I’m honestly not sure if I would be able to speak. I know I’m better than they are, and I think I would feel like if I lash out and yell and all that, I’m dropping to their level, and they would feel more power..

Just like a bully, they generally will pick and pick till their victim lashes out, then the bully will step back and laugh..

Though, I may say thank you..
one it’s really confusing to them ( honestly it wouldn’t take much TO confuse them..lol)
But secondly, ( I know this sounds strange) if I was never abused, I would have true empathy towards other you have been through it, I may not care as much about helping others, I probably never would’ve met my wife ( also a survivor of childhood abuse) and the list goes on and on.

I have had my struggles, bad dreams, violence towards object, hurting myself till i bleed.. and numerous other think including suicide attempts ( more than one.. probably closer to 5, maybe more)..
it’s not been an easy road, and yes, most of it was due to things that’s happened to me.. But, the outcome of myself, is much better than I may have been otherwise..
plus could you imagine how naive I would be?

Hope this helps, this is entirely my opinion only.. based on looking back on my life..

I do have to say, your question is wonderful, great job!!

Notalone00

So sorry for all the missing words, autocorrect, and confusings ..

*if I was never abused, I wouldn’t have true empathy...*

* numerous other things ( not think) ...*

*most of it was due to things that happened...*

I wish daily strength had an option to edit, or delete a post... that way we can fix what it says, or maybe delete it cause it sounds stupid or something...

That's not stupid at all!! I was thinking kind of like that too actually. I'm not at the point where i could say thank you but I do realize it's made me have much more empathy and I'm more emotionally intelligent than other people my age.

qwertyuser,

Before I came face to face with my attacker I'd want to have prepared myself first. I would need to be emotionally prepared, have a support system in place and meet in a public place.

I would not confront until I knew I had all these things in place, otherwise it's likely I'd be retraumatized again.
xx
Suza

I would say to my uncles, "What you did to me was unacceptable. You had sex with me when I was 6 y/o, every night for almost a year. It was nasty and horrible. You caused so much damage to my life. It's like a nightmare how I feel about myself. Shame on you. I'm going to let God punish you."

I never had my day in court. I wanted to be the one to convict him to put him away forever and have him sit with his guilt. If i had my day i would read this to him. You took me away from my family and the ones i love. You used your weapon to control me and to use me as your play toy. For days you tortured me, chiseling away at me, to leave nothing behind but me as an empty shell. You put me and my family through something that can never be forgiven. In the game of chess. There can only be one winner. I won. You lost. ( Checkmate )

Scott

P.S This came from my private journals when i was young. Journal date. 2/21/1983 Time 2;40 am.

I'd tell him that I am sorry for him.
Sorry that he felt so small and insignificant in life that the only way for him to feel powerful was to hurt a child who could not do anything in her own defence.
I feel sorry for him that my pain is temporary, and one day in the future i keep working towards there will be a day when his actions do not cause me such pain, and I keep waiting for that day. But that day will never come for him, he will have to live with what he is for the rest of his miserable existence. and I feel sorry for him.
And I would tell him thank you. Without him I never would have moved, and without moving I never would have met the amazing people that I did, or go to uni and get my degree and masters, or have travelled or met my unoficially adopted siblings. I never would have had the common ground with my (non biological) big sister which allowed us to create a relationship in the first place, even though we built on it so it is now much more than just 2 abuse survivors sticking together. I would never have known how to help her, or have the bond with her that I do now.
Finally, I would tell him that I am in the process of rising above him. That everything he did to make me small will one day be insignificant in my life. That I am working on growth, and all he did was give me a springboard at rock bottom to push off. He didnt destroy me, He created in me the drive to be something better.