CN: Explicit descriptions and in depth discussion of chronic pain, abuse, medical neglect, gaslighting, and oppression through poverty. Discussion of sexual assault, trauma, mental and illness. Mention of genitals. There is a disconnect between the experience of a patient and the experience of a medical professional, one that worsens if the patient’s illness is chronic or not easily explained. As more and more stories of medical neglect as a result of marginalization are brought to …Read More
Tag: abuse
How Lizzo Helped Me Grow into “My Skin“
CN: mention of cancer, racism, domestic violence, and trauma. I first found out about the singer and performer Lizzo on an early episode of Phoebe Robinson’s podcast, “Sooo Many White Guys.” The podcast is an amazing combo of comedy and digging into the important topics and it features exclusively entertainers and activists from multiple marginalized groups, particularly people of color. As such, I had never heard of most of her guests and it was an …Read More
Understanding the Coping Mechanisms of Victims of Abuse
CN: extensive discussion of the experience of abusive relationships, physical abuse. There are many articles about identifying characteristics of abusive relationships, what being abused feels like, and the aftermath of being abused. But making the decision to leave an abusive relationship is exceedingly difficult, and actually doing it is harder still since doing so safely often takes time and strategic planning. While you are still trapped in the world of abuse, you have to find …Read More
Why I Stopped Taking Anti-Depressants
CN: gaslighting, abuse, money, in-depth discussion of the symptoms and treatment of borderline personality disorder, medication, and mental illness; mention of suicide. As I discussed recently, the use of medication to treat mental illness is the target of a lot of undeserved societal stigma; however, it’s a tool that comes with many challenges in managing side effects, finding the right balance of brain chemistry for you, and for some people, it simply doesn’t work. In …Read More
How to Lend a Hand in a Mental Health Crisis Part 5: Seeking Solutions
CN: mental health crisis’, mental health management; brief mention of a variety of mental health based issues and abuse. The fifth and final installment of Lucy Merriman’s guide to offering mental health support when you yourself are not a trained mental health worker, is possibly the most universally helpful of all the parts. It includes some extremely useful problem solving techniques, basic guidelines to finding the info you need to help you move forward, and …Read More
Yes, Black Girls Matter
Content Note: in depth discussion of the effects of domestic abuse and sexual assault, R Kelly, abuse of minors, and racism; mention of religion. This also piece links to several articles with in depth descriptions of sexual assault, and many do not include content notes. Today’s guest post by Clarity J is a perfect example of what Yopp does best. The R. Kelly story originally peaked about a month and a half ago, but Yopp …Read More
How to Lend a Hand in a Mental Health Crisis Part 4: Educate, Normalize, & Comfort
This week’s guest post is Part 4 in a five-part series that looks at how to fill the gaps in our current mental health care system on an individual basis. Lucy Merriman has been guiding us through information about mental health crisis hotlines, basic skills needed to offer support to a person in crisis, and in-depth information about how to guide someone to the other side of whatever they are going through. These posts contain …Read More
How to Lend a Hand in a Mental Health Crisis Part 2: Mindset, Limit Setting, and Safety Assessment
This week’s guest post is Part 2 in a series that looks at the gaps in our current mental health care system and provides information on how to fill those gaps on an individual basis. Today’s post covers the preparation needed to skillfully offer support to a friend if you don’t have the resources to become a trained crisis worker but still want tools to help your friend when in a crisis. CN: discussion of …Read More
How to Lend a Hand in a Mental Health Crisis Part 1: Enlisting the Help of a Crisis Hotline
Today’s guest post is part 1 of a series that looks at the gaps in our current mental health care system and provides information on how to fill those gaps on an individual basis. This piece is really the epitome of the category, “What Can I Do?” It gives us the tools we need to face problems far larger than we can control on our own. CN: in depth discussion of suicide and suicide ideation, …Read More
Comorbidity: What Are the Chances?
CN: Discussion of Statistics in relations to disability, other social issues, sexual assault, and abuse. There are times when I am talking to someone about my life- about the fact that I’m scared of new proposed laws making it harder for me to survive in Ontario, or about how I’m one particularly unlucky day away from being homeless – when I get the feeling like the person I’m talking to thinks I’m exaggerating. They get …Read More