manipulation

Components of Resilience: Support Network & Discernment

By | 2018-04-09T23:28:10-04:00 June 29th, 2016|Categories: By & For Ace Survivors, Coping Strategies, Recovery, Resilience|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Support networks are a crucial part of resilience, and may even perhaps be the most important factor. It's not hard to find evidence of the health impacts of isolation or the protective effects of having supportive community. Those with strong support networks are less likely to develop PTSD and among those who still do, good support is likely to significantly reduce symptom severity. In order to have a healthy support network, you need to be able to recognize what healthy relationships look like. If you can't recognize when a relationship is becoming unhealthy, you can't take steps to keep yourself safe. Discernment is the skill of perceiving, understanding, and exercising good judgment. A person with "discerning tastes" is someone who has strong preferences about aesthetic quality, like a gourmand. The psychological use of the term is much broader—it is more related to perception and decision-making in general.

Disingenuous, Shallow “Support”

By | 2018-04-10T00:17:57-04:00 August 20th, 2015|Categories: Domestic Violence, For Activists, For Supporters, Rape Culture|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Ah, yes. Facebook Activism. Because sharing something on Facebook for others to automatically click "like" without even reading is clearly the most effective way to promote real engagement with anti-violence work, and genuine support to survivors. The idea that a brand is all that's needed to get others to care, rather than something that is just there for others to adopt in order to look like they care, is so incredibly vile to me. Why? Because it's exactly the sort of thing that makes it easier for abusers to gaslight their victims.