Revue newsletter for Child Abuse Survivor - Issue #31
New From the Blogs
It's Been a Rough Week So I'm Reminding Myself of These Things — www.childabusesurvivor.net Even when there are things in the world that I do not have the power to change, I use my own words to remind myself that there are things I CAN do. I can look after the people around me. I can add my voice to support mental health, survivors, and marginalized groups. I can find ways to contribute to making the world a better place in some small ways while also encouraging others to do the same. This also serves as a great reminder to myself that writing here about these topics is never a waste. I just found some hope by going back and reading what I wrote. Who knows who else might read these words and find a little hope too? That is another small thing I can do that is more useful than wallowing in my anxiety.
Sharing - Depression in Kids: All You Need to Know — www.childabusesurvivor.net Getting kids help as early as possible gives them a much better chance to have less depression and fewer effects as adults. Imagine how many people might have been able to develop mentally healthy strategies instead of devolving into worse conditions if it was common for kids to have access to mental health resources? Please, don't ignore signs of depression and mental health struggles in kids. Yes, they can be resilient, but the research clearly shows that they aren't as resilient as we think they are, and waiting to get access to help is doing more damage. In this case, it is better to be safe. The worst thing that happens is a kid gets some time to talk to a therapist who determines that it's not depression but something else. This is not a bad thing, even if the stigma surrounding it says it is.
Sharing - How building a support system helps my mental health — www.childabusesurvivor.net What I really enjoyed about the list of things Anya uses to support her own well-being is that some of them are simple activities, yoga, reading, knitting, etc. Many of us think of our support network when it comes to addiction, mental health, healing trauma, etc., in terms of the people around us. That's an important part of it, yes, but there are also the things we do to support ourselves. Those are important too. My list of support activities doesn't look at all like Anya's, but it's there. Getting out and taking photos, learning new technologies, writing, listening to podcasts, etc. Those things keep me connected and involved with the things that interest me, and they are an important part of taking care of my mental health.
Sharing - Depression Without Sadness: What to Know — www.childabusesurvivor.net Numb is exactly the word I would use to describe what I felt. I didn't look sad, and I didn't cry. I didn't talk about my negative emotions. I simply felt nothing. I had lost the ability to feel sad, happy, hopeful, angry, etc. Nothing made any difference, and nothing mattered. Often we describe depression as sadness, and our media depictions are of people looking and acting sad. We can't forget that there are also times when depression doesn't look like that, it might look like numbness, and it might look like anger and irritation.
Shared From Elsewhere
3 Ways Early Emotional Neglect Interferes with Happiness | Psychology Today — www.psychologytoday.com ... and 3 key steps to acceptance and even joy.
Fight, Flight… or Freeze? – TWLOHA — twloha.com Fight, flight, or freeze, and how it relates to sexual assault.
The Power of Voice: It’s OK to Tell - Lauren's Kids — laurenskids.org Today we want to honor the power of voice, and how powerful survivors' voices can be — that it's "OK to tell," and that it's OK to heal, too.
The historical roots of racial disparities in the mental health system - Counseling Today — ct.counseling.org Understanding the past enables new ways of addressing current implications and identified barriers, including how schizophrenia became a “black disease,” why prisons emerged where hospitals once stood, and how racial disparities continue to exist in the mental health system today.
The Importance of Mental Health During Sexual Assault Awareness Month | Mental Health America — mhanational.org April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and any conversation about sexual trauma should include its impact on mental health.
Dissociation Is More Than Just Spacing Out — www.popsugar.com Dissociation is the disconnection of the mind from current reality. Learn more about the causes and symptoms of dissociation and dissociative disorders.
From the Archives
Sharing - Persuading a Loved One to Seek Mental Health Support — www.childabusesurvivor.net There are quite a few ideas to consider before you talk to someone you love that I highly encourage you to read. The last thing you want to do is create a situation where they feel judged or stigmatized but it happens more often than it should. (It should never happen, we aren't even close to that.) However, there is one thing that I have found really helps whenever someone is talking about their own mental health issues, or feeling embarrassed about considering therapy for themselves and it's quoted right there in this article: "If you’ve gone to therapy, you can share your experiences with them, too. It can help to let them know they aren’t alone in seeking help. "
Link - I don’t have a ‘pre-trauma’ identity. So I’m developing my identity. — www.childabusesurvivor.net A lot of trauma survivors, talk about how they miss who they used to be. They miss their ‘pre-trauma’ self/identity. For many of us, however, who were severely abused from a very young age, we don’t have a ‘pre-trauma’ identity. This is something people will not fully comprehend, unless they have personally endured this. Part...
Sharing - How my Facebook post about suicide uncovered so much hidden male pain and suffering — www.childabusesurvivor.net I have managed to be somewhat successful by society's standard. I am also a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. To assume that must mean I wasn't that hurt by it, is to tell me that you know nothing of my life, or the lives of thousands of other men like me. Is it any wonder so many don't come forward and talk about it? But, as the article below points out, there are too many men in pain, with nowhere to go, for us to not talk about it. They deserve better.
Sharing - Prison is no place for people with mental illnesses. I know because I was in one — www.childabusesurvivor.net There is a direct link between the growing prison population and the lack of mental health resources. The only difference is that we can scare people into paying to build more prisons and keep "dangerous people" away from us. It's much harder to convince people to invest in prevention through mental health treatment, even if that would be much more effective in protecting everyone.