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Mental Health Expert Links Online Reputation Crises and Post-Traumatic Stress

Wednesday, 30 March 2022 12:00 PM

By Jennifer Cunningham, Certified Reputation Repair Coach

SARASOTA, FL / ACCESSWIRE / March 30, 2022 / Many people who have been publicly humiliated experience a type of Post-Traumatic Stress, which needs its own definition. It may not be the same stress as a combat veteran, but it can be as psychologically damaging. If you have experienced a social media or mob type lynching, you are sure to know what I'm talking about.

If your situation is due to your own poor decisions, you might be lucky. "Huh? Lucky? I don't think so." Let me explain. If you did something wrong and got caught, or made a bad decision that had unintended consequences, at least you can point to those decisions. The human brain can comprehend self-forgiveness. For example, if I run over my neighbor's dog, I can apologize, offer to pay the vet bills, buy flowers. But what if someone mistakenly or intentionally said I ran over my neighbor's dog? What if they plastered my name all over Facebook, Meta, whatever? I have no way to defend myself. I can say I didn't do it and those who know me will believe me. Those who don't will judge, hate or worse.

There is a great quote, "a lie can go around the world before the truth puts its pants on." In our social (often anti-social) media world, we are all potential victims.

The staff at Net Rep hear stories like this every day. "Not a day goes by without a discussion with our clients about the impacts on their personal lives - not just their businesses -- of negative online reputation information," said David McMahon, NetReputation.com Director of Client Services.

Thank goodness for Online Reputation Management companies like NetReputation.com to provide the necessary technological content management service. Some may argue, "why should I have to pay to get my name cleared when I did nothing wrong?" It's a legitimate question but consider the alternative: your name lives forever online and you can do nothing about it. Every time an employer, potential romantic partner, or business interest Googles you, the story, whether true or not is what they will see. You are automatically put on the defensive. Having to explain the situation, often without the proper context. It's frustrating, humiliating. and whittles away at our self-esteem.

When something as traumatic as a public lashing upends our life, we begin searching for answers. Answers to questions like, "Why me, why now, how can this be happening?" Those questions are unanswerable, especially if we had no responsibility in their happening. So, we continue to struggle and try to get on with our lives as best we can. We'll be doing fine for a while and then we see or hear something that reminds us of that terrible time. We may do an online search of ourselves just to see if the damage is on the first page, or if the ORM is working and requires a deeper search. Maybe we overhear a comment, and we think they are talking about us. Or perhaps friends disappear. The incident is causing insomnia, relationship and career issues, substance abuse or constant rumination.

All these situations are triggers.

If not addressed, triggers can grab us by the collar and yank us back ten feet after we've only moved inches forward. That's why recognizing and understanding our triggers is the first step to managing them. There are numerous articles and exercises to help understand triggers. Things like the Emotional Freedom Technique, Tapping and EMDR Therapy, to name a few.

If you are someone who truly wants to heal from your situation, keep seeking a remedy. Meditate, exercise, walk. Talk to a therapist or coach. Keep a journal of your feelings and your progress. Conduct research on others who have taken the reins back. I urge you to read their stories.

Often hearing how others have recovered from their experiences is a good first step. Some examples can be found from Tedtalks by Catherine Bosley: My Naked Nightmare: a lesson in surviving humiliation | TED Talk, Read Warwick Fairfax Crucible Leadership: Embrace Your Trials to Lead a Life of Significance: Fairfax, Warwick: 9781631954764: Amazon.com: Books, Justine Sacco, How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco's Life - The New York Times (nytimes.com), So You've Been Publicly Shamed, Jon Ronson. So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson (goodreads.com) and a little PDF gem, Fighting Slander, Fighting Slander: A Practical and Legal Guide to Stopping Defamation: Carroll, Nicholas: 9781737322528: Amazon.com: Books.

There are many examples of people who have been humiliated, some by their own poor decisions and some as innocent victims. It doesn't really matter what disaster got you here, it's the actions you take to move through it. If you're reading this post, you have taken a big step to Reputation Recovery. You are working with or considering working with ORM experts who can help you reinvent your image and show the world the authentic you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Cunningham is a Certified Coach, having earned her certification from Coach Training Alliance, which is accredited from the International Coaching Federation She has Masters degrees in Counseling and Conflict Management and has counseled and coached hundreds of people on career and relationships. Her current work is focused on the psychological consequences of reputational and professional humiliation. More information is at www.reputationrepaircoach.com

ABOUT NETREPUTATION.COM

Founded in 2015 by Adam Petrilli, NetReputation.com is an award-winning pioneer and leader in Online Reputation Management (ORM). The company offers leading-edge ORM solutions for individuals and businesses including reputation analysis, negative content suppression, optimization and removal, brand promotion and protection and privacy protection. Named the "Fastest Growing Reputation Management Firm in the US" in 2019 and 2020 by Inc. Magazine and "Best Reputation Management Firm" in 2019 and 2020 by Newsweek, among numerous other accolades, NetReputation.com delivers customized strategies and support that builds brands, supports sales and enhances reputations. NetReputation.com is headquartered in Sarasota, FL and has offices in Kansas City, KC, New York, NY, and London, UK.

For information, visit www.netreputation.com, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NetReputation/, YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsKeTTdDpWu7oF9PzzU2TMQ, Twitter at https://twitter.com/netreputation and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/netreputation/

Media contact:

Peter Bylsma
NetReputation,com Public Relations
310-795-8532
[email protected]

SOURCE: NetReputation.com

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Company Update
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