Okay, so: Peer Support is a thing.
It's not widely known, and it's IMPORTANT.
A Peer Support Specialist reaches across, not down. Non-hierarchical-- that's literally a requirement spelled out in the job description.
We close the liminal space between "patient" and "well person". We bridge the gap between the person receiving care and their therapist/doctor etc. We're the people you want knocking on the door when you're having a major personal crisis-- you know, instead of the people with guns. We've lived through our own crises/trauma/illness/addiction/etc, and we know how it actually feels.
This isn't just some cute hand-holding role. It's a crucial part of a larger movement to integrate and humanize-- frankly, to TRANSFORM-- healthcare. That's the agenda, straight up. And I even get to fucking SAY THAT out loud.
And how do we enact this subversive scheme? By using empathy to relate to people, while helping empower them to determine and work on their OWN damn recovery goals, without judging.
Trying to "fix" people leads to burnout. Coercion and punishment have diminishing returns-- you can't force anybody to get better by kicking them when they're already down. Stigma has done massive damage. So we slow down, give an actual shit, and walk WITH people while they learn to fish, instead of beating fish over their heads, get it?
How's that for revolutionary.
#praxis
#mentalhealth
#mentalillness
#trauma
#traumainformed
#peersupport
#peergroups
#recovery
#resilience
#supportgroups
#peersupportspecialist
It's not widely known, and it's IMPORTANT.
A Peer Support Specialist reaches across, not down. Non-hierarchical-- that's literally a requirement spelled out in the job description.
We close the liminal space between "patient" and "well person". We bridge the gap between the person receiving care and their therapist/doctor etc. We're the people you want knocking on the door when you're having a major personal crisis-- you know, instead of the people with guns. We've lived through our own crises/trauma/illness/addiction/etc, and we know how it actually feels.
This isn't just some cute hand-holding role. It's a crucial part of a larger movement to integrate and humanize-- frankly, to TRANSFORM-- healthcare. That's the agenda, straight up. And I even get to fucking SAY THAT out loud.
And how do we enact this subversive scheme? By using empathy to relate to people, while helping empower them to determine and work on their OWN damn recovery goals, without judging.
Trying to "fix" people leads to burnout. Coercion and punishment have diminishing returns-- you can't force anybody to get better by kicking them when they're already down. Stigma has done massive damage. So we slow down, give an actual shit, and walk WITH people while they learn to fish, instead of beating fish over their heads, get it?
How's that for revolutionary.
#praxis
#mentalhealth
#mentalillness
#trauma
#traumainformed
#peersupport
#peergroups
#recovery
#resilience
#supportgroups
#peersupportspecialist
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LukefromDC •
Violet Madder •
Violet Madder •
I was talking about various things to help someone in the midst of a panic attack.
A cop asked me, wearily, "And what if I don't have the LUXURY for all that?"
And somehow I didn't start bellowing WELL OF COURSE YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION PROHIBITS LUXURIES LIKE BASIC HUMAN DECENCY at him, but was able to choose my words. I'm not very satisfied with the choice, but I was able to retain some manner of thought process through it and that was an important thing to learn about myself.
LukefromDC •
Someone threatening suicide BTW is never an excuse for anyone else to resort to deadly force. This applies to everyone, not just the cops!
A panic attack (or just good fighting tactics) might cause a cornered person to charge head-on at and then through the threat blocking their escape route.
Violet Madder •