Can Oversharing Be Good For Your Health? Here’s Why and How
TMI. Ā Oversharing. “Did they really just say that?”
Sounds like a typical Activist.
(Really.)
We’ve all heard of an Activist. But what’s aĀ Health Activist?
Health Acā¢tivā¢ist, noun ā A blogger, tweeter, or community leader helping others navigate their health.Ā (You can endorse me as a Health ActivistĀ here!)
I’m so honored to be nominated for a WEGO Health Activist Award. Ā In their words, “these activist all-stars are putting 110% effort into changing the healthcare landscape and empowering the patient voice.” Ā
I know what you’re thinking.
Social media?Ā What on earth does that have to do with health advocacy?
More than you think.
We live in the age ofĀ “oversharing.”Ā On social media, we can say anything and often times, we do.
But did you know that oversharing can actually be good for you?
From my own decade of medical isolation, I learned that nobody can heal in a vacuum. Being able to reach out for help and find support is what helps us realize weāre not alone. Ā Sometimes we need to share…and overshare. Ā It’s how we find strength in numbers.
Seven Things I Was Scared to Overshare That Ended Up Helping Other People
- What it’s like having an open wound
- Feeling conflicted about testifying against my abuser
- Dealing with undeserved shame after sexual abuse
- Getting pulled over by the cops when I tried to run for my life
- Learning to accept my ostomy
- Explaining to kids what my scars are from
- Dealing with confusing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
None of these articles were easy to write – or share. Ā But, after almost losing my life, I’m hoping to share the lessons trauma can teach all of us – an appreciation of the world’s everyday miracles and beautiful detours.
Why am I sharing my detour? It takes āgutsā to talk ā and sing ā about my sexual abuse ,my anger, my guilt, how I lost hope in things ever getting better. Ā But I share to show that things DO get better with patience, trust and resilience.
5 Ways DETOURS are Transforming Mental Health
- Why we all need toĀ fight in the open
- Why we’re all Detourists – including you!
- Why we all deserve to be creative
- How I’m bringing together “Detourists” from all over –Ā read their stories!
- How I’m bringing mental health to students
I share to give courage and a sense of belonging to people who are struggling with all kinds of mental health or physical challenges, but also to help build a campus that gives everyone the kind of awareness and generosity of spirit that makes that world a better place. If we all share our ādetoursā, we see that our detours are not detours at all. Ā Every road leads somewhere ā we just need to hang in long enough to catch the flowers along the way.Ā The more we share our detours, the more we realize weāre not alone.Ā
I share my story to find the upside of obstacles and “detours”, and to welcome the unexpected change in my āthought-outā life to see what opportunities may arise from that deviation in my path. Ā I try to experience my struggles, and then transform them into something I can grow from.
Basically, all that means is, when there’s an obstacle, we are going to feel negative things – shame, frustration, sadness, anger, guilt. But the great part is that all of those emotions are just…ENERGY!
So if all those awful feelings are just energy, why don’t we just transform that energy into something positive? Ā (Which we can do through creativity!)
Why Social Media Helps
That’s what I hope to show on social media. To me, being a WEGO Health ActivistĀ means that I can use profiles, handles, posts, tweets, pics and accounts to be open, honest and “account”-able. Ā It took me a long time before I could find the courage to be so vulnerable with the world wide web, and some things I share are still not easy to always talk about.
Ā You can endorse me as a Health Activist by clickingĀ here.
So that’s why I’m an Activist – a Health Activist.Ā I try to make “health” an active word. Ā
Social media is here to stay – whether we like it or not. So, just like we can transform pain, fear, shame and negativity, let’s transform, reinvent and reimagine how we view the influence social media has on our world. Ā Let’s use it to all beĀ Health Activists.
How You Can Be a Health Activist by “Oversharing”
So next time you’re hash-tagging an Instagram pic, or scrolling your Facebook feed, think about one positive message you can share.
Maybe it’s an inspirational quote. Ā Maybe it’s a calming picture of the ocean. Ā Maybe it’s openly sharing a struggle you had that day.
Or maybe it’s just reading someone else’s story Ā and commenting, “Thank you,” Ā “I understand,” or “I’m here for you.”
#RT that!Ā with #NoFilter! Ā (Like!)
How can YOU be a Health Activist today?
You can endorse me as a Health Activist through October 21st by clickingĀ here!
“nobody can heal in a vacuum” such powerful words that I think people forget. It’s often when everyone has gone and one is left to their own devices that the loneliness of healing sets in. Such interesting points!
LOL! I love this post in many ways! My husband often thinks I over share.
I never even thought about that
Love this…it is so true that letting the demons out takes away their power…and can help others! Great job!
interesting post, thought provoking. I do over share at times but I keep it low on the blog, i over share more in real life
I can’t remember how I made it through life without social media before! It’s so nice being able to connect with people all over that have the same stuff!
lOVED this post. it was funny we were just discussing something similar last night! Thank you for your thoughts!
I think oversharing can be good and bad, it depends on the place, time and circumstance. The internet and social media are a great place to connect, but you do have to be careful. Thanks for oversharing your story.
What a great post! I love this – I think social media is SUCH a powerful tool on both ends of the spectrum. I personally love it and always have – I think sharing things can make you feel better in certain cases too. Love this!
These are some things I definitely hadn’t considered. We can make a pretty big impact on others just by talking about our struggles on social media.
These days people get to express their feelings and find others that feel the same way or have gone through the same things. It becomes a reassurance of sorts that you are not struggling alone in this world.
I love this post and It’s so nice that you are able to share this with us. Social media was so powerful
Opening up via social media does help others- I have seen it š