Inadequate Support System: Survival of The Fittest
Professional Experience Article
The epitome of today’s society can be summarized with this phrase coined by Herbert Spencer: “The survival of the fittest.” The current climate, culture, and environment we currently reside in is a breeding ground conducive for disconnection and emotional detachment, in our families, schools, and communities ultimately impacting our youth. This disconnection and emotional detachment is brought on by an inadequate support system. Imagine being disconnected from the very thing that provides life to you, the thing that nurtures you and gives you the resources and the nutrients needed for healthy development, and the thing that ensures your safety and protection: much like a mother’s womb to a fetus. Yes, this is a callous environment. living in an extreme environment like this is hard to fathom. In fact, it wouldn’t be living at all. It would be surviving! Just imagine the long term negative impact this place would have on an individual. Who would choose to live here? To be honest I don’t believe anyone would choose to live here; however, in most cases they have no choice but to live…well, survive here.
Let the truth be known that this place exist. This place is not a fantasy or figment of my imagination. I wish it was. Many individuals reside here. In fact, many of our youth reside here. They have been forced to reside here because they have no other place to go. “Here,” is a place of heightened maladaptive behaviors. It is a place of defiance. It’s a place of increased anxiety, depression, and dissociation. It’s a place of self-harm and suicidal ideation. It’s a place of brokenness and dejection. It’s a place of hopelessness. It’s a place of malnourishment where they are fed rejection, fear, and pain and are left with a bitter taste called abandonment. Abandonment is like a book without the shelf. It becomes alone, forgotten, and miserable. It is not displayed properly. It becomes dejected and walked all over, broken and purposeless. It loses its value because it has not been maintained properly. Because of not being properly maintained or it being disconnected from its proper place, it becomes ripped and torn apart. The treacherous marks and scars on the fragmented book cover only tell a brief excerpt of what it has been through. Pages are easily ripped out and January 2022 InSession | FMHCA.org
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