IMO, we need increased dialogue to address the impacts of a traumatized society. Pause for a moment and reflect on this: the vast majority of us are walking around with some form of trauma. We have lived through events that have traumatized in unimaginable ways.
Mass killings, natural disasters, attacks in schools and places of worship. Inner-city violence and the 90,000 children in our county each year that have a patent locked up in our local jail. Certain films now require increased police presence.
Do you think survivors in El Paso might be harboring some trauma? What about our first responders that experience firsthand traumatic and horrifying incidents daily? Surely there’s an impact to our collective psyche. I don’t have the answers, but perhaps we start today on
#WorldMentalHealthDay2019. Let’s make it easier, more routine and more acceptable for people to access mental health support. Let’s do away with a culture that simply encourages people to 'suck it up' and not enough ongoing support to help them deal with the trauma.
No better time to start than today. One of my favorite quotes reminds me, “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the 2nd best time is today”.
