From the Archives March 13, 2026
The off-week trip through 24 years of blog posts.
How People Talking About It Helped Me
They have proven to me that this is normal and that we can get through this. Simply by talking about how they have.
Financial Stress and Mental Health
The stress of financial instability is not something that we can eliminate with positive vibes. Being on the verge of poverty or in poverty is a mental health risk factor unto itself. No self-help apps will provide for you if you're laid off or prevent you from becoming homeless or hungry as the cost of living continues to outpace your income.
Frozen in Time As Innocent Victims
The truth is that the ones who survive are likely to suffer from PTSD and/or other mental health issues, and those issues don't always look so pretty. The same is true of abuse survivors. Those innocent children we see in the photos may very well grow up to be troubled teenagers or adults with mental health issues and lacking in social skills. We might well have been a little preoccupied with simply surviving childhood instead of developing at the same rate as other children, so as adults, we may not come across as well.
Sharing - Language That Deepens Trauma Instead of Healing It
The amount of courage and effort it took to tell you deserves more than a dismissive comment.
How Even Advocates Shame Victims
Advocates, if you genuinely want to support survivors, shout to the rooftops about how damaging abuse is and why it should never be tolerated. I support you 100%.
Let’s try to find a way that doesn’t also involve telling survivors that they are irredeemable, alright? We have enough undeserved shame to overcome; don’t add to it.
Sharing - Ending Mental Health Stigma Takes More Than Talking
Not talking about it won’t get us anywhere. But we need to do more than talk; we need to figure out better ways to treat people who need it and make it accessible. That doesn’t happen until all of society understands its importance and is truly educated about it. So, keep talking, but also keep demanding better.