Simone Biles Shows Us the Importance of Prioritizing Our Mental Health
When U.S. gymnast Simone Biles dropped out of Olympic competition on Wednesday, she reminded us about the importance of prioritizing mental health. “I’m not in the right headspace,” Biles said. “I’m going to focus on my well-being.”
In 2018, Biles revealed that former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar sexually abused her. Convicted the same year of sexually abusing young athletes, Nassar received a sentence of up to 175 years in prison. “I, too, am one of the many survivors that was sexually abused by Larry Nassar,” Biles stated in a 2018 tweet.
Effects of child sexual abuse on mental health
Child sexual abuse leaves profound effects on those who endured it. Researchers interviewed 174 women about the consequences of child sexual abuse, and the women reported higher levels of mental health symptoms. In another study, researchers looked at data from 8,292 families in Avon, England who previously reported sexual abuse. What researchers found is that an association between child sexual abuse and poorer psychological well-being, and they concluded that “child sexual abuse has long-term repercussions for adult mental health.” In a study of 172 adults who endured child sexual abuse, researchers found a greater amount of mental health symptoms.
The reason that child sexual abuse causes mental health problems for survivors when they are adults is that it affects the brain. As a friend once told me, “It breaks the brain.” One way that child sexual abuse changes the brain is by increasing the amygdala, the brain’s smoke detector. The amygdala is responsible for the fight, flight, or freeze mechanism. An increased amygdala means that someone is constantly triggered and lacks a feeling of personal safety.
Two ways to prioritize your mental health
If you survived child sexual abuse, know that prioritizing your mental health is important. The good news is that rewiring the brain is possible. In other words, you can undo the effects the abuse caused in your brain. One of those ways is something I mention frequently in this newsletter. It is called tapping, or emotional freedom technique. Tapping combines acupressure with modern psychology. It is easy and is something you can do without a therapist to help yourself heal. The simplest way to practice it is by using The Tapping Solution app.
Another way to prioritize your mental health is through a regular meditation practice. With the many meditation apps that exist, meditation becomes something any of us can do. The meditation practice I like to do daily is observing my breath. I combine that with prayer. I begin by silently saying the Jesus Prayer (Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me) three times then I observe my breath for a count of 15. I think a number on the in-breath and the word “out” on the out-breath. I do the same thing for each part of the Jesus Prayer. Doing the whole process five times takes me about 15 minutes. As I say the Jesus Prayer, I picture myself in a crowd wanting to have a touch from Jesus. Each round I get closer to Him until I am standing in front of Him.
If you are ready to start prioritizing your mental health, pray this prayer:
Oh Lord, I come to you broken from childhood trauma. I ask You to empower me to put a priority on my mental health. When I wake up in the morning, help me to do what will rewire my brain.
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