Darkness2Light National Organization Dear Deborah, Summer is often a favorite time of the year for everyone, but especially for kids. Vacations, sports activities, faith-based programs, camps, and others provide a variety of ways for children to enjoy their time before heading back to school. As parents and concerned adults, it's important that we know how to keep the children in our lives safe as they participate in all the activities the summer has to offer. Important steps to planning a safe and happy summer include choosing the right programs and ensuring there are policies in place to protect your child. I hope this short video will be a useful tool to support you in that process.
	Carol Hogue's Tips for Keeping Kids Safer This Summer
Imagine if all of the adults caring for your child were trained how to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. At Darkness to Light, our goal is to educate adults on the prevention of child sexual abuse. You can help make this happen! For a donation as little as $10, we can train one person through our Stewards of Children®  training. For $350, we can train one facilitator who can then start educating a community. Regardless of the amount of your gift, it will go a long way in preventing child sexual abuse. Please support our work to end child sexual abuse by giving today. Gifts from friends like you make it possible for us to train the adults that care for your child, including summer staff and volunteers serving youth. Funds received by June 30th will make an immediate impact for this summer, so please make your donation today. I’m choosing to make a difference. I hope you will too. Sincerely,

8 Misconceptions about Mental Health and Mental Illness

By Nathan Falde
~ 2 min read

There are still many myths floating around out there about mental illness, ranging from the absurd to the contradictory to the somewhat plausible. All are equally false. Unfortunately, these ideas make it harder for those suffering from mental health troubles to get the support and attention they need.
Below are eight misconceptions about mental health and mental illness:

1. Mental illness is destructive, but thankfully it is still not all that common. According to a recent study by the National Institute of Mental Health, 18.6 percent of American adults (43.7 million people) will suffer from some form of mental illness in any given year. Among the adolescent age group (ages 13 to 18), the figure hovers right around the 20 percent mark. Up to 45 percent of these victims will have two or more diagnosable conditions simultaneously, while approximately six percent of the population currently suffers from a severe, disabling form of mental health disorder.
2. The incidence of mental illness has been exaggerated by doctors trolling for patients and pharmaceutical companies looking for easy targets. Mental health disorders are real and cause significant suffering. If the incidence of mental illness seems extraordinarily high, it is only because people are acknowledging what had previously been kept hidden behind a wall of shame and denial.
3. Some of the so-called “mentally ill” are just making excuses for their weakness or failure. These people need to stop whining, get up off the couch and go find a job. Anyone who claims mental health conditions are the bogus rationalizations of the chronic underachiever is talking out of his or her you-know-what. Mental health disorders don’t discriminate based on age, race, gender, ethnicity, occupation (or lack thereof), religion, social strata, economic class, ethnic background, political party or life philosophy.
4. When people are mentally ill, they can’t hold down a job or take care of themselves and their families properly. This is sometimes true with respect to the more severe forms of mental illness, but the majority of those suffering from mental health disorders are able to meet their work requirements and fulfill their family responsibilities most of the time. But because so many sufferers seem fine, even those closest to them don’t realize how much they’re hurting.
5. The mentally ill should be feared because of their propensity for violence. Every study carried out on the subject has found that people suffering from mental illness are more likely to become the victims of violence than to be its perpetrators. And when those with mental health troubles do become violent, it tends to be related to that abuse. According to one recent study, mentally ill people subjected to violence are 11 times more likely to become violent themselves, which suggests that their actions are frequently in self-defense.
6. Mental health disorders are biological. That is what the latest science shows. This is partially true but not entirely accurate. Medical researchers are studying the neurological factors of mental illness now because the technology allows them to, and that has given them insight into aspects of these conditions that were previously neglected or not well understood. Mental illness has a strong biological/neurological component, but a reductionist equation that reduces it to this status inhibits understanding by ignoring important environmental and psychological factors.
7. People can recover from depression or anxiety disorders with drugs alone; in fact this is the only type of treatment that really works for these conditions. Psychiatrists routinely prescribe medication to help with these disorders, and that is grounded in evidence-based practice. But pharmaceuticals work best (when they work, which isn’t always) if used temporarily and in conjunction with psychotherapy, peer support groups and self-help strategies designed to eliminate lifestyle triggers connected to the onset or worsening of the disease.
8. When the mentally ill attempt suicide, it is a cry for help. People suffering from mental health disorders will become suicidal only if their earlier, actual cries for help were not noticed, acknowledged or taken seriously. Failed suicide attempts by the mentally ill are a sign that urgent and immediate intervention is required, but the best course of action is to respond to the initial cries for help at the time they actually occur.

DARKNESS TO LIGHT

Deborah,

A child is alone in the restroom and an adult tries to walk in. What would you do?

This was a decision faced by a young recreation center employee. The facility had a policy prohibiting isolated, one-on-one situations and so the employee was holding the door for children to use the facility restroom one at a time. When the adult tried to walk in, the employee stood his ground and said, “I am sorry but you can’t use the restroom while the children are using it.”

This young man had been trained in Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children^® prevention program and knew that more than 80% of child sexual abuse occurs in isolated situations. This training empowered him to choose the child’s protection over the discomfort of saying no to an adult.

You might think you’d know what to do if a child were at risk, but the right answer isn’t always obvious. That’s why Darkness to Light partners with local organizations to make sure all adults can access the resources they need to protect the children in their community.

Preventing child sexual abuse is our shared responsibility, and there are simple things you can do to keep the children in your life safe. Click here to take Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children^® training for free and become empowered to protect children in your community. Due to the tremendous demand for our May campaign, we’ve extended free trainings for a limited time only. Use code June2015 to get your free training.

Adults can prevent child sexual abuse, but only when they empower themselves with the knowledge and tools to protect children. When you connect with local resources and learn the steps to protection, you help make your community safer for children.
Thank you,
Cindy McElhinney
Director of Programs, Darkness to Light
*Free training has been made possible through a generous grant provided by the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation.




This is a regular letter I get from Darkness to Light, an organization that I donate money to frequently.  Donating money is one way I can help make sure the education of children and adults about child abuse goes on.  I don't know if you know this but I am disabled and can't walk so I can't help by getting trained to go out in the community and teach these things but I can donate some money.  Maybe you could take the training and/or donate money.

I am donating 10% profit from the sale of my books to Darkness to Light so you have 3 options: buy my book in November which will be around $15.99, take the training for free or donate money to them. 

DO YOUR DUTY TO HELP CHILDREN BE SAFE EVERY WHERE!

 

8 Symptoms That May Require A Mental Health Evaluation

By Támara Hill, MS

 

 

Last week I wrote about 8 Symptoms that should not always be labeled a mental illness. Life is life. We are all going to experience the worst of it and the best of it. We should not be so quick to label ourselves “disordered” until we evaluate every aspect of what could be happening to us.

Clinicians and mental health professionals should also be careful not to quickly pathologize every client that comes through their doors. But sadly, there are way too many people in the world, including some mental health professionals, who either downplay or exaggerate mental health symptoms. There is often no in-between. Although we all would like to maintain the idea that most people are mentally healthy and well adjusted, we cannot ignore the fact that there are millions of people (children, adolescents, adults) who are struggling with mental health symptoms every single day of their lives. They are struggling with mild, moderate, and severe symptoms that seem to make their future grim. This article will discuss symptoms that should never be ignored or downplayed and possibly be evaluated by a mental health professional.

Unfortunately, the field of psychiatry and psychotherapy lacks a manual that would provide concrete direction on how to identify mental illness. Of course, we are all familiar with the DSM (and ALL of its many versions and revisions) but this is certainly not enough for the perplexities of life. The DSM provides minimal guidelines to help guide mental health professionals and to help them communicate, using a common language, more appropriately. But the manual does not provide the concrete answers many people seek about their lives and their health. Making a diagnosis using the DSM often includes a mediocre process of elimination. Sometimes this process is completely on point, while at other times is is completely off point. As a result, determining when a symptom (or constellation of symptoms) is a problem, can take a lifetime. For those individuals who are insightful about their psychiatric and emotional needs, deciding to pursue mental health treatment is often an easy process. But for those individuals who are often in denial, struggle with acceptance of reality, or lack a great deal of insight into themselves, pursuing mental health treatment is not something they are willing to do or even talk about. That’s why it’s important that others (family, friends, spouses, etc.) become knowledgeable about the symptoms and behaviors that signal that there is a very big problem.

Because it’s very difficult for many of us, primarily those without a clinical background, to identify when a symptom or behavior might indicate that psychiatric treatment is needed, I have compiled a list of symptoms and behaviors that should always prompt us to either seek treatment ourselves or encourage another person to seek treatment. This list is a list I often provide to parents and families who see me. Some of the problematic behaviors and symptoms include:

1. Frequent and dangerous sexual acting out: I have previously worked with juvenile delinquents within a mental health/juvenile agency. Most of these youths presented with high levels of anxiety, extreme traumatic histories, and frequent sexual acting out. Sadly, the children weren’t the only individuals sexually acting out. Many of their parents also engaged in similar behaviors such as sending nude pictures of themselves using their cell phone or Facebook accounts (“sexting”), prostituting, entertaining multiple partners, or maintaining an open marriage or relationship (without boundaries or sexual precautions).

Although we are human beings who should not be ashamed of our sexuality, we must be appropriate, respect ourselves, and have some insight into how our sexuality affects our lives. For individuals who lack insight, there is a problem. The problem could be psychological (looking for approval, feeling rejected, etc), emotional (looking for love or companionship), or trauma-based (the result of a traumatic and abusive past).


http://blogs.psychcentral.com/caregivers/2015/06/8-symptoms-that-may-require-a-mental-health-evaluation/

 

 

5 Powerful Rituals of Mentally Strong People


“Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”
―Maya Angelou

“My dad is a blind cancer survivor.  He lost both his eyes when he was in his early 30’s to a rare form of cancer.  Despite this, he raised my sister and I, and took care of my mom who was in and out of rehab for alcoholism and depression.  My mom is a fully recovered alcoholic now, my sister and I have graduated college, and my parents are still together and back to being happy.  I’m certain none of this would have been possible if my dad hadn’t been such a resilient, positive force in our lives.  My dad’s mental strength literally saved our family.”

Those are lines right out of an email I received this morning from Kristin, a coaching/course student of ours (I’m sharing this with permission).  Her portrayal of her dad is both inspiring and a wonderful reminder of the importance of inner resilience.  With enough mental strength, an ordinary human being can be an extraordinary hero.

And you don’t have to be born mentally strong either.  You can develop this vital trait with practice.  Here are five key things people with remarkable mental strength do daily:

1.  They use passion and love to fuel their drive to get the hard things done.

Life is not easy, which is why you have to do hard things to be happy in life.  The things no one else is doing.  The things that frighten you.  The things others can’t do for you.  The things that make you question how much longer you can hold on and push forward.
Because those are the things that define you.  Those are the things that make the difference between existing and living --

between knowing the path and walking the path – between a life of defeat and a life filled with happiness and success.

Adversity is an inevitability, and it’s much like walking in to a turbulent windstorm.  As you fight to push through it, you not only gain strength, but it tears away from you all but the essential parts of you that cannot be torn.

Once you come out of the storm you see yourself as you really are in raw form, still holding the passions and values that move you, and little else.  These are the lusts that matter – the inner love and vows that define you.  It is this kind of love that drives you forward and even when the going gets tough.  It is this kind of love that strengthens the mind, body and soul.  (Read The Road Less Traveled.)

(more)
http://www.marcandangel.com/2015/05/31/5-powerful-rituals-of-mentally-strong-people/#more-818