toll on Our Mental Health
    One mental health solution: a kinder, gentler emergency department for people considering suicide
    Nearly three in four child abuse survivors without support, study finds
    Suicide After Suicide: What We Must Do to Break the Cycle
    Why Abused Children May Strive for Perfection

  • Sharing – Families can support kids’ mental health whether they’re learning remotely or at school – here’s how

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Regardless of what your kids school might look like right now, I think this article provides some interesting tips on how you can do the things you can control to support kids mental health. Or anyone’s mental health really. “It may feel like a stark choice between mental or physical health. But as a family…

  • Links I’m Sharing (weekly) Aug 16, 2020

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

    #TraffickingTruths: Realities of child sex trafficking! Mental Health Apps: Beneficial or Harmful? Recognizing and easing the physical symptoms of anxiety Self-Care to Lower Anxiety When Things Aren’t OK With a Child’s Mental Health Former Jehovah’s Witness elders call for mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse Bless the People Who Stuck Around After My Mental Illness…

  • New Research on Social Media and Teen Mental Health

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 3 minutes

    I think that second quote is really the key. We’ve seen studies that are reported as showing that kids who use social media get more depression and anxiety, but those studies do not address the question of whether there’s any proof that the causality is in that direction and not the other. In other words, do teens who use social media a lot develop depression, or do depressed teens use social media more. This study seems to indicate it’s the latter. As we continue with a lot of social distancing, and activities being canceled and in person gatherings are very limited, we know everyone will be relying more on social media to stay connected, so this is an important question, and I think what this study, and others, really shows us is that there are ways to use social media as a positive influence on our mental health, and a way to use it that will not be a positive influence on our mental health.

    In the physical world, we have these same choices. Do we interact with people who are toxic? Do we spend all of our time comparing ourselves to others? Do we isolate? Or do we find out tribe, our group of supportive friends/family that can interact socially in ways that help our mental health?

    We all make those same choices on social media, but the key difference here is that if we simply don’t choose, and make no effort to make conscious decisions about who we follow and interact with, social network algorithms will make the decision for us. Anyone already struggling with mental health is maybe more likely to not spent much time thinking about these things, and just let the app show them what it wants to show them, and that is not necessarily going to be good for our anxiety. Especially right now.

    So, if you find yourself feeling more anxious, angry, irritated, etc. every time you hop on Twitter or Instagram, maybe instead of just being that way, spend some time thinking about who you follow, and what they are bringing in to your life?

    For any of my social media using readers, can you share some of your favorite positive accounts that you interact with to HELP your mental health?

  • Sharing – Researchers Doubt That Certain Mental Disorders Are Disorders At All

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

    On one hand, I think we could eliminate a lot of the stigma around depression, anxiety, PTSD and ADHD if we understood them to be fairly common, and normal responses to abnormal events.

    On the other though, I’m concerned that trying to explain away something that can be as debilitating as depression can be could lead to an increase in people not taking it seriously. Which could lead to people not getting help as needed for it, and being blamed for not just dealing with it, etc.

    I also worry that if we define mental health conditions very strictly, we’ll be increasing the stigma of those with other disorders like bipolar, or schizophrenia.