Child Abuse and Mental Health Survivors Information - Issue #109
Social Media Death Rattles
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. If you’ve tried to follow the resources I share on social media and find that the algorithm has decided for you to not show you the things we post, this is the best way to get caught up each week.
For more information about me and why this newsletter exists visit the website - Child Abuse Survivor.
Over on my other blog I wrote about what appears to be the death of big social media. Twitter/X seems to get worse everyday, Facebook has been overrun with ads and “suggested for you”, and Facebook Pages are just plain dead. I broke down the details in the post of how large a following my survivor site has on social platforms, and yet how few people actually see any of the posts when I share my blog posts there. It reached the point where I’ve just stopped paying attention to those accounts. It’s not worth putting in any more effort than just auto-posting blog posts and links for the handful of people who see them.
As I said in the post, Facebook telling freelancers and small business owners to create a second profile for that purpose seems more like an admission that they broke Facebook Pages and have no idea how to fix it. I’ve seen it over the last few years on my Facebook Page, but before I dismiss the idea that multiple profiles might help a few more people see the things they tried to follow that page to see, I created a profile just for this side of my online life.
Feel free to follow. Maybe it’ll help. I’m not holding my breath.
How are you interacting with social media these days?
New from the Blogs
Asking for Help Can Create Connection - So Does the Thank You
We've talked a lot about the importance of connection when it comes to mental health. Being connected to others is a great tool in suicide prevention, and we see study after study reporting on the negative effects of loneliness. One great way to create a connection among your friends is to ask for help when you need it. People, generally, like to help. The little bit of vulnerability it takes to ask for help can create a huge improvement in the connection between two people.
Unless, of course, you don't bother to acknowledge the help with a thank you.
Have You Used a Mental Health App Successfully?
So, dear readers. rather than assuming mental health apps don't work because I haven't done a good job of using them and letting them help me, let's have a conversation about what mental health apps have, or haven't, worked for you, and why. I'm curious to know what the crowd has to say, and what advice you would give others.
Linked - “Burnout is a relationship problem”: A conversation with Michael Leiter
Trust is going to have to be hard-earned in the tech industry after the last year. That's a shame because figuring out how to not burn out employees is going to take everyone working together.
Shared from Elsewhere
Photography Is Now a Prescribed Mental Health Treatment In the UK - It’s not going to be a cure for everyone, but as a hobbyist photographer myself, I see the benefits of noticing your surroundings, finding beauty in a moment and getting outside in nature. It’s not likely to hurt, at least.
This is a pretty deep subject that we gloss over too often, mostly because we tend to be uncomfortable with our bodies - Coming Back into Your Body as a Sexual Abuse Survivor
Writing about mental health with sensitivity in SFFH - I appreciate the Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror writers talking about the issue, especially the real research into links between mental health and violence.
Importance of Early Intervention in Mental Health: Do Early Interventions Really Make A Difference? - Yes. Yes they do. But most people don’t get them because they don’t know they need them until it’s no longer an “early” intervention.
The Raw Emotions: Expressing Mental Health Struggles Through Art
It’s hard for me to understand how wide-spread some of these still are today - Mental Health Myths and Facts: Dispelling Common Misconceptions
And, since it did fall during this week - Caring for the Mind: World Mental Health Day
From the Archives
Yes You Do Know Someone With Mental Health Issues
Stop right now, and think of the last 4 people you talked to during your day today. Chances are, one of them is dealing with a mental health issue, and at least one other is dealing with someone in their family with a mental health issue.
When It Comes to Family, There’s No Right Way
Sometimes, as survivors, we do everything we can to “keep the peace” within our families. All too often, we suppress our own well-being for the sake of keeping everyone else happy. The truth is though, that no one else needs to be happy with the choices we make when it comes to our own families, only we do.
French Catholic Church News Reminds Us Again – Boys Get Sexually Abused
Phil continues to talk more about some of the reasons for this, so please go read the whole piece, but the thing that I have seen so many times, including in my own experience, is that many times, male survivors have had it so ingrained in them that boys don’t get sexually assaulted, or raped, that they don’t even realize they were victims of sexual abuse until later in life. It usually takes hearing or reading some other male survivors telling their stories of abuse before they even put it together.
Thanks for reading. If you find this newsletter informative and helpful to you, spread the word. That’s the best way you can say thank you for the effort I put in each week.