The Lovely Month of May
By Katie Boller Gosewisch
May is my favorite month. There are so many good things about May: it is the month of Mary, spring has sprung, Mother’s Day and my birthday are in May (I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t mention that at least once), and there is more blessed daylight.
In April, the nation focuses on both child abuse and sexual assault awareness. May, appropriately, follows up with Mental Health Awareness Month. One in five Americans suffer from a mental health condition, but less than half of those individuals receive treatment. Children and adolescents are the most profoundly affected age group—potentially meaning that interventions are being received at a younger age, but also that more people are growing up with mental health struggles. A prime predictor of mental health difficulties is the experience of trauma—particularly at a young age when the brain is still developing.
I was discussing childhood mental health with a Board member just yesterday and we were talking about various interventions and the importance of making those interventions at an early age—to give kids help as soon as they need it. She likened it to visiting the dentist. What an apropos analogy! Unfortunately, while our culture has improved in the area of mental health awareness, many are still stigmatized by their experience of mental health issues. Not everyone views mental hygiene in the same way we view dental hygiene: routine and regular. But we ought to; it is so very important.
Many know that I was abused as a child. I don’t typically say much more than that, but for the purposes of this reflection I will share a little more. The abuser, in addition to what he did to my body, also did quite a bit of damage to my mind—so much so that I was too scared to say anything for nearly 2 decades. I was 21 when I first disclosed the abuse to my spiritual director. It took geographical and mental space away from the abuser to feel safe enough to disclose. But I often think about what intervention—including mental health tools—at a much younger age would have meant for me and what it would have meant for the millions of individuals who share this experience. Child sex abuse is a predictor of vulnerability to a legion of other social ills—including human trafficking. How many more people could be spared additional trauma(s) if we embraced mental health care more fully?
It is important to note that one doesn’t need to experience abuse as a child to encounter mental health hurdles (or be trafficked). Trauma is, unfortunately, part of the human experience. From big to small, trauma can build up causing mental health disturbances that leave us negatively vulnerable. Please, take time to learn about what you can do to support those in your lives (and yourself). Give grace. And if you are struggling, remember that you deserve support and care as much as anyone else.
Mother Mary, pray for us. Saint Dymphna, pray for us.
**Visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ website for more information. If you need support, call 800-950-6264 or text “helpline” to 62640. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.**
Katie Boller Gosewisch
Executive Director
Alliance to End Human Trafficking