Child Abuse Survivor - Issue #194
The theme for this week seems to be sharing resources
I don’t know if this is the calendar flipping to July or just random luck, but lately it seems like I’ve been coming across more and more posts sharing a bunch of resources.
I’m not mad at it.
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.
The reality is, we all need access to good information and resources. So, in that vein, I’m changing up the newsletter format a bit this time around to start by highlighting some of the new resources I’ve found in the last two weeks.
Resources
Sharing - Don’t look away: Have a conversation about online safety today
This resource seems like something worth sharing. We spend so much time talking about online safety, banning phones until a certain age, or banning social media, and not enough time making sure we prepare kids for the dangers of being online at all. It’s like banning a child from leaving the house without a parent and then sending them to school with no skills for navigating other people on their own. At some point, kids learning about appropriate and inappropriate behavior and having a safe place to talk about it have to be the priority.
Sharing - How Everyday Decisions Can Protect Children
These actions aren't just specific actions that protect children; they're the kinds of actions that come naturally when kids have an adult actively involved in their lives every day, the kind of involvement that would notice a nervous pause before answering, an odd comment that seems out of character, a small detail in a story about other people.
Related:
Sharing - Child Abuse Prevention In America (videos & articles)
And, for survivors, Resources for Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
This is also a good time to remind you that there’s an app built into my page to help you find a helpline wherever you are located:
https://www.childabusesurvivor.net/reviews/find-help/
Shared from Elsewhere
We could create a workplace where people could work from the coffee shop and interact with other humans in person. Where they didn’t spend so much time working that they could use that saved commute time to attend community events. We just don’t. Instead, we expect remote workers to be available all the time; we tie them up in meetings for 5-6 hours a day because that’s how we “keep an eye” on them, and still expect them to hit all their deliverables.
Related - Is Remote Work Bad For Mental Health? Not If You Ask Women
This is some interesting research, showing the possibility that there’s a difference in how the brain handles trauma as a small child versus as a teen. Both are damaging, but the damage is different. - Age at which childhood abuse occurs is associated with distinct brain activity in adulthood
Things are never as easy as some people would like you to believe when they are selling explanations:
Interesting thing to ponder: Feeling summertime sadness? Seasonal affective disorder is not just a winter thing
Making a Difference:
Logan coffee shop owner works to break stigma around men’s mental health
Restoring dignity one haircut at a time in Kenya’s largest mental health hospital
For All Seasons launches course for LGBTQ+ mental health support
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.