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What Does it Mean to be a Millennial?
Growing up, we were told that we had to go to college. We were sold a dream of job and financial security, only to realize that we would drown in student loan debt. Then we would wake up in 2008 to realize that we were smack in the middle of a different kind of financial crisis. Did everyone keep their jobs during this time?
We were also told, as women that we could have families and a career. That sounded great, but did our financial situation live up to this? Did the men in our lives do their parts to help us out? Remember that they were raised by Baby Boomers and Gen-X, so they never saw their dad’s help with the kids and home. These responsibilities also fell on our shoulders.
Then came 9/11. Some of us went to war. Some of us sent our loved one’s to war. Almost all of us lost someone or something with all of these surrounding events. We grew up fast.
We loved growing up on the Oregon Trail. We have also loved to share the joys of social media, before we realized the dangers. We have also been secretly thrilled that social media wasn’t around when some of us went to college because we did not need those days to haunt us forever.
All of these events bring along its own form of trauma, some more than others. Some of them have effected somme of us more than others. Most of us have ignored the effects and some of us haven’t been able to run away from those effects.
Now for some insight into my story: I was molested by a family member. It would be years before I would even realize what happened to me. By the time I realized what happened and I spoke up, nothing was done about it. No one knew what to do. Let me very clear, this blog is about my journey, not about my family. Relationships that have needed to heal, have healed.
My mental health journey has been, in some ways long, and some ways short. Since I was taught early to keep going as if nothing had happened, that is, in a lot of ways where my mental health journey begins. In other ways, my mental health journey doesn’t begin until I acknowledged a problem at the age of 40.
As a teenager, I started to read books about childhood sexual abuse. I knew the statistics. I knew how kids likely became victims. I knew that if I didn’t deal with it, then it would one day deal with me. I went to therapy on and off throughout my life, but I was never really ready to deal with all of my issues. I dealt with the abuse early on, but not the facade that I carried. I was living a double life. On the inside, I carried this secret. On the outside, I was in high school. I was athletic (cheerleading and swimming, some volleyball). I was an A and B student. I was president of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). Teachers adored me. I was a model student. After all, I was told that I had to go to college.
Hello! I am Suzanne Summers.
I am a millennial married mother of 4. I am a Nurse Practitioner. I live with PTSD, Anxiety, and Depression because I was molested by a family member as a child. There are a lot of memories missing and that is just fine by me. There is so much more to my story. The gist is that I learned to keep up a facade, no matter what was going on in the background. That worked for 40 years, until it nearly took me out. My life came crashing down in a way that I never expected. I have spent the past two years rebuilding. I have learned so much. We are going to dig into my story, we are going to add in some best practices with research, we are going to share. Society has come so far, but there is always room to grow. We owe this to our children.
Healing Happens in Community
Disclaimer: I am a Health Care Provider, but I am not YOUR health care provider. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, call 988. For advice on your specific mental health, take these ideas back to your therapist and/or medical provider to find out what works best in your specific situation.