I think we have to accept that we have as much of an issue openly discussing WORKING on our MH, as we do openly discussing our challenges.
Normalization campaigns have existed for decades now – trying to get folks to open up, be more vulnerable, & share. But what about once we do all of those things? What’s next? What does help look like?
I think the common misconception that drives this, is that there are specifically two ways of getting help: 1) meds, 2) “talk” therapy/counseling. There is SO little discussed around trauma releasing & rewiring exercises.
Gonna throw out some stats we found last night, while working on a grant: 19.2% of ppl in the US last year, went for “MH treatment.” At the same time 15.8% got help from Rx drugs, & 9.5% from what was deemed MH “counseling.”
The images conjured from those stats – sitting on a couch, getting your brain “shrunk” as you hope the pills give you a boost – no wonder why ppl ask “what’s wrong?”
Yoga, meditation, qigong, havening, tai chi, TRE, tapping & many more – these are all ACTIVE practices we can do. It’s why we call them collectively – STARR: Stress & Trauma ACTIVE Release & Rewiring. We need to be active to work on ourselves.
It’s a “Gym for our Brains.” Words, images, language – it all matters.
Can’t wait for the day when working on our brains – one is considered a warrior as well. And we WILL get there as a society. Richard Simmons “Sweating To The Oldies” led to gyms on every corner. Change does happen.
