Growing up, I was not allowed to say the word “perfect.” It was a parenting technique used to help my brother and me keep from obsessing over details or getting disappointed over a B in school. My parents didn’t want us to think their love was conditional. They made it clear they expected us to try our best, and we should strive for “good enough.”
The mental health profession, unfortunately, lacks diversity. The American Psychological Association found that 86% of practitioners are white, with other races making up less than 5% each. In a nation that continues to not just get more diverse, but is also becoming more open in talking about mental health, it’s important for people of color to not just find, but have access to therapists who look like them.
Earlier this week, we mentioned the Britney Spears documentary that has sent social media in a frenzy. As we mentioned in our Monday post, many have used the documentary to reflect about how the culture at the time vilified, sexualized, and mocked a celebrity in her late teens and early 20s to the point that it likely contributed to the mental health issues that became the center of her celebrity status.
About 80% of people make a New Year’s Resolution every year. Some of the more common New Years Resolutions are to exercise more, eat healthier and to lose weight. Even though New Years Resolutions are so popular, very few are sticking to that resolution after a few months. I will admit, I am the first one in the gym on January 2nd and sometimes my goals sputter out around February. This year has been no exception with trying to exercise more and eat better but, I have a new mindset this year about setting goals!
The blog post includes mentions of sexual assault. Please read with caution if any of these items triggers or upsets you.
If you’ve been on social media at all these past couple of weeks, you have most likely come across at least one person talking about the “Britney documentary.” Earlier this month, the New York Times released a documentary on Hulu about Britney Spears’ current situation and provides some background as to why she is there. For those who haven’t seen the documentary, Framing Britney Spears discusses how one of the biggest popstars in history has been in a legal battle with her father due to the conservator relationship they have. For the past few years, her father has been acting as her guardian, legally allowed to make all of her decisions for her because of her mental health.
Podcasts are everywhere these days, and that’s a good thing! Especially now, when stay-at-home orders are still in place and social distancing is still encouraged, even in places that are opening up, podcasts can provide some sort of substitute for the busy background noise and conversations that you may be used to in your schools, a coffee shop, or large public places like malls. They can be educational and informative, explore topics you never even thought of before, and most of the time, have at least the smallest amount of much-needed humor.
Obviously, social media is a form of communication. However, compared to our offline lives, where we’re likely not talking to more than a few people at a time, being on social media can feel like yelling out to the whole entire world, where your words can be seen by anyone, everyone, and with many of whom have the ability to respond.
I wanted to talk about something that I recently realized other people with mental health issues also experienced. Personally, I know that I always sign up for way too many commitments and responsibilities that, realistically, I can’t follow through on or complete to the best of my abilities due to a lack of time.
Over the last two semesters, I have had to sacrifice a lot of things due to COVID and it was really hard. I spent a lot of time feeling bitter and sorry for myself. I backslid into old habits of sleeping all day and staying up all night, of snapping at people when they spoke to me, and worst of all, not feeling much of anything.
Recent Comments