How we’re treating this situation, how our press is handling it, is a microcosm of some of the shortfalls of how we handle most health situations that arise in our society.
Took the “stories” poll, & you spoke loudly: 78% of you believe our traditional media & our SM feed is dominated MORE by outbreak #s, overwhelming fear, lack of supplies, & death rates, than it is by things like: HOW we cope, the importance of sharing our feelings, & discussion abt the best strategies to thrive & take advantage of these challenges.
When I first started healing, an organizer of a fbook grp found my story on Medium, & asked if I’d join them. The name of the grp (alias to protect them), was: “The Inability To Think Clearly” grp. They reached out bc they’d searched stories of ppl w cognitive dysfunction & came across mine.
It was made up of over 1K global members. We set up a Skype session so I could attempt to share what I’d learned in the process of digging out of my own cognitive hole. It felt like a productive 2 hr session, so I stayed in this private grp.
But here’s what I noticed: every day, the page was a vent fest. After sharing helpful info w each other for a few days, I began to wake up to posts of: “How many of you have felt this miserable feeling”? “How many of you are hating life now”? I eventually had to leave the grp for my own MH.
I get it – difficult times suck. Sharing fear is human nature. But if I learned anything abt my hell, it’s that the best way to ensure you stay STUCK, is to keep talking predominantly abt how bad it is.
Our traditional media gets us started, & then our SM (not all, but the majority) fans the flames. Fear layers on top of fear.
The Corona situation reminds me so much of how our MH is discussed in the media, then SM: (all disorders, labels, statistics, erratic behaviors)- what gets eyeballs.
If we shift the focus to how we can stay positive, open up, cope, strategies to strive (maybe we won’t get as many eyeballs)…& won’t sell as much TP, but we’ll be much healthier. My cry to you all is – in the downtime you have, SHARE what you see others share that are POSITIVES. Let’s do our part to make a shift happen!
