Best Tweets for Trauma and PTSD Survivors is a weekly Friday feature. My selections are entirely subjective, and I know it will never be possible to include every great resource tweeted. But I can try! I’ve personally read all tweeted links, and believe them to be of great value.

Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for content found on any other website. Stay safe, and don’t follow links if you believe you might be triggered by them. Also, I will not be re-checking links from older Best Tweets posts, and if the site’s archived URL is different from the one I’ve provided here, you may need to do a search on their site.

Please Share My Stuff! You can now “like” and “share” this post everywhere with the touch of a button or two at the end of the linked tweets! Feel free to do any or all of that! (And thanks.)

 
[*This post was completely finished yesterday, save for final formatting, when for no discernable reason most of the linked tweets text in the draft became garbled or just gone. Murphy’s Law took over from there. /whine This is a reconstruction.]

Photo Credit

@LillyAnn “You are not defined by what you are not.
You are a series of possibilities waiting to happen.
Go and happen.”

Six Standalone Tweets to Ponder

@Good_Therapy “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are stronger in the broken places.” ~ Ernest Hemingway

@JoySoldiers “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” ~ E Roosevelt

@MindfulSpark “Reflect on the day so far. Shift yourself back into activity that is meaningful and builds you up.”

@thereseborchard “Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.” ~ Hermann Hesse

@Microcurrents “Love, respect and gratitude truly are the foundation of all that is good.” ~ Sherrin Ross Ingram

@patriciasinglet “Learning to love myself is the most important step in healing that I have ever taken.”

Linked Tweets

In the News

@VA_PTSD_Info Coaching Into Care is a VA program that works with families and friends to help Veterans get needed care.
[SEO: Program previously called “Families at Ease. Coaching Into Care”. “Coaching Into Care works with family members or friends who become aware of their Veteran’s post-deployment difficulties — and supports their efforts to find help for the Veteran. This is a national clinical service providing information and help to Veterans and the loved ones who are concerned about them.” Provides contact information and a resources page.]

@psychcentral Is an insurance company trying to get around the 2008 Mental Health Parity & Addiction Equity Act?
[SEO: Post describes Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s machinations in Florida to lower mental health payouts by 30%. This may have an intended effect of limiting the number of participating providers, as therapists find they cannot (or will not) bill their patients 30% more just to break even.]

@latimes ERs Becoming Costly Destination for Mentally Ill Patients
[SEO: “With a sharp decrease in psychiatric beds and with mental health staffs spread thin across the state, emergency rooms increasingly have become costly and ineffective baby-sitting services for mentally disturbed patients in crisis. The economic downturn and budget cuts are exacerbating a chronic problem, creating added safety risks at hospitals and placing a burden on already crowded emergency rooms. Meanwhile, hospitals are increasingly facing a dilemma: They can’t find proper facilities to care for the patients yet can’t release them to the streets.”]

The Rest of the Best

@HealthyPlace Is What You’re Experiencing a Psychiatric Medication Side-Effect?
[SEO: “So just because it’s listed in the gigant-o-list of side effects that doesn’t mean the medication caused it. But it may have. And if you end up being one of the few people to experience an odd side effect from a medication, say, cough increased, deafness or abnormal vision, you may not even think it could be related to the drug. And worse, your doctor may tell you it’s not related to the drug.” Been there. Be your own best advocate, always.]

@swt0616 Must read “Frequently Asked Questions About Suicide”
[SEO: Set up in FAQ format, this list includes “answers to questions about suicide, suicidal thoughts, depression and suicide, why people kill themselves, and more.” Print this vital information for anyone who is dealing with a suicidal loved one.]

@NAMIMass What Can an Occupational Therapist Do for You?
[SEO: I’m one of those people mentioned who believed wrongly that occupational therapists deal only with physical disabilities. “According to Radley, [occupational therapists (OTs)] are well aware that mental illness, including depression and bipolar disorder, can be just as challenging. She points out that OTs can and do play a key role in helping individuals with mood disorders maintain mood stability and return to work and other activities.”

“Radley is careful to point out that the goal of occupational therapy is not restricted to helping individuals return to work. OTs are dedicated to reintegrating individuals into every aspect of their lives, including career, home, and community. Whether your goal is to return to work, more effectively manage your household, reestablish and maintain healthy relationships with family and friends, or increase your participation in and enjoyment of community and leisure activities, an OT can be a valuable ally.” Includes an FAQ and link to the American Occupational Therapy Association.]

@VA_PTSD_Info www.ptsd.va.gov is for all types of trauma, not just war. Learn about PTSD and other types of trauma, like sexual assault.
[SEO: The VA provides separate sections devoted to each of these broad categories of trauma: war; terrorism; violence and abuse; and disasters.]

@HealthyPlace Families and Mental Illness: What Do They Know? New “Mental Illness in the Family” blog.
[SEO: “At best, Ben would see his therapist and/or psychiatrist for 1 hour a week and was often able to hold it together for that one hour in a much better way than he’d been able to do all week with us. So I made an effort to fax these notes to the provider the day before the appointment. Some read it. Most did not, citing ‘no time’ as the reason. Really? What kind of session can you have if you don’t have all the facts? Families know. They know a lot.”

“Why? Because families are part of the solution — or they can be, if the blaming stops. Mental Health Providers: by the time you meet the families, they may already be at the end of their respective ropes. We want to be heard. We want facts. We want realistic hope. And please — tell us how we can help.” (Agreed, with the caveat that if there is child abuse involved — which is in no way alleged in this case — bringing family into the mix can make things much worse.)]