You’ve Already Done Hard Things
I am here to talk about childhood abuse and mental health. Surviving either of those is hard. Growing up in an abusive situation is hard.
We’ve already done hard things, but we don’t give ourselves credit. Typically, we do the opposite, blaming ourselves for the trauma or our mental health struggles, thus seeing ourselves as weak, the kind of people who can’t do hard things. That carries over into all aspects of our lives. We don’t take risks in jobs, relationships, and other areas because we don’t think we’re capable, and we don’t think we could survive failure.
Which is weird, given how much we have survived. But I’ve been there, and I understand it. I had to start all over again as an adult, doing difficult things and surviving when things didn’t always go as planned. I had to prove to myself that I could learn new skills. Realistically, I had to prove to myself that I could take care of myself as an adult by learning how. But every time I questioned whether I could do it, I looked back at what I had survived and reminded myself that I’d done hard things.
We Still Have to Talk About Why Sexual Assault Victims, Including Kids, Don’t Come Forward
When you read all the reasons, the obvious question isn't why survivors wait so long, but why they ever talk about it at all. Gabi has some reasons, including the opportunity to access resources that can help with healing. Keeping it a secret and never finding a safe place to talk about it is not suitable for anyone. The decision to go "public" or to court should not be taken lightly. We've all seen too many stories of what happens in a legal proceeding and the court of public opinion to survivors. As a society, we should be better than that.
Another Personal Note - You Have to Take the First Steps
In fact, let me share a little secret. Even as they were happening, I wasn't 100% sure about them. But I had an experience that I could point to say and "We made it through that". That was huge. Over the years, we face each new challenge with increasing confidence because of what we've already been through. You don't gain that confidence by not doing anything new.
How to Make Sure Someone is “Seen”
It doesn’t sound like much. At the same time, we see so little of this in our daily interactions that it doesn’t take much to stand out as a good partner, friend, or boss. The bar is not set very high, but it does require sitting still with someone and focusing on them for that time.
How often can most of us say we do that?
Making Mental Health Just a Thing We Do at Work
As a leader, you set the tone. You can encourage your people to take advantage of the EAP all you want, but if you never unplug and never show any concern for your own mental health, they will follow you right down that path. You have the opportunity to do something differently and truly care for yourself and your employees.
Sharing - The startling emotional health benefits of serving others
It seems some solutions to our current loneliness epidemic are sitting right in front of us. It starts with taking the initiative to help others.