A community for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and trauma
No matter where an individual is at in their healing process, self-care can help manage the effects of living as an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Self-care involves putting your own needs first and participating in activities that make you happy. It also involves practicing healthy behaviors and surrounding yourself with individuals that support …
It seems hard to conceive. Forgiveness? Why should I give him forgiveness? In my case, he’s not around to apologize. He’s not even alive to benefit from it. Why should I bother, when he hurt me without my consent, and left my family alone to pick up the mess?The concept of forgiveness isn’t new to …
There is beauty in healing, broken inner parts (dissociation) from surviving. I resonate with the art of ‘kintsugi. This concept is an old Japanese philosophy’repairing pottery by golden joinery’ The Impact We can mind our broken parts and our sadness, making them emblems of resilience, the passage of time, and the inevitability of change and …
Warning: May contain triggers for survivors of childhood sexual abuse Originally published June 2, 2018 I was seven or so the first time I was left alone with my ‘aunt’. We lived across the street and the family was a big part of our lives. The parting nasty reminder to ‘mind your aunt !’ …. …
It Never Crossed My Mind the ‘Aunt’ Would Lie…And Be Believed Read More »
Warning: May contain triggers for survivors of childhood sexual abuse Starting at a very young age , my brother would show me my dad’s adult magazine collection. One story, told by my father, places me around the age of 3 when my brother was caught showing the neighborhood boys that month’s Playboy edition, which he had cleverly …
Coping Some of you may be wondering why I have shared this picture of frogs. Others, who are disnerds like me, may be wondering why the photo of Tiana and Naveen. They are not my favorites, it’s not a covert message that I thought I would share. Instead, last night, they were a coping mechanism. Will …
Warning: May contain triggers for survivors of childhood sexual abuse I was raped when I was 8Over and overWhen I should have been safeThere is nothing poetic here They always call us crazyThey always deny, say we lieAs recent as last yearI was called a stupid “victim”By a Buddhist thinkerWho called the memory of my …
When I received a phone call informing me my abuser had died, I can’t remember if sorrow or relief won as my initial emotion. I would like to say it was sorrow. Maybe to make myself appear as if I’m not completely desensitized to the death of someone I loved. I honestly believe it was …
An Open Letter to My Abuser’s Former Victims I’ve oftentimes wondered if you exist. I find myself sometimes, combing through the young women in his life, wondering if he ever did the same things to you. Maybe you don’t exist. Maybe you’re just my imagination running wild, my yearning to find someone else who gets …
Originally published 3/3/2018 I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I am still getting used to writing those words. Admitting to my past and sharing my story has led to multiple moments of what I can only describe as tiny fracture breaks within what I thought was my semi stable reality. I thought I …