Child Abuse Survivor - Issue #182
Mental Health Funding is Pure Chaos
If you missed the news last week, it started with the US federal government sending notifcation that billions of dollars in grants were being cancelled.
Twenty-four hours later, they cancelled the cancellation.
Mental Health and addiction services were left in limbo. As I said at the time it happened:
Sharing - Trump administration sends letter wiping out addiction, mental health grants
Make no mistake, gutting these programs will cause deaths, and that's acceptable to far too many people in this country who seem to think that this complete antipathy toward killing other human beings will somehow skip them when the time comes.
Update: A day later, HHS reversed course. Apparently, with enough pressure, even they will back down. I don't think they did this because they suddenly care about people dying, though.
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.
I stand by what I said, and agree with what Ben Miller has also said:
Mental health and addiction funding cannot be governed by impulse or spectacle. If you are serious about addressing mental health, stability has to be part of the strategy. That means clear communication, predictable funding, and respect for the systems and people who depend on it.
Playing politics with the lives of people who need these resources is callous, but they don’t care. They only care about keeping power and spending money on things that help them do that. Helping vulnerable people should be something to brag about and win elections on, but we are not that country.
I doubt we ever were. That goal seems a long way off right now, and getting there will require a lot of hard work, but it won’t happen if we can’t care about each other.
Are enough of us willing to do that?
New from the Blogs
When the New Year Self-improvement push does harm
The world most people live in doesn't afford them the time or money to keep up with all the self-improvement trends. Why would we shame them for doing what they can within the limitations they live with?
You can see how it’s not simple. Mental health across a generation of individuals defies every attempt at a one-size-fits-all narrative, because we are not all one size. On the other hand, our brains want a simple narrative because what they want more than anything else is a reason to think that this won’t happen to our kids or us. So we run to simple solutions like bees to a hive. Sometimes that causes us to miss a lot of the details.
Let’s hope we continue to see improvements, but understand that there are a host of things we can and should be doing that don’t involve social media at all.
The Mental Health Resource Shortage - Ohio Example
What was obvious to me when reading the list was that most, not all, of the counties without a shortage of mental health resources were relatively suburban. They offer numerous advantages compared to urban and rural areas. Good schools, safe neighborhoods, access to healthcare of all kinds, etc. If you win the zip code lottery and find yourself born into one of these areas, there's a fairly good chance that mental healthcare will be available for you if needed.
This article gathers input from multiple experts and continues for 28 paragraphs without once mentioning the employers’ expectation that we do all the things they tell us not to do.
It’s all well and good to point out that setting boundaries, saying no, ending our work day on time, etc., are good ways to avoid burnout. It’s another thing entirely for many of us to have that option in the first place.
Shared from Elsewhere
It’s interesting to consider how much survivors have to fight the urge to blame ourselves - Healing Self-Hatred After Childhood Abuse Journey
Do you have a safety plan? - Safety Plan: A Physical Resource for a Mental Health Crisis.
Extra Weekend Sleep Is Linked to Better Mental Health in Teens - Maybe we should look into why they don’t get enough sleep during the week, though?
Speaking of teens, school is an ideal place to support kids dealing with trauma, we just don’t do it very well - Researchers Press for a Rethinking of Childhood Trauma Support in Schools
One more for the kids - 15 Video Games For Kids That Openly Explore Mental Health
Breaking the Silence: How Storytelling Can Heal
Also - How Writing Helped a Survivor Heal – and Find Joy!
Somewhat related - The Hidden Mental Health Benefits of Books—and How to Squeeze More Reading (or Listening) Into Your Day.
Making a Difference:
MacKenzie Scott’s Latest Multimillion-Dollar Gift Aims to Combat a Mental Health Crisis
Lightning Nick Paul supports mental health through Points by Paul
Tuscaloosa man honoring late sister with mental health support group
Toms Founder Blake Mycoskie Is Back With ‘Enough’ Venture Focusing on Mental Health Awareness
From the Archives
The hard work is in looking at people who are different from us, who live different lives, make different choices, and recognize our common humanity. That’s what Dr. King was talking about. Not being blind to our differences, but being aware that we are all human and deserve respect based on that. So when a black man is lynched, or a prisoner dies from a lack of medical care, or someone struggling dies from suicide without access to mental healthcare, or because their own family won’t accept them for who they are, we fail as a society. We fail to see human life as human life.
Today, I was thinking about healing and overcoming an abusive childhood, and a similar thought occurred to me. If you're working on healing, are you surrounding yourself with people who help you toward that goal, either by being supportive, understanding, or who are simply people who inspire you to reach greater heights? Or, are you surrounding yourself with people who feel comfortable, but feed into all of the behaviors you are trying to unlearn?
We Teach Children all the Wrong Things
I came across this video of Emma Jean Taylor's TED Talk about child abuse the other day and wanted to share it with you. First, because, as the title of the video says, we teach kids to be wary of strangers all the time, but we don't teach them to also be wary of people they know, despite the fact that up to 90% of sexual abuse victims know the abuser.
Thanks for reading. If you find this newsletter informative and helpful, please share it with others. That’s the best way to express gratitude for my weekly efforts.