Want to Share Your Story for Mental Health Month? Check This First

Want to Share Your Story for Mental Health Month? Check This First

ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

Choosing to tell your story for the first time or to a more public audience is not a decision you want to take lightly. Many of us who have done it and are “public” about our past or current issues can tell you that while there are great things that can come from sharing, there are also things you should be prepared for.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was not prepared for things. As much as I have never regretted starting this site and sharing my story, there have been times when it’s been a bit awkward. Times I did not think enough about ahead of time and might have handled differently if I had thought more about it.

So, with that in mind, let me share this resource from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:

Sharing – The Emerging Science of Suicide Prevention

Sharing – The Emerging Science of Suicide Prevention

ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

I’m not a researcher but these two facts make me wonder if there’s not something we can do.

If we have a list of “nudges” that can help people feel like they belong or help educate people about things like safety plans, etc. and we don’t know who is at risk and which nudge might help them, maybe we should just continue to generally be kind to the people around us. That means trying to understand what makes them feel supported, connected, etc., and doing those things consistently. It also means noticing if a “nudge” has the opposite effect, and trying something different instead.

Help people feel like they belong, educate people about prevention resources, help them stay connected to family and friends, involve them, accept them, etc.

Help your friends and loved ones by communicating the kinds of things that help you. When you feel disconnected or like you are a burden, what can they do to keep you connected? What things do they do that make it worse?

When we don’t talk about these things we only make it worse, and we only continue to lose more people. We have to learn how to have these conversations. We have to be open to listening to the people closest to us and connecting to them without stigma and judgment. The researchers will keep working to learn more about prevention, but in the meantime simply caring about each other and being honest with each other is the best tool we have. We should use it.

Sharing – My Husband Took His Life After Hiding Years of Sexual Abuse

Sharing – My Husband Took His Life After Hiding Years of Sexual Abuse

ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

Lenore’s story is sad and tragic, but her message is important. We lose so many survivors, men, and women, who just never find a way to share their pain and look for help. People who live without hope because they feel shame about something that was never their fault. I encourage you to read what she has to say about her hope in sharing her husband’s story. I also encourage you to consider how many survivors we lose in the same way who we don’t even know were abused as children because they never felt safe enough to tell anyone. I guarantee there are many more people like that than we would like to think about. 

Shared Links (weekly) Jan. 2, 2022

Shared Links (weekly) Jan. 2, 2022

ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute