WellnessWithHolli

Shaming. It has been around for a very long time. It has been in our homes, our schools, our places of work, and in just about every environment which tolerates it and even those which try desperately to tackle it. For over a decade, shaming has taken on a life of its own through social networking sites and through electronic forms of communication. Shaming has gone viral.  Tragically, Public Shaming has become a normative behavior . Although we have known about two of the most common motivations for Public Shaming - to instill fear and to incite division among individuals - we are reluctant to speak honestly about the most deeply consequential effects of Public Shaming.  Today's post will do so as we address Two Costly Casualties.   And in Part Two, we will offer some considerations for it's elimination as we explore  Two Restorative Responses . 2 Costly Casualties of Public Shaming: Our Children and Our Human Condition Our Children Children lear...

Depression . It pops up in the news, especially when we lose celebrities like  Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain . For a few days or a few weeks, there will be caring and compassionate conversation around their losses and the causal factors surrounding their suicides. News anchors, reporters, and experts are disclosing explanations around mental illness, past and present struggles with addiction, and various relational, financial, professional and personal life stress factors.  All of these are important. They should not be minimized. At the same time, as statistics illustrate a dramatic increase in depression and suicide rates since 1999, it is also important to consider environmental and social influences. With our reliance and dependence upon electronic devices dramatically increasing  for communication, entertainment, and social interaction,  are we becoming more disengaged from one another - more detached from human connection - and thus more isolated and depr...

Over the past few weeks, there has been quite a bit of buzz regarding the Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why. Because of my interest in youth, my background in cyber bullying, and my years of advocating for victims of all kinds, I wanted to watch it. I did. Today's blog is not about the controversies surrounding the series or the pros or cons of it. It is about one behavior - shaming - which permeated the entire story-line.  Many of our kids are navigating environments of shaming, both in their real lives and their on-line lives.  It is our duty as parents, guardians, educators, health care professionals and anyone who cares about our kids' well-being to ensure... "shaming is no  more." When most of us were growing up,we saw kids being made fun of. We "put down" other kids or played jokes on them. Or, we were the ones who were teased and taunted. At the same time, most of us were able to establish friendships and we learned about trust, loyalty, and mutual...