Revue newsletter for Child Abuse Survivor - Issue #28
New from the Blogs
Sharing - 11 Things People Wish They Were Told After Someone Dies — www.childabusesurvivor.net There were also people who simply weren't there. People we thought we could depend on, and they just didn't show up. I have always suspected that many of them simply didn't know what to say, so they stayed away. What they didn't realize is that I never needed them to say the right thing, I just needed to know they were there. When they weren't, it just added more grief. Your words are not what's important. Your words can't heal someone grieving. But your presence is everything.
Have You Ever Wanted to Learn More About Panic Attacks? — www.childabusesurvivor.net If you've ever had one, or if someone you know has talked about having panic attacks and you'd like to understand and possibly help if necessary, you might be interested in this free online course.
Sharing - Why Is It So Hard to Explain Mental Illness? — www.childabusesurvivor.net In 2022 we could say the same thing about "sad" but I would argue that we see the same thing even more so with the word "anxious" or "having anxiety". Of course, with a war going on in Ukraine, two years' worth of pandemic, political turmoil, and everything else we see when we tune into whatever news source we follow, almost everyone would consider themselves anxious, so how do we differentiate between being anxious about the state of the world, and the kind of anxiety where we are consistently dealing with panic attacks at the very thought of leaving the house? We don't have a different word for that. We only have anxiety, or panic, which again, just seem like normal reactions to what is going on around us. On top of that, when I try and describe my anxiety to someone, even if I can get them to understand that it's something more than just watching the news and feeling a bit nervous, I can't really describe it. I don't understand it. If I did, I might be able to just fix it and be better, but I don't.
Sharing - Mental Health - Keep talking about it. Make it public and open — www.childabusesurvivor.net I 100% agree with Alison on this, we are not comfortable talking about mental health, and we aren't comfortable even hearing someone else talk about it:
Shared from Elsewhere
Breaking The Stigma: You Are Not Alone - CBS New York — www.cbsnews.com We are breaking the stigma on talking about mental illness. It's a conversation that can be difficult, but can save lives.
Providing Better Mental Healthcare Post-Pandemic | Psychology Today — www.psychologytoday.com Next wave of the pandemic: Addressing unmet mental health needs.
More Latino men are dying by suicide even as national rate declines | TPR — www.tpr.org While still jarringly high, U.S. suicide rates fell in 2019 and again in 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month. But there were some stark outliers. Notably, suicides among Latino men increased by nearly 6%.
How to lower your stress in traumatic times | Popular Science — www.popsci.com With so many crises going on across the globe, each day can seem overwhelming. Use these tips to manage your mental health in stressful times.
Discrimination of any kind can lead to much higher risk of mental and behavioral issues for young people, study finds — www.cnn.com Young adults who experience discrimination about their bodies, race, age or sex have a greater risk of dealing with mental health problems, a new study has found. Psychologists have advice for people facing such mistreatment.
From the Archives
Why I Don't Tell People I'm Struggling Either — www.childabusesurvivor.net When Laura talks about the reactions she's afraid of getting she is 100% correct. A big part of why I hesitate often to tell people when I'm struggling, feeling incredibly anxious, depressed, or just mentally out of sorts is because I absolutely do not want to hear about how many other people are struggling worse. I already know there are a lot of people struggling. People who don't have the resources I do, don't have the support I do, with poor physical health issues or being a part of an underprivileged group, etc. I know, and I understand that I am privileged to have the things that I do and the tools to try and take care of myself that others do not. And yet, my struggles are still struggles. If I am telling you about them it's because I need someone to know. I need to be heard. I need to explain what is happening in my own head to someone who will listen to me. I am not negating anyone else's struggle by talking about my own. Please understand when I, or someone else you know, comes to you and tells you that they are struggling with our mental health, it has likely taken all of our energy just to gather up the courage to tell anyone, so when you deflect like this it's devastating to us. We carry these heavy, heavy, burdens with us every single day of our lives and we simply need someone to recognize them and maybe help us a little bit every now and again.
My Story on the Blue Radio Podcast — www.childabusesurvivor.net Grateful for another chance to talk to fellow survivors on this week's episode of the Blue Radio Show Podcast. Thanks to Helia for reaching out and asking
What's So Toxic About Positivity Anyway? — www.childabusesurvivor.net This is really my biggest problem. Sometimes, sadness, grief, anger, and uncertainty are entirely appropriate, so why are we telling people to ignore those emotions? Look at it this way, when we watched George Floyd's death on video, we all felt something, and it probably wasn't all that pleasant. Or, when we read the overwhelming number of deaths from COVID, we felt something. Maybe we all didn't feel exactly the same thing, but we all felt something, and maybe most of all we felt a need to do something about it. If we had simply flipped the page and focused on what we are grateful for, we weren't changing anything, we aren't doing the things we need to do to keep ourselves safe and well. We are just ignoring it.