Speak Up. Stand Tall.

For this week, I wanted to share this video by BBC 3. I often think I don't speak specifically enough about abuse against men given that was not my experience so when I find sources like this, I am always eager to include them. This is an incredibly moving account including video footage taken by police on site. The victim's girlfriend both physically and mentally abused him over the course of three years, keeping him isolated from friends and family. I'm very glad that in this account the male victim was taken seriously as some people try to discount or discredit the very notion of women abusing their male significant others. This sort of thing is very real, and it is people like this who speak up who have the ability to show the world what can happen. Please take time to watch and share this video-- you never know who you might help. If you know any organization (scouts, church, etc.) that would like to have a speaker on Teen Dating Abuse, please contact me through ...

With everything that has been happening within the world in this past year, I think this subject has come into the light of importance-- where it should be. Speaking out against abuse isn't easy . Some might wonder why a survivor of abuse wouldn't wish to name their abuser and see justice done, and there are quite a few reasons, some of which I have spoken about before. If the abuser is still in the picture, it can be dangerous. The survivor might fear retribution-- something I feared when I first began speaking about my experience within an abusive relationship given I was still in the same area of my abuser and saw him regularly. Even if the abuser isn't still in the survivor's life, they may not wish to approach the subject because it's a painful topic or because they're embarrassed by what they went through-- even though there is nothing for a survivor to feel embarrassed or ashamed of. This isn't me trying to make survivors feel bad about not speaking...

Happy Thursday everyone! This week is pretty busy for me with my courses picking up and trying to prepare for graduation in May (already), but I still wanted to share something. I have been wanting to talk more about codependency and being codependent. I think that this video by SciShow Psych explains the basic points of codependency in a relationship rather well, and I really wanted to share it with all of you. Codependency refers to a certain amount of attachments and behaviors, and according to SciShow Psych, it is also referred to in three other ways: relationship dependency, emotional dependency, or obsessive love. It is also referred to by another term, which I have used before-- addictive love. If you would like to read my previous post, click here!   This video talks about things I didn't get to touch on, such as the Love Attitude Scale , which is something both interesting and, I think, important as it is supposed to be able to tell a person if they are codependen...