Member-only story
Yes, Things Really Are Pretty Bad
It’s time to call trauma what it is so we can all be about the business of healing.
I naturally tend towards optimism, especially in my writing. I’m not unrealistic about how messed up so many things are right now but my method for coping with anxiety is to put a positive spin on things wherever I can.
And then I read an article that whaps me upside the head in the best way possible
Miyah Byrd really lays it out well here.
Americans, by and large, aren’t the greatest at recognizing and naming trauma. Amidst a global pandemic, growing civil unrest, wildfires, protests, hurricanes, countless deaths, tornadoes, and countless individuals pains, we expected each other to be productive, creative, healthy, and happy. At our schools. At our churches. At our workplaces.
Go read Miyah’s article and take it all in. We have been and continue to be living through a lot. It’s okay to not be okay.
I don’t feel bad about the fact that I look for the positive spin in my stories. It helps me make sense of my past, present, and future and heal from my various personal traumas. But I absolutely agree with Miyah that this isn’t enough.
“Collective traumas can only be tackled with collective actions,” Miyah writes.
Yes! Step one is recognizing and naming the challenges we collectively face. Self-help and self-improvement only take us so far.
Please go read Miyah’s article. She says it all so much better than I can.
