The world most people live in doesn’t afford them the time or money to keep up with all the self-improvement trends. Why would we shame them for doing what they can within the limitations they live with?
They are correct in adding that it exists on a spectrum, and while it may serve us when things are very stressful beyond our control, it can also become debilitating in its own way. Still, I think we all dissociate from time to time, and in our current social climate, it might not be the worst thing. We need to buffer ourselves and set boundaries that allow us to continue with our lives, even as things are messy around us.
If you think kids are resilient and they’ll be fine, or that by teaching kids mental health and emotional skills, you’re causing them to have mental health issues, you are depriving them of a much-needed source of development that could make the difference between spending years as an adult struggling versus having the skills to navigate the difficulty of adulthood. We recognize that early intervention in mental health is crucial. Why would we not do that?
It’s no wonder that I felt alone. I was alone. I was also lucky in finding someone else who was willing to tell their secret in my 20s. Most survivors remain alone with their trauma for decades. Even when they go about their lives, marry, have families, etc., they live alone in their trauma. Others tried to tell someone and weren’t believed, which is a level of being alone that I cannot imagine.
Like her, I am all for doing what you need to for self-care, whatever that looks like for you. But we cannot simply prescribe better self-care practices to people who need our society to stop harming them.
Until we recognize that and fight for those changes, we are falling short in advocating for better mental health for everyone.
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