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You feel as if the world is rushing at you. Noises become very pronounced and it makes your head swim. Sometimes you find it difficult to focus, sometimes you feel disoriented. Your heart rate soars and you become very aware of your breathing. And you sometimes have pins and needles in your hands or a …
Sexual assault teaches victims that their bodies are not really their own. Victims often report feelings such as shame, terror, and guilt, and many blames themselves for the assault. In the aftermath of a sexual assault, survivors face extremely difficult and painful emotions and experiences. Every survivor responds to traumatic events in their own way. …
Mental Health Challenges Resulting from Sexual Assault Read More »
What is self-harm? Self-harm is a broad term that describes the act of hurting yourself on purpose. It is also known as self-inflicted violence, self-injury, or self-mutilation. Self-harm could include any of the following behaviors: People can also harm themselves by drinking alcohol, smoking or taking drugs (all of which could lead to addiction), eating …
When one is silenced and shunned by sexual assault, it is difficult to find one’s voice – especially if one was made to feel unworthy, disrespected, terrorized, and afraid, so what survivors can do and most end up doing is share their gifts, talents, love and beauty with the world. Tapping into their own creativity …
“Shame is the lie someone told you about yourself.” Anais Nin (attributed) If you were a victim of childhood sexual abuse, you know about shame. You have likely been plagued by it all your life without identifying it as shame. You may feel shame because you blame yourself for the abuse itself, or because you …
Flashbacks are memories of past traumas. They may take the form of pictures, sounds, smells, body sensations, feelings, or the lack of them (numbness). It is common for a survivor to experience vivid images of rape or sexual abuse, making you feel as though the event is happening all over again. These vivid images are …
Understanding PTSD Flashbacks and How You Can Cope With Them Read More »
Big things can grow from little routine changes. Taking care of yourself isn’t all manicures and “treating yo’self,” don’t cha know? When you break it down, self-care is about ensuring your most basic needs are being met. And that (literally) takes time. Sometimes, looking after your most simple, human needs—the eye-roll inducing, obvious ones—is harder than it seems. …
The Secret To Practicing Self-Care When You Have No Idea Where To Start Read More »
While all forms of victimization are traumatic and life-changing to any gender, survivors of male childhood sexual abuse have the greatest challenges. Much of the literature on sexual abuse and trauma focuses on only women as victims. This isn’t an accident, there are also countless resources for female survivors dealing with trauma from sexual abuse …
On the Road to Recovery – How Male Sexual Abuse Survivors Can Heal Read More »
Being a trauma survivor is a challenging journey, but it is also an empowering one. Trauma acts as the catalyst for us to learn how to better engage in self-care and introduces us to endless modalities for healing and expressing ourselves, enabling us to channel our crisis into our transformation. Most importantly, it gives us access to …
5 Powerful Self-Care Tips for Abuse and Trauma Survivors Read More »
Survivors rarely report sexual assault. The question of whether to report or not is a serious one to consider, in fact, sexual assault remains the most drastically under-reported crime ever. Reporting rates are low for a variety of reasons. A survivor may be uncertain whether what happened was actually an assault. Sexual assaults that are …
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