Societal Taboos Are Isolating People Who Need Connection Most
We live in a world full of extremes and contradictions. Social media, which was built to connect us, is actually fragmenting us.
Shortened attention spans, depression, anxiety, loneliness. In an attempt to cover for that, we are oversharing for clicks, or blinding others with life highlights.
At the same time, in our modern age, we still have so many topics that are circumvented, or considered taboo to talk about. And yes, I mean the heavy stuff.
Mental health disorders.
Early pregnancy loss (you know, that three-month rule).
The insecurities while waiting for a diagnosis you haven't confirmed yet.
Death and the many facets of grief.
You don’t dare to speak about it because it’s not considered "appropriate."
But do you know where this leads us? Where it has led us?
It means the people struggling with these exact things feel completely alone.
And because they feel alone, they don't speak up.
Who would understand them, anyway?
It is a self-perpetuating, negative cycle.
Another hurdle with taboo topics is that everyone has an opinion on them. Take the example of announcing a pregnancy before three months. The "I would never do it - the likelihood of losing the baby is far too high." rationalizing.
And then we wonder why so many women grieve in silence, because nobody even knew about the tiny miracle they were experiencing.
Or think about the anxiety that comes when you’re waiting for a mental health diagnosis. There’s a lot of information out there once it's confirmed. But the waiting period? That’s a slippery slope.
You feel insecure about sharing it because, what if it’s not confirmed? People will say you’re a hypochondriac.
Or, you know, "nowadays everyone has ADHD." What is this doing to the people who have been struggling silently? They are waiting for this diagnosis to be confirmed and don’t dare to speak up because these opinions make them feel tiny.
So they don’t speak. And every single one of them feels alone.
When all they crave, all they need, is connection.
Connection that might actually save them.
The solution would be so easy. There should be no barrier to what is considered appropriate to talk about. It’s simply a personal choice.
Do you want to share, or do you not? Are you ready to get the word out? That is the important question.
And if you’re on the receiving end of these topics, just consider that it’s their personal choice to talk about it. It doesn’t mean you have to. It doesn’t mean you need to have the same stance on it. It just means that we need connection.
And there is one more thing to realize: whenever someone has a problem with a taboo, it normally says much more about them than it does about you.
The problem is not with you, it’s with them.
