Child Abuse and Mental Health Survivors Information - Issue #44
Hope you have a good, restful, weekend. We all need rest. It's good for us not only physically, but mentally as well. Here are some things to read while you relax.
New From the Blogs
Sharing - Adult Loneliness Is Linked to Childhood Trauma — www.childabusesurvivor.net I've felt this and I've talked about it many times before. Children forced to deal with a lot of trauma do that instead of learning about our place in the world, and in respect to other people. So would this be any surprise?
Sharing - the challenge of normalising — www.childabusesurvivor.net For many of us, child abuse was normal. Not because there is anything remotely acceptable about it, but because it happened to us. Turning away from our stories and ignoring our voices because you don't want to think about it isn't good enough. We don't have that choice. We deserve more than being kept silent in order for you not to be upset by our realities.
Sharing - How to Take Personal Responsibility With Your Boundary Setting — www.childabusesurvivor.net I think Brittany makes an important point about boundaries in the post below. Most commonly when we talk about setting boundaries we talk about what we won't accept from other people. That's important, but it's also important and healthy to consider how we protect ourselves.
Linked: Three-quarters of employees’ careers impacted by mental health, report finds — www.mikemcbrideonline.com I think a little anxiety and anger are appropriate now. Being distracted from your work should actually be a pretty normal reaction to what is going on in the world. Just replace your own national politics for the UK in that survey and can you really say that something hasn't prevented you from being your best at work during the last couple of years? I'm in the US, I think it's crazy that there are people going about their work as if nothing is happening, but I also know that is the corporate culture for many of us as well. For the hours you are "at" work, that's our time. Spend your own time worrying about the world, grieving for lost loved ones, caring for your family, or your own needs, etc. This is wrong on so many levels. Your people are not hours of labor on a spreadsheet, they are human beings, and human beings should absolutely be affected by what is going on in the world. Expecting them not to be during work hours tells me a lot more about the management team than it does about the workforce. It surely doesn't say anything good about the management team either.
Shared From Elsewhere
I'm Listening: Find resources to support your mental health — www.audacy.com Our resources page provides a comprehensive overview of programs for you or your loved ones to contribute to your overall well-being and mental health.
10 Stories About Men's Mental Health You Really Need to Read — themighty.com Senior editor for mental health Matt Sloan curates 10 stories about men's mental health. Men aren't weak for showing emotions and struggling with their mental health, and this stigma is harming men across the world.
Preventing suicide is everybody’s business: a global perspective — www.nationalelfservice.net #LancetSuicideSeminar - Ravivarma Rao Panirselvam summarises the recently published Lancet Seminar on Suicide and Self-Harm.
You’re Allowed to Feel Emotions – TWLOHA — twloha.com Emotional repression is a tactic to avoid feeling intense and uncomfortable things. But it is a short-term "fix" that ultimately hurts us.
James Bay: ‘To be a man talking about mental health still doesn’t feel accepted’ — www.telegraph.co.uk He had a number one album, three Grammy nominations and a Brit – yet Bay was floored by imposter syndrome. He opens up about the male taboo
From the Archives
Quick Thought #19 - Loneliness and Toxic Positivity — www.childabusesurvivor.net I don't think that's it. Not completely anyway. I think the real damage social media has done is to make toxic positivity popular. For every person celebrating their "good vibes only" lifestyle, there are at least 2-3 people who have lost a friend because they've been cut out by someone unwilling to be with them in their pain. After all, if the goal is to eliminate all the negative people in your life, where do people go when they are in pain, grieving, or simply need support? Nothing makes you lonelier than having no one to turn to during those times, and, increasingly, the message we are getting is to aspire to be that uncaring towards people in need.
Sharing - When Males Have Been Sexually Abused as Children: A Guide for Men — www.childabusesurvivor.net The resources listed are specific to Canada, but I looked at the booklet and I think there is a lot of really useful information for male survivors, or anyone trying to support male survivors.