Authors MJ Leaver

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MJ Leaver
MJ Leaver
@MJ_Leaver
Do people understand what I actually mean in my bio when I say I am a poster child for mental health. 😅

It means I experience a wide spectrum of mental health conditions, and I go to a lot of therapy. It doesn't mean I know everything (or anything). I have two full time treating clinicians. I speak from lived experience, and some days I feel like I know nothing.

Sometimes I am deeply unwell, and still so much risk I need to be hospitalised. Other times I can go speak at a national conference about suicide prevention. It isn't meant to be like some weird humble brag that I am the picture of perfect health.

At so much risk (see, still not proofreading).
I'm really thankful for the pocketfam, for the supports, the friendships, the jokes, the sometimes challenging ideas.
I have no certainty in what I say as being right (often I think it is wrong?) And I try to question and learn

All of the time. I am human, I make mistakes (much bigger ones than my endless typos), I try not to do harm, I try to acknowledge the privileges I have, and I try to use that privilege to improve the world.
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MJ Leaver
MJ Leaver
@MJ_Leaver
The thing about trauma, is that when something happens that reminds you of your trauma (a similar event, or a similar smell, or taste, or some other stimuli). It triggers a trauma response in you. This manifests in different ways for different people.

So, in terms of people in Melbourne freaking out about Sydney's seemingly lacking response to the current outbreak, coupled with the new cases in Victoria - this is going to trigger a trauma response.

The lockdown was traumatising.

How much, depends on the individual.

When you have a trauma response, it is physically terrifying. Your adrenaline might surge. You could feel afraid. You could feel angry. You might react by lashing out. You might shut down. You might have anxiety that it is all "going to happen again".

Or that you don't think you could survive another lockdown, because you barely survived the last one.

These are all natural and normal responses, and I know they are hard, and I am so sorry if you're feeling this fear.

I don't know what is going to happen.
I do hope that you can do your best to be safe. Try to take each moment as it comes, do the best you can do to get by.
Please find helplines below.
Beyond Blue Covid Mental Health call 1800 512 348 (also online
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MJ Leaver
MJ Leaver
@MJ_Leaver
A lot of people are having trauma responses, and they don't even know it. Now trauma isn't a free pass to be an asshole, but one of the ways it can manifest is through 'over controlling'. They're scared, trying to push down that fear by attacking everyone around them.


Now, trauma doesn't make you a racist, but being a racist does inflict trauma.
When you're triggered and vulnerable (and being vulnerable feels unsafe), this can lead to fear. In a desperate attempt to avoid that fear, and lack of control, people can try to control everything.

Someone disagrees with you and threatens what you're using to make sense of the universe? You attack, because it feels like an attack on you, and what you think is keeping you safe.

It doesn't mean there aren't things you should be critiquing, or that you can't have discussions, but it does mean you can and should be mindful of how your vulnerabilities are interacting with the ways you are trying to make sense of the world.

The good news is, the Government has funded 20 sessions of Medicare, so hopefully everyone can go to therapy and figure out a way to navigate a world that has changed forever.
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