Reviews Elsewhere – What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma

Reviews Elsewhere – What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma

ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

“Here’s a theory: Maybe I had not really been broken this whole time. Maybe I had been a human—flawed and still growing but full of light nonetheless”

I want all of us to ponder that line for a little bit and think about it. Consider the possibility that you, as a survivor, are not broken. Maybe you are just human. Maybe everything you see as broken is just a natural reaction to abuse in the same way every human carries things forward into their lives from their past. That’s not to say the harm isn’t real. Indeed it is very much real. It might not, however, have changed the possibility of our light still being inside us.

You are still human and you still have value in this world.

We Can Talk About Being Brave By Going Public and Also How Resources Aren’t Available for Everyone

We Can Talk About Being Brave By Going Public and Also How Resources Aren’t Available for Everyone

ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

So yes, bravo to Senator Fetterman for seeking help, sharing his struggle publicly and even raising awareness and money for mental health resources.

Let’s also talk about how many people don’t have that option and do something about that too.

Sharing – Almost half of children who go to ER with mental health crisis don’t get the follow-up care they need, study finds

Sharing – Almost half of children who go to ER with mental health crisis don’t get the follow-up care they need, study finds

ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

This is a society-wide problem. These kids who can’t get care will likely end up back in crisis, which will continue well into adulthood. We already see this in adults who cannot access care, one ER visit after the other for years.

Sharing – Who Gets to Be Mentally Ill?

Sharing – Who Gets to Be Mentally Ill?

ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

So, someone like me, a middle-aged, professional, white male, can talk about struggling and get encouragement, pointed to good resources that are affordable for me, and there’s hope that I’ll get better. Someone living near poverty will say the same thing, and we start looking at whether they should have their kids removed from the home or how we can keep them away from a “safe” society.

It gets worse if they are not white and/or have a more serious mental health issue.

That’s not right. Everyone deserves quality mental health care. We shouldn’t divide who gets the care and who doesn’t based on what kind of mental health issue they have or who they are. That’s no way to solve this issue.

Sharing – Back to the future?

Sharing – Back to the future?

ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

We do need each other. There is no replacement for the support of another human being, regardless of what that support might look like. Just not being left alone with our struggles is a source of support.

This then brings Ben to another important point. Imagine if we all had a modicum of education about mental health and could not only show up for each other but show up with some educated actions to take.