Support

  • Sharing – Kindness Is Action

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

    Kindness matters, and kids who see kindness not just directed at them, but acts of kindness that they witness second-hand, have fewer signs of anxiety and other issues.

    But, as in most things, some groups are much more likely to see kindness and support directed at them, while others, especially minority and LGBTQ kids generally don’t see kindness around them as often.

    Seems to me that is a simple fix for this. Work at being kind to everyone. It clearly matters to kids, and even though this study doesn’t show it, I would bet it matters to adults as well!

  • Some Concrete Ways You Can Support Someone Struggling With Their Mental Health

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

    But, I will ask challenge you to go read the article because whether you give a coupon or not, the ideas are solid examples of the kinds of things you can do for someone you care about who is struggling. Often we avoid someone who we know is struggling because we are uncomfortable, not knowing what to do to help them. Well, here you go. Here are 21 things you can do. If you’re in proximity to the person, you can help them with necessary chores like laundry or grocery shopping, or simply accompany them on a walk. If you are maintaining contact with them at a distance, you can still have coffee together, offer a safe place to vent, or assist them with medicine copays. There are plenty of other ideas in the coupons and maybe just thinking about some of these examples will inspire some ideas of your own that would be appreciated by the folks you know.

    What else? What can you do for the folks who need someone to simply be there and offer to help do something? Anything.

    Or, what was something that someone did for you when you were struggling? What do you wish someone had done?

    Feel free to share your own ideas.

  • Reviews Elsewhere – A Treasure Box for Creating Trauma-Informed Organizations, by Karen Treisman

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 1 minute

    I think this is something many of us would agree with, the people in our organizations have all been through trauma, some in more ways than others. Trying to simply go on as if nothing has happened is a disservice to the human beings in your organization, no matter what type of organization we are talking about. Taking some time to recognize what has happened and how we go forward from there is an important step. It sounds like this “Treasure Box” may help us all do exactly that.

  • Sharing – Receiving a hug or engaging in self-soothing touch reduces cortisol levels following a stressful experience

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

    I think this is interesting. Obviously, during a pandemic and as survivors hugging someone else may or may not be all that realistic, but the fact that this study seems to indicate we can get similar results from self-soothing touch is an interesting idea.

  • Sharing – Human Connection: Why It’s Important

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Here’s the thing that I tend to forget, you don’t need to wait for an emergency to make someone feel seen, heard, and valued. In fact, we can maybe avoid more emergencies if we were in the habit of doing this. We have an opportunity to do that any time we spend time with the people we care about. But, we have to actually spend the time to do that.

    I have a tendency to simply tell people that I’m here when they need me, instead of reaching out with a quick message, text, or even coffee just because.

    I can’t help but wonder how many chances I’ve had to see and hear them, that I’ve missed. The holidays are, of course, a really good chance to send that text, get in touch, and remind people that you value them. You can read the article below to see just how much good that might do.

  • Sharing – Others Have it Worse

    ByMikeM Reading Time: 2 minutes

    I think there maybe a couple of reasons why we fall into this. Al mentions one of the big ones, this becomes a way to avoid really facing our own issues. Since our issues are “not as bad” as someone else we can point to, this becomes our excuse to simply accept them instead of trying to work on ourselves and do the hard work of healing. Similarly, I also think this is an example where so many of us don’t see ourselves as worthy of getting better. Our issues aren’t as bad, so we don’t really deserve to get treatment, or get support, or even admit that we need it. The truth, though, is that everyone is worth being supported and getting help when necessary. There is no one in this world who has never needed any support, no matter what kinds of trauma and struggles they are having, or how bad someone else might have it.