That’s kind of like the comment section of this website.
There are many people here in very real, very deep pain. Their wounds are still open and even the slightest amount of pressure or provocation on the wounded area will cause a great amount of pain and probably a verbal reaction.
That is normal.
Have you ever been to the doctor for an injury and as he applies pressure to different points in your body, he asks, “Does this hurt?” If you scream out in pain, he knows that’s the area that needs healing.
It would be a really crappy doctor who said, “What’s wrong with you?! I barely touched you! You are messed up! Get out of here!”
And so, please bear this in mind if you are not one of the wounded. We’ve got the ER equivalent of people walking around here with broken limbs, bleeding wounds, etc. If that kind of thing bothers you, don’t hang out here. You don’t walk into an emergency room and complain you don’t like blood – so don’t come in here and complain you don’t like “negativity.”
Ground Rules for Commenting
Please keep the above scenario in mind when making your comments. Disagreement is welcome as long as its done respectfully. Using actual facts is also helpful. Most objections have already been answered, so please check the “Frequent Objections” tab at the top.
There will be one comment thread reserved specifically for fellow recovering alumni. This thread will NOT be open to debate. It will be in true recovery group format with no judgmental comments and a true safe space for anyone who is hurt. I will have a zero tolerance policy for unsafe/hurtful comments on that thread.
A Very Brave Thing
The four other fellow interns that agreed to be part of the MSNBC show are quite brave. Three of them are all very recent interns from the past 2-3 years, which makes it even more difficult to break the silence. If you remember how difficult it has been for you to share your story, even anonymously or with trusted friends, just image how nerve wracking it is to share it on national television, even more so when you have no control over how you will be edited. We bared our souls for the entire world to see during that weekend workshop and I just want to publicly say how proud I am of each of those women for having the courage to speak their truth.
Any comment which insults any of these women will be IMMEDIATELY DELETED. I will not allow this space to be used for Teen Mania and/or its followers to cause them any more suffering.
If their bravery inspires you, please consider signing this “Open Letter to Those Considering the Honor Academy” I am not the author of that letter or website, but I support what they are doing and feel it is a very valuable endeavor. If everyone felt comfortable signing their name, I feel confident that we would easily have hundreds of signatures. However, I know that not everyone feels safe or recovered enough to do that and there is no pressure to make a stand that is not helpful to your recovery. But if you can, please help prevent future teens from going what you went through.