It’s hard to avoid all the stories about therapy notes in the media at the moment. I’m glad of it really, glad that we’re talking about it. Every seasoned therapist has, I imagine, experienced the gut wrenching realisation that we haven’t been told about a sexual assault or rape because our client, current, prospective, maybe past, has a well-grounded concern about how her (usually) notes could be used in court.
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We are blessed with a small but fabulous choice of pubs and eateries near where I live. It’s a tourist haven for six months of the year, attracting people from all around the world.
It also draws people home from all around the world, to reunite with loved ones, have the craic, maybe an oul “dalliance” or two… maybe a bump of coke…
I’ve been asked a few times since it aired if I’ve met kids like Jamie. Truth? I have, yes.
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Yesterday a guy explained to me that most women would be up for crying rape if they thought the guy they just had sex with had money.
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I was, still am a little, in two minds about posting this. But here it is. Over a week old. Because technology and I have a difficult relationship at present.. (as in, I hate it… and I think it hates me…) Maybe it’s best I had time to calm down. I’ve edited out some expletives…but
I am still nauseated by the ConorMcGregor story. Not just by what he almost certainly did, and his whiny rantings after being found liable. But also by the sadly predictable onslaught of misogyny directed at both his victim(s) – and his partner. No doubt in some sad corner of the internet someone’s blaming his mother…
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“I’m sorry” – powerful words aren’t they?
The best thing about saying “I’m sorry” is that it does all of these things:
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I just saw on Sexual Violence Centre Cork‘s page that the term “gaslighting” is the word chosen by Merriam-Webster as the word of the year 2022 with searches on its website for the word spiking by 1,740% in 2022.
What a thing to witness! What a cultural shift! In awareness at least – the behaviour certainly hasn’t disappeared. If anything, its ‘territory’ has expanded. But it’s always good to have the language for a phenomenon. It literally makes it easier to talk about it.
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I was sitting with my husband outside a coffee shop in my hometown of Youghal the day before the much anticipated Ironman 22 last week. It was a glorious hot sunny day and we were basking in the excitement and pre-event buzz that was taking over the town. I felt a gorgeous huge pride and affection bursting out through my chest and I was loving every moment of it… This really was the perfect day. Just perfect. And everyone was happy, smiling and being lovely.
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Mixed messaging much??
“Be Kind” is something we hear a lot growing up – especially, but not exclusively of course, women.
And kindness is so, so important. So basic, so simple. If everyone were kind, the events we are currently witnessing would simply be alien to us. There would be no Putins. I can (and do) dream…
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You’ll see a lot of posts today giving you the grim figures about the gender pay gap (it’s real), physical assault in intimate relationships (it’s real, and it happens more to women), judgement on image (yes, real, and still happening more to women, and yes, even by women, I know, but please look at the “why” before using it as an excuse for poor behaviour), sexualisation (just look at almost every ad, ever), normalisation of violence against women in porn (please don’t tell me women enjoy it),the low representation of women in positions of power, authority, management, STEM jobs and so on, and so on… ad nauseum.
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