Revue newsletter for Child Abuse Survivor - Issue #32
New From the Blogs
Sharing - Here’s How to Actually Talk to Little Kids About Sex — www.childabusesurvivor.net Since you didn't, and school isn't allowed to, teach them someone else will. It might be online or in person, but there is nothing more attractive to real pedophiles than kids who lack the basic skills and open communication with adults to tell on them. Kids who are aware of their bodies and their place in the world can openly talk about sex with trusted and safe adults, understand what it means to be LGBTQ in some basic fashion and what to do when someone makes them feel threatened, making for poor targets. That's not grooming; that's teaching them basic self-defense. That's teaching them the truth and the basics of reality. I know a lot of supporters and people in the child abuse community don't want to hear this, but I will not stand by while we practice things that make children less safe. Lacking knowledge about these topics does that. You're not protecting them. You're endangering them.
Sharing - Ideas to Self-Soothe When Trauma Makes You Feel Unloved — www.childabusesurvivor.net There are two things I want you to think about here. 1. Save the things that comfort you to look at, listen to, read, etc. Whatever works for you on a hard day to feel a bit better, save those. Encourage other people to do the same. 2. Send more messages that people can save to make them feel less alone on a hard day. I love that the first response a friend had to hearing Monika saved messages like this, and might have lost them, was to send exactly that kind of message. So hey, send more of those. Remind people in your life that you appreciate them and care about them. In personal and professional relationships, just say thank you in meaningful ways. You never know who saves those messages to get them through the days they don't feel good enough. I do. I bet people around you do too.
Sharing - Our View: It’s time to recognize, research, and remove environmental causes of mental illness — www.childabusesurvivor.net We have only recently realized that childhood trauma can change the way our brains develop, or that concussions can change our brains permanently. We are still learning the details of how that happens and in the very early stages of figuring out how to treat that. Could living in a polluted area do something similar? Of course. Why wouldn't we believe that? It's another example of something we are just beginning to understand about our brains and mental health.
Shared from Elsewhere
Statistics show sexual abuse may be more common than you think. | Alishah Savage | NewsBreak Original — original.newsbreak.com Advocacy and Awareness for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. April is Sexual Assault Awareness month. This campaign is supported by the government as well as non-government organizations. The main goal of SAAM is to raise awareness concerning the prevention of sexual assault and learn the concept of consent. The aim also includes education in understanding the importance of boundaries.
The Grief of 1 Million COVID Deaths Is Not Going Away - The Atlantic — www.theatlantic.com Millions of people are still mourning loved ones lost to COVID, their grief intensified, prolonged, and even denied by the politics of the pandemic.
Retiring? Beware of the Risks to Your Mental Health in Retirement — www.carlacorelli.com Retirement can be a time of great joy and happiness, but it can also come with some significant risks to your mental health.
6 Reminders That Healing After Sexual Violence Is Possible (and 6 More Messages of Support) — themighty.com We asked our contributor network members who have experienced sexual abuse or sexual assault to share some reminders that healing after sexual violence is possible.
Linked: Mental Health America's new Mind the Workplace 2022 Report: — www.mikemcbrideonline.com Something to check out. Mental Health America's new Mind the Workplace 2022 Report: An Employer's Responsibility to Employee Mental Health seeks to answer
From the Archives
Some Concrete Ways You Can Support Someone Struggling With Their Mental Health — www.childabusesurvivor.net But, I will ask challenge you to go read the article because whether you give a coupon or not, the ideas are solid examples of the kinds of things you can do for someone you care about who is struggling. Often we avoid someone who we know is struggling because we are uncomfortable, not knowing what to do to help them. Well, here you go. Here are 21 things you can do. If you're in proximity to the person, you can help them with necessary chores like laundry or grocery shopping, or simply accompany them on a walk. If you are maintaining contact with them at a distance, you can still have coffee together, offer a safe place to vent, or assist them with medicine copays. There are plenty of other ideas in the coupons and maybe just thinking about some of these examples will inspire some ideas of your own that would be appreciated by the folks you know. What else? What can you do for the folks who need someone to simply be there and offer to help do something? Anything. Or, what was something that someone did for you when you were struggling? What do you wish someone had done? Feel free to share your own ideas.
Quick Thought #11 - We're All On the Roller-coaster — www.childabusesurvivor.net I remember when I was younger how much I loved going to Kings Island or Cedar Point in Ohio for the ultimate coaster experiences. The up and down, the
Forgotten Children and Adults — www.childabusesurvivor.net I don't know if it's a coincidence, but I've seen four different articles in the last week that all point to something that has always bothered me about