“The greater a child’s terror, and the earlier it is experienced, the harder it becomes to develop a strong and healthy sense of self.” [1]
-Nathaniel Branden, Six Pillars of Self Esteem
Child abuse is not an easy topic to discuss, but it is extremely necessary in order to increase awareness of the issue. Creating, spreading, and continuing the conversation about child abuse is essential for our society to adequately prevent, treat, and accept this common experience. Child abuse has deeper, longer lasting effects than just physical wounds on a body. The CDC lists four different types of abuse: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. [2] Any of these forms of abuse experienced in childhood can affect victims’ mental health in later stages of life.
The consequences of child abuse
The trauma that a child experiences from being abused does not end with the abuse. It often lasts the rest of the child’s life, and can lead to a variety of emotional and psychological issues. The CDC lists a few of them:
Impaired social-emotional skills
Increased risk of substance abuse
Learning disabilities including attention and focus problems
Altered brain development from toxic stress
This list gives a glimpse into the effects that childhood abuse has on the mind. Abuse changes a child’s mind from the moment it begins. As the child grows up, the mind does not go back to “normal,” for many of them. There’s a positive correlation between child abuse and many mental health conditions.
Mental health disorders associated with child abuse
The facts and statistics that studies have found regarding child abuse as a risk factor for certain mental health conditions are exigent.
In 2003, the US National Library of Medicine published a study on the links between mental health conditions and childhood abuse. Although it is an older publication, the study had important findings that are still relevant:
Those who suffered abuse as a child experienced more cases of OCD
Individuals who experienced abuse report higher levels of PTSD
Child abuse victims are more likely to have recurrent depression
Child abuse is a risk factor for eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa
The Lancet published a study last year that found that child abuse doubles an individual’s chance of developing depression and anxiety.
Another research study conducted by the University of Birmingham reported that children who experience abuse are at four times higher risk of developing psychoses, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.
Why it’s important to recognize the connection between the two
A reason our world struggles to lower child abuse rates is because it is very underreported. Oftentimes, children are not likely to report the abuse they are experiencing, because many of them don’t understand what it is they are going through. Some of them aren’t aware that it’s wrong. It is also common for professionals to miss signs of abuse. These factors lead to many missed opportunities to help the victims of childhood abuse.
Similarly, doctors often diagnose mental health conditions without evaluating child abuse as a causal agent. It’s important to recognize if the patient was abused as a child when treating them. Routine treatment may not work for every patient if their abusive childhood is not acknowledged. Encouraging healing from the traumatic abuse experience can benefit the patient’s mental health the most.
Steps we can take to help
It’s clear from the ongoing prevalence of this issue that we need to take better measures in dealing with and preventing childhood abuse. We will save more children and heal more survivors this way. Less cases of child abuse means less cases of adult mental health disorders. The CDC has an abuse prevention package outlined on their website. It consists of approaches targeted to individual behavior, parents, communities and social institutions to prevent child abuse.
Better economic support for families, and workplace policies that are family-friendly.
Supporting parents better as a society and encouraging healthy parenting.
Quality education and childcare.
Educated parenting to enhance child development.
Better training for preventing and healing abuse.
This is only a brief summary of the child abuse prevention package, but we encourage you to read it thoroughly, here.
Conclusion
Our mission statement here at Safe Harbor is to provide family restoration to transform the lives of victims of any kind of family trauma. As child abuse is a significant type of family trauma, we feel it important to spread awareness of the issue. Our society does not widely acknowledge the direct link between childhood abuse and mental illness.
In the best interest of our readers’ health, we encourage all of you to check in on your mental health this month and every month. If you are a survivor, and experience a mental health disorder, ensure that your doctor knows about your abuse. Your doctor might suggest different treatment. It is never too late to begin the healing process.
It’s up to all of us to do our parts to prevent and heal the issue of child abuse. Medical professionals and social service workers are not the only ones who have the power to spot and potentially prevent this issue. If you are interested in helping those who may have suffered abuse, and/or other types of family violence, our organization has many ways to get involved.
Written by Grace Haass, blogger at Safe Harbor International Ministries. For more articles, check out our blog page: https://safeharborim.com/articles/.
On the blog this month, we wanted to honor May as mental health awareness month, and touch on topics regarding mental health. We hope that these articles may be useful to our readers who are feeling the need to check in on their mental health needs during the coronavirus pandemic. It is important to note that these articles are for entertainment purposes only, and do not replace professional treatment.
There is increasing evidence these days about how mindfulness can benefit mental health. Many experts stress the importance of incorporating mindfulness practices into our daily lives. For those who aren’t familiar with the concept, it can seem too intimidating or difficult to try. However, mindfulness can have amazing health benefits, and may be useful to cope with mental health conditions.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of directing our attention to the present moment, by allowing our bodies to just be. [1] When we let ourselves accept our thoughts and emotions without judgement, we can change our reaction patterns. When a thought or feeling does come up, we are able to acknowledge it without letting it consume us.
General health benefits of mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness is correlated with a variety of science-backed health benefits. Living more presently can help us to not only feel better mentally, but improve our physical health, as well!
Improved focus: Research has reported that even brief amounts of meditation training- a common mindfulness practice- can improve an individual’s attention. [2] As little as one 10 minute session can improve focus and attention resources in our minds.
Improved cardiovascular health: According to recent studies, both sitting meditation and yoga, can improve an individual’s risk of cardiovascular disease. [3]
Reduced blood pressure: Research has determined that living mindfully can lower blood pressure levels. [4] High blood pressure can lead to higher risk of brain, heart, and kidney health issues. [5]
Improved wellbeing: Studies have also reported that those who practice mindful living show decreased amounts of negative thoughts, and report overall higher moods. [6]
Mental health benefits of mindfulness
Mental health concerns should always be discussed with a professional to determine the best treatment for each specific case. Many professionals, however, recommend practicing mindfulness as one form of treatment for disorders like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mindfulness to treat depression: Mindfulness is a practice of accepting our negative thoughts, then letting them go and returning to the present moment. This teaches patients to accept their thoughts without judging them for being depressive. [7]
This can prevent negative thoughts from consuming the mind. Often, people with depression get sucked into a cycle of feeding negative thoughts with more negative thoughts. Mindfulness can help the brain break that cycle, by recognizing that a negative thought is simply that; a thought. Recognizing thoughts for no more than they are disempowers them.
Mindfulness to treat anxiety: Similarly to how it can help with depression, mindfulness is proven to help reduce anxiety. [8] Training the mind to detach emotions from thoughts can help an individual with anxiety to cope with stressful feelings when they arise. Instead of being overcome by the anxious feelings, mindfulness teaches you to accept the feeling, and let it run its course in your body without holding on to it.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: mindfulness techniques have been shown to reduce the amount of post-traumatic stress symptoms in individuals who experience the disorder. [9] The practice encourages focus on the present moment, which can be beneficial to people who suffer from stress symptoms due to experienced trauma.
Conclusion
Thorough research has shown the effects mindfulness can have on our health. Whether you are looking to improve your mental or physical health, implementing this concept into your life may help you achieve your goals. Today’s societal values can leave many of us focused on the future, rather than enjoying the moment we are in. Learning to value the present moment can be life changing.
Now that we have discussed what mindfulness is and how it can be beneficial, it’s time to try it! We dedicated a whole blog post to easy ways to incorporate mindfulness into your life.
Written by Grace Haass, blogger at Safe Harbor International Ministries. For more articles, check out our blog page: https://safeharborim.com/articles/.
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Since their earliest years of school, children are taught to treat others how they want to be treated. The origin of this saying is found in the Bible. Jesus commanded us to “love thy neighbor,” and emphasized its importance by repeating it several times throughout the Bible. This collective action would solve nearly all of the problems our world faces today, yet we often overlook this quote instead of living by it.
What seems like such a simple task has been complicated by the ways of modern society. It is now though, especially during this global pandemic, that we need to return to look at Jesus’ word and practice his command. Even without considering the Biblical origins, loving your neighbor is a critical part of creating and upholding strong communities. So how can we love our neighbors as ourselves?
Love Yourself
When we consider how to love our neighbors, sometimes we forget about the second part, which is loving ourselves. The quote, and Jesus’ command, after all, is to love thy neighbor as thyself. Which means that in order to love our neighbors as best we can, we must love ourselves. Self love is a continuous process, and often a hard one. Whether your self-love journey has just begun, or you already love yourself radically, here are some easy things to do to show yourself some love:
Get to know yourself better. Living mindfully can help us appreciate and connect more to our bodies and minds. Meditation is a great way to start practicing mindfulness [2]. Even just 5 minutes a day can make a big difference. For more information and instructions on meditation, check out Mindful.
Daily affirmations. Affirmations are positive statements that are repeated in order to change negative thought patterns, and in turn change negative behaviors. Practicing positive affirmations has been proven to decrease our tendency to linger on negative thoughts [3]. If you struggle with negative self-talk, affirmations may help you stop! Here is a list of positive, daily affirmations.
Know your boundaries. It is important to set boundaries in relationships to establish how you want to be treated. This can include how you treat yourself! Maintaining boundaries plays a crucial role in measuring self respect. We have a whole blog post on the importance of boundaries in friendships here.
Love God
In the book of Matthew, Jesus gave two commands to the Pharisees when one of them asked him what the greatest commandment of the law was. The second was to love thy neighbor as thyself. We must live by both commandments if we wish to follow Jesus’ word.
The first commandment was to love God with all of our hearts [refer back to 1]. To honor this commandment, we should look to strengthen and deepen our faith. If you have yet to create a relationship with God, now is a great time to start! Fortunately, Jesus’ purpose was to redeem and transform our lives, so it is never too late to accept him into your life. Some easy ways to connect to God are:
Show gratitude to God. Thanking God for everything in your life is an easy way to connect to Him. Gratitude prayers are direct ways to acknowledge and communicate to God that you appreciate his blessings.
Listen to worship music. Put in your headphones, and really listen to the lyrics. Often music helps us relate to feelings we have trouble putting into words. Music can also help us feel closer to God, if we’re struggling.
Pick out your favorite Bible quotes and write them down on paper. Make them as decorative as you want, or simply scribble the words down. Hang them up in places that you’ll see often. On your mirror, by the front door, or in your kitchen. As you go throughout your day, you’ll be reminded of God when you see the notes.
Tangible Ways to Love Your Neighbor
A neighbor refers to those near to us. The commandment of loving thy neighbor as thyself includes other parts, as we mentioned above, but perhaps the most direct way we can follow this command is to do tangible things for those close to us. Caring for our neighbors is a way to inspire a cycle of giving and receiving, which creates a strong community. Here are some ideas for ways to love your neighbors:
Let them know you care about them. This can be a note left on their door, or a baked good on their doorstep, or some flowers. Letting them know you’re thinking of them is often enough to inspire love inside of them, encouraging them to do the same for others.
Pray for them. Directly praying for someone by name is powerful. If you know your neighbor needs God, include them in your prayers.
Be there for favors. The great thing about neighbors is that they are often people we can rely on if we need something. Be that person for your neighbors, and hopefully they’ll do the same for you. In my neighborhood, we are always lending ingredients to each other if somebody is missing something, carpooling, and caring for each other’s pets.
Conclusion
Jesus commanded us to love God, love ourselves, and love our neighbors. We should honor him by doing these things, because he loves us. We can use his love for us to inspire love within ourselves- for ourselves, and for those around us. Loving communities are valuable, especially in times of crisis, like we are going through now. This article mentioned ways to love your neighbors in general, but some of them may not be possible for you to do in quarantine. If you are looking for ways to give back to your communities during this time, check out our blog post on community love during covid-19.
Written by Grace Haass, blogger at Safe Harbor International Ministries. For more articles please visit our blog page at https://safeharborim.com/articles/
During this global pandemic, all of us are concerned about our health. This concern is heightened for the elderly and those with compromised immune systems, as coronavirus has proven to be more dangerous for this percentage of the population [1]. While it is important to practice self care to maintain your own health, there are also things you can do to help the immunocompromised during the COVID-19 outbreak.
1. Offer to shop for the immunocompromised
If you know anyone in your community who is at high risk, check in with them. Offer to go grocery shopping, or to the pharmacy for them. A task as simple as this can allow them to avoid potential exposure from the public. Deliver the items on their doorstep instead of directly handing them off, to maintain social distancing protocol.
If you are caring for someone with a compromised immune system in your home, here are some extra precautions to take for safe grocery shopping and food handling.
The CDC recommends wearing a mask in public areas, such as grocery stores, to protect yourself and others. Protecting yourself lowers the risk of spreading the virus to someone in your home who is at high risk. [2]
After entering your home, place bags on the floor and go wash your hands.
Put away the groceries, avoiding contact with any unnecessary surfaces. If you do place groceries on a countertop before putting them away, wipe the countertop down after.
Wash your hands again after all the items are put away.
Wipe down any door handles or other surfaces you touched upon entering your home before washing your hands. This will prevent the spread of germs through surfaces to other people in your home.
2. Stay in touch
Self-isolation might be necessary for the elderly and immunocompromised during this time, which can result in loneliness. Loneliness itself can affect one’s physical and mental health [3]. Luckily, self isolation does not mean social isolation. Nowadays, there are various ways to stay connected with friends and family through technology.
Facetime, Zoom, text, or call. Facetime and Zoom calls are easy ways to stay connected face-to-face. Try to set up a weekly, or daily, Facetime or Zoom call with someone you know who is at high risk. Just chatting to other people, and seeing someone else’s face may help to combat loneliness.
Start a virtual book club! Even if it is just you and one other person. Read the same book, and then discuss it over email, call or text. Having a book to read will also help to occupy some new found free time.
If your at-risk loved one struggles with the new technology required by Zoom or Facetime, you can drive by their house with signs letting them know you care about them. Maybe even play their favorite song on your car radio. They can admire it from their doorstep or driveway.
3. Help keep the immunocompromised informed
Some of the elderly population might not engage in all the platforms that help keep us informed on updates of the global COVID-19 situation. Even if they are informed, it can’t hurt to share new, credible, information that you’ve heard regarding the pandemic. Whether it’s new safety measures, or an update of the situation in your area, keeping each other informed is important during this time. By doing so, it helps to increase awareness of protocols and suggestions, so that we can all do our parts to maintain our health, and that of others.
4. Reach out to caregivers
If you know someone who is caring for an immunocompromised person, ask them if they need anything! This time can be stressful for caregivers, as they need to be extra cautious for their high risk patients. Letting them know you appreciate their hard work can mean a lot. You can leave a baked good on their doorstep, a book you think they’d enjoy, or even just a little card.
5. Do YOUR part!
One of the most important things you can do to protect the immunocompromised is to be responsible for yourself. Be aware that the stay-at-home orders are in place for a reason, and complying to them can and will save lives.
Stay home. Only leave your house if it is essential. According to the director of the CDC, Dr. Robert Redfield, as many as 25% of infected individuals may be asymptomatic [4]. The less you go out, the less chances there are for you to contract the virus if you aren’t sick, or to pass it on to others without knowing.
Respect elders only hours at supermarkets. Many stores have started implementing “seniors only” hours during certain times of the week [5]. This is in effort to protect elderly people if they must go grocery shopping themselves. If you need to go shopping, avoid going during your local supermarket’s senior hours.
Practice self-care to keep your head and your body healthy! Both your physical health and mental health play into the strength of your immune system.
Avoid unnecessary trips to the doctor’s office or hospital. If you had any appointments planned that aren’t of immediate concern, try to postpone them until the coronavirus situation has settled down. The elderly and immunocompromised are more likely to have to go to the doctor during this time, which can be an easy place for them to contract sicknesses brought in by other people.
Again, stay-at-home orders and social distancing are both extremely important to follow to protect your health and that of others. A great video posted by the Ohio Department of Health shows how beneficial social-distancing is during this pandemic [6].
Conclusion
The COVID-19 situation is stressful for everyone. There are many uncertainties that can be worrisome, but if we all work together to love our neighbors, our communities can actually grow from this time of trial. This article listed some ways to care for your immunocompromised neighbors. If you would like to help in other ways, check out our blog post on volunteering.
Written by Grace Haass, blogger at Safe Harbor International Ministries. For more articles please visit our blog page at https://safeharborim.com/articles/
Get notified of our latest news, events, and posts.
NOTICE TO USERS Safe Harbor posts are not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, medical treatment, medication, or therapy. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified mental health provider with any questions you may have regarding any mental health symptom or medical condition. Safe Harbor is not authorized to make recommendations about medication or serve as a substitute for professional advice. Never disregard professional psychological or medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice or treatment because of something you have read on Safe Harbor International Ministries site.
