Sharing – Trauma Is Not a One-Size-Fits-All
As many of you know, we spent much of 2019 grieving. Then, we spent most of 2020, and the early parts of 2021 dealing with a global pandemic. Now that I have been vaccinated, I am also realizing just how much PTSD I’m dealing with. As I have read a few times in the last couple of weeks about others, I am now in a situation where I should feel pretty safe, but I don’t. I’ve spent 2 years waiting for someone else I know to die, and then doing my best to not be near anyone. I can’t just turn that off now that I have been vaccinated. I still get extremely anxious when I have to be somewhere. I still pay very, very careful attention to anyone around me when I’m in public, and just generally spend that time being on edge, constantly. It’s exhausting. It makes me want to stay home, and avoid people. My being vaccinated didn’t change that at all.
Shared Links (weekly) Nov. 1, 2020
The Most Common PTSD Myths and Symptoms, and How to Cope
Bravery — Margaret Hoelzer
Best Therapists to Follow on TikTok
Mental Health Resources for Black Americans
Young people using technology to detect worsening mental health
QAnon hurts real trafficking victims: The conspiracy theory is dangerous because it obscures the real threat
Why Friendships Are Good For Us
Male Sexual Abuse and Assault – Ken Clearwater’s Story
Podcast: Value of Personal Mental Illness Stories
Sharing – My Life With Mental Health Issues
I was going to share this article without comment, but I also realized that I really, really, want you to read Johnnie’s last two paragraphs, because this is vital: “I believe today, there are many among us who have recovered from mental health issues and yet no one knows their story. We all want to…
Links I’m Sharing (weekly) Sept. 13, 2020
What is PTSD?
What It’s Like to Live with Suicidal Ideation
Loneliness and suicide: what’s the link and what role does depression play?
5 Steps to Help Someone Who is Suicidal
‘We Are Therapists. After 6 Months of Lockdown, We’re Almost at Breaking Point’
Accepting Limitations in Mental Health Recovery
How Does Racism Affect Black Mental Health?
Links I’m Sharing (weekly)
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 – Researchers Doubt That Certain Mental Disorders Are Disorders At All
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.
Sharing – Brown University researchers find what doesn’t kill you may not make you stronger after all
This is not good news for the mental health advocates who want us to believe that things “happen for a reason”, and that we grow from our pain. It’s really just not true. “In 2003, before the natural disasters, none of the studied Chileans displayed any signs of PTSD or depression. But, by 2011, 9.1%…