From the Archives - May 8, 2026
The off-week trip through 24 years of blog posts.
Quick Thought #19 - Loneliness and Toxic Positivity
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 need support?
Another Tool in Abuse Prevention - Community
This is where the community comes in. Kids with strong connections to safe adults are less likely to be targeted and more likely to tell if they are. LGBTQ kids are less likely to struggle with suicidal ideation when they have adults who accept them as they are. Kids dealing with anxiety and depression have better outcomes when they have safe adults to talk through their emotions with, who can support them through difficult times. I've discussed at length the importance of strong relationships with parents as the best preventive measure we have for keeping children safe and supported. I've also discussed, on my other site, the importance of work-life balance and inclusivity in the workplace for parents. That's what it takes to be a community that supports families' success.
Rock Bottom Revisited - A Personal Story
More importantly, though, look at the photo above. That is what is left of Earl K. Long Hospital. A "closed" sign behind a barbed-wire fence on an empty lot overgrown with weeds. The building was demolished a few years ago. None of the people who treated me and helped me take the first few steps out of rock bottom are there. They've all gone off to different places. Nothing about that place is the same as it was 20 years ago. And very little about me is the same as it was 20 years ago.
Are We Past Stigmatizing Mental Health Issues?
The people who have depression that is debilitating aren’t doing interviews. We don’t see people who are homeless and in need of mental health treatment on our Instagram feeds calmly chatting about their depression or anxiety. We don’t watch people have manic episodes or delusions on TV very often. Those people are out there, too, and you wouldn’t use the same words to describe your bad day as you would what those folks are going through.
But we don’t have different words. Just different impacts for different people, where some of the impacts carry very little stigma, while others carry a ton.
Having fun is time that could be spent on any of these accomplishments.
I’d flip that around. What’s the point of all of those accomplishments if you never have any fun?
Do me a favor. Go do something fun this week, just because it's fun for you. No one else needs to get it, and it doesn't have to serve some higher purpose. Having fun is purpose enough.