About Mental Health

Yesterday, I discussed triggering, and a bit about what it is.

Let me clarify. I am not a psychologist, a psychiatrist, or any kind of therapist. I have several friends both here and in Houston who are active with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. I have not been involved, what I know is more from the "osmosis" of being around people who discuss these matters, and talking with friends who are familiar with various conditions.

I come from a military family. I know the stigma that mental health care can have, the resistance to admitting one is seeing a "shrink." As the daughter of an Air Force veteran, the sister of an Army war veteran, I follow the news articles about veterans, brain injuries, and mental health.

About triggers, content, and warnings

This is the third of my posts prompted by a mix of the Agents of SHIELD finale and my social media reading. Last Friday, I wrote about Death and Grief, and on Tuesday I wrote about Science Fiction / Fantasy and Parenting.

This is, in part, an Agents of Shield reaction post to the Season 2 finale, "S.O.S. part 2." If you desire to be completely spoiler-free, you might wish to watch that first. That said, I don't intend to discuss Agents of SHIELD itself, it's more my own thoughts, influenced by the show, that build on my recent blogposts and other articles I've read and topics I want to write about.

In Friday's post on Grief, I mentioned how a renewed grief can be triggered years after the fact. I used the term "triggered" deliberately. By triggering, I mean a rush of vivid emotional memories that can overwhelm a person, or affect their mental equilibrium.