Child Abuse and Mental Health Survivors Information - Issue #146
Did the last thing you shared on social media add to the lives of your followers?
I’m borrowing a story that would normally appear in the From the Archives section because I feel like this Fall is going to be a particularly difficult time to stop and think about what we are doing with social media.
It’s never a bad idea to consider your followers and what you’re adding to their day. I know I try to consider that when writing or sharing things online. Is this helpful? Is this accurate?
I know your attention is not something I should take for granted. I also depend on you to share anything you find helpful with your networks.
Thank you for reading the Child Abuse and Mental Health Survivors newsletter. Each week, I share new blog posts and other resources that aim to help survivors of childhood abuse and those who are struggling with mental health issues feel less alone as we discuss the issues surrounding our issues.
For more information about me and why this newsletter exists, visit the website - Child Abuse Survivor.
Think before you post or share anything on social media. Consider what it is that you are distributing and whether it adds to the lives of the people who follow you. If it does, share away. If you think anything I’ve written fits that bill or anything that I’ve linked to or shared does, share the heck out of it. Please. If you know of other things that are worthy of being shared, that bring good ideas to the forefront that will help people and shine a light on truth and healing, share the heck out of those too.
New from the Blogs
I've been saying it for years. Any article that claims to identify the "one thing" you need for your mental health is a lie. No one thing works for everyone, but trying everything will help you identify what works for you. The things that are good for you anyway, like eating right, exercising, learning, social connections, etc., will only help. Why not do them?
I think there are two things that stood out to me about this research.
Young people who need help aren't getting it. Part of the reason there is no diagnosis is that many of these young people suffer in silence. They are vulnerable for a number of reasons, but we are not taking the steps to identify the issues and get them help. That's on all of us. It appears to be a larger issue with minority kids, males, and other groups who historically have been underserved by mental health resources.
Guns are so effective at killing that kids with access to guns only need to consider it one time. It's hard to get to a diagnosis when the method works so often. Only 33% of those lost to suicide by gun had a diagnosis, compared to 40% overall.
Sharing - Understanding The Rise In Suicide Rates Since The Nineties: Factors And Prevention
Mandy lists out some of the factors: financial, substance abuse, mental health, loneliness, and even that we've gotten better at tracking suicide, to help explain why the numbers have been getting higher since the 90s. Then, she talks about some of the solutions, including better support for addiction and mental health disorders, financial support mechanisms, and more research into other possible solutions.
Unspoken in her article but implied by the risk associated with loneliness, we'd also do well to create more community. What I think takes many of these risk factors from challenging to overwhelming is when we are left to deal with them alone. We might see these trends reverse when we have the proper support and mental health resources, but we're not there yet. Too many people are alone.
I've mentioned before that in some of the worst of my mental health struggles, I had a manager who helped me manage the process and was incredibly supportive of me doing what I needed to do, and I later had a manager who made the entire thing awkward and unbearable for me. This was at the same company. Nothing about the rules or the program changed, but my manager did. That made all the difference between me staying and being productive and walking out the door.
Shared from Elsewhere
Speaking of grief - What You Need to Know About Grief Brain Fog
We have talked before about the need to be and feel safe after abuse. Both of these articles put shed some extra light on that fact:
Being safe is also an undercurrent of this article because sharing your situation with your family is a question of whether it’s safe to - Explaining Mental Health Treatment to Your Family
If you need some inspiration - Self-Care for Your Mental Health
If you need some reading material - 6 Must-Read Books for Complex Trauma Survivors
From the Archives
Sharing – How To Post About Mental Health Without Sounding Like A Heartless Jerk
You're not hurting Kanye by sharing that meme; more than likely, he will never know. But, what you are doing is sending the message to all of the people you do know that you consider mental health issues something to laugh at and make fun of.
Maybe stop and consider the fact that someone you know is likely dealing with mental health issues and now knows to keep it secret from you since you are the kind of person who mocks people's mental health.
Feel good about that?
Quick Thought Number 2 - Prison is No Place To Deal with Mental Health
Yes, there are a lot of people in prison or emergency rooms because the police have nowhere else to take them during a mental health emergency. Even if he's exaggerating a bit for effect, I think it's safe to say that we can probably put the number of people in prison who are actually in need of mental health treatment and not getting it close to 50%. Imagine the other issues we could address if our jails were half as populated as they are and people were getting proper treatment instead of winding up in prison.
Thanks for reading. If you find this newsletter informative and helpful, spread the word. That’s the best way to say thank you for my weekly effort.