I’m still thinking about Robby and how The Pitt is trying to show people the severe impact that trauma and mental illness can have on people and how people still don’t get it two seasons in. (Or maybe they just don’t want to get it.)
People without mental illness and who haven’t experienced trauma have no idea how hard it is to talk about, let alone heal, from it. And when I say it’s hard to talk about, I mean that in multiple senses of the word:
Traumatic experiences and/or mental illness are hard to describe/explain.
You may lack of the vocabulary/jargon for describing abstract thoughts and feelings.
There are conflicting descriptions that are all still true.
You’ve ever talked about it before. You don’t want to rehash it all again.
You don’t know where to begin.
You’re daunted by the scope of everything you’ll need to comb through, and you’re not sure if it’s worth unpacking.
You haven’t found a doctor who believes/understands/supports you properly.
You’re not on the right med(s), so discussing your trauma or mental illness can range from difficult to impossible.
You have no support system to fall back on.
You feel drained after every conversation.
You lack the money or insurance required to get the care you need.
It’s retraumatizing to talk about it.
You experience PTSD symptoms.
Your mouth/body will physically not allow you to speak of it. (Think selective mutism.)
There is a great physical and emotional toll that recovery takes on your mind/body.
Your brain will “erase” or “lock up” memories so that you literally cannot recall entire chunks of your life.
You live in a community—home, neighborhood, city, country, whatever—that places a stigma on mental health care.
You might’ve had bad experiences while receiving mental health care in the past.
You believe you’ve been misdiagnosed and aren’t getting the proper care you need.
You’re not sure if what you’ve experienced “counts” as trauma or mental illness, so you never bring it up.
You fear judgement, loneliness, isolation, guilt, shame, fear, etc. will result from you being care.
You feel as though it is “too late” for you to recover.
You experience bigotry of any kind, and are seeking care from people who understand your lived experience.
The list goes on, but I think you see my point.
janainaart
theartofmadeline
baratheonpilled
ellievsbear
2087
