Feeling Overwhelmed by the Media?

/0 Comments/in ,

Read SARC Volunteer Coordinator, Morgan Evans, talk about how to care for ourselves in an age of endless media below!

 

Take a moment to really feel your feelings. Literally. Take a deep breath and ask yourself, “What is the media bringing up for me?” Does reading or participating in these cycles make you anxious? Do you feel overwhelmed, triggered, or angry? Is it empowering to contribute to these newsfeeds or comment strings? Exhausting?

All of these (and many more) are normal reactions to the increase in disclosures of sexual assault we are seeing in the media.

Whether we are survivors ourselves, support people for others, allies, generally ignorant to the topic of sexual violence, or activists for social change- incessant media coverage of sexual violence impacts our mental health and general wellbeing.

We can counter any effects of vicarious trauma by consciously acknowledging our thoughts and bodies and practicing something called self care.

Self care awards us the space and mental energy to react to stress in an intentional way. Self care is a process. It is hard to start doing, it is ongoing, and sometimes one method does not work and we have to try something else! Here are some ways you can start this practice today:

Feel free to take a break

It is easy to put pressure on ourselves and others to research, educate, or act immediately in response to the stories we are seeing lately. During this time, it is important to remember that we are entitled to take a break.

How does it feel to read that third news article, comment on that thread, or watch two hours of media coverage on the same topic? Is it beneficial to my mental health to participate in this hashtag at this time? Some days, the answer is no.

There should be no shame in taking a timeout, unfollowing that page on social media, or telling someone, “Actually, I am really not interested in talking about that right now. Can we talk about something else?” This can look like setting specific time limits on how long you want to spend on these topics. It could be disconnecting all together. And it can change day to day!

It is important to be intentional and do what feels right for us at the time. By doing so, we allow ourselves the space to return to what we care about in an intentional way.

 

Pay attention to our bodies

It is really easy to ignore the things our bodies are telling us or asking from us. Our physical and mental health are fully intertwined. Taking a moment to pay attention to how they interact can have major positive effects on our mood. Some things (like exercise, drinking more water, and consciously breathing) can help to physically flush stress hormones from our bodies quicker.

Self care does not have to be elaborate or expensive. It can be as simple as taking two minutes to consciously breathe. Get up and take a five-minute walk. Eat or drink something you really enjoy, slowly. Spend time physically close to a person or animal you care about. By doing activities that center around physicality and our senses, we can help to ground ourselves back in our body, which can help reset our thoughts.

Find your good

What fills you up? What brings you joy? During times of high stress or immediacy these are some of the first things we tend to neglect. It is especially important to designate mental energy and time to the things that bring happiness and meaning to our lives.

This could be music, art, community, sport, or nature. This could mean creating room on your phone or computer to store pictures you’ve taken during good times or screenshots from conversations with people you care about. Sometimes it is staying in bed all day and binge watching a show you really enjoy. Sometimes it is completely disconnecting from technology and spending time alone outside. You can pay gratitude to the good things that already exist in your life, or set reasonable goals for you to give back to yourself in a meaningful way. Give yourself space to play, joke, laugh, enjoy the things around you. We cannot get rid of the ugly or bad that exists in the world without acknowledging what is good.

 

No matter your personal, political, or professional connection to the topic of sexual violence, it is important to recognize the very real impact there is from hearing and talking about this subject so often. It is important to be kind and compassionate to ourselves and how we react to this news. We cannot feel guilty for prioritizing our own health and wellbeing.

I leave you with these words from Black Lives Matter cofounder Alicia Garza on staying centered in the face of adversity–

“My emotional and mental well being depends on my commitment to what I care for most. It depends on being resilient, which is not the same as being perfect. It depends on being durable, which is not the same as infallible. And when I move towards the things I care most about, I am the most free I have ever been. Wounds, cuts, scars and all.”

 

To get in touch with SARC’s services, seek support, or ask questions, contact SARC’s 24-hour Support Line: 503-640-5311.

Responding to #MeToo and More

/in , , ,

In a time when our newsfeeds are overflowing with disclosures from sexual assault survivors, articles about the social and political consequences for high profile perpetrators, and endless debates over what accountability should look and sound like, it is natural to feel overwhelmed.

We are swimming, sometimes drowning, in questions. “How do we stop sexual assault?” “How come it has taken this long for people in power to be called out?” “How do I heal?” “What do we do with offenders?” “How do I escape, when it feels like sexual violence is everywhere?” “Who can I trust?”

As an agency, SARC wants to directly address all that is occurring in Hollywood, state and federal politics, and in our own communities. But while this storm of media attention has the potential to be a pivotal moment in changing how our culture views and addresses sexual violence, SARC’s response has remained the same:

If you have experienced sexual violence and are looking for some kind of support, SARC is here for you.

Whether something happened three hours ago or thirty years ago, SARC is here for you.

Whether you know exactly what you want or you have no idea where to begin, SARC is here for you.

For anybody with any gender identity, race, documentation status, sexual orientation, occupation, spirituality, and any other identities that make up a human being, SARC is here for you.

Whether you want to tell us what happened or you want to keep that to yourself, SARC is here for you.

For people struggling with how to support a friend or family member who has experienced sexual violence, SARC is here for you.

To people who may be grappling with the multitudes of denials that have come from these disclosures, and the small number of admissions, we want to recognize how painful and messy it is to hear perpetrators try to lie or apologize their way out of accountability. Hearing offenders admit their wrongdoing can have value and be healing for some people, and SARC respects the power that can give survivors. We would be ignorant to not also recognize critically that it is only under the most extreme social and political pressure that these few public admissions are coming to light – when entire careers, financial investments, and crucial elections are on the line.

The reality of how commonplace acts of sexual violence are is as true today as it was 40 years ago when SARC first started, as it was 400 years ago. The consequences these high profile perpetrators are facing represent a step forward in cultural accountability, but this momentum needs to carry us further. As a culture, we can’t only pay attention to an offender after more than 50, more than 70, more than 100 survivors come forward. We can’t come out against sexual assault but not call out “locker room talk” at our jobs, schools, and in our personal lives.

To those in positions of power, especially white men, who pledge to be more accountable in their personal and professional lives, and who recognize how they have contributed to and enabled sexual violence, we say: thank you, more please. Step up through ongoing actions, beyond words alone. Take the pressure of voicing these issues off of those who experience sexual violence most often, like women, trans women, women of color, LGBTQ people, women in poverty, and more. For too long, the burden of combating sexual violence has fallen to those who have experienced it firsthand. Help us change that.

SARC is, as always, in awe of the resilience and strength of the survivors out there. The people we work with, and the people we don’t. The people who are sharing their stories, and those who are not. Everyday may not be perfect, you may not always feel the magnitude of your strength, and you may not always feel okay. Through all of that, you are not alone. Everyday, especially the tough days, SARC is here for you.

 

To get in touch with SARC’s services, seek support, or ask questions, contact SARC’s 24-hour Support Line: 503-640-5311.