Sexual Abuse Support Group
Sexual abuse is a relative cultural term used to describe sexual relations and behavior between two or more parties which are considered criminally and/or morally offensive. Different types of sexual abuse involve: Non-consensual, forced physical sexual behavior such as rape, incest or sexual assault, or psychological forms of abuse, such as verbal sexual behavior or...
I was recently sexually assaulted. I'm 23 years old and this is the first time something of this nature has ever happened to me. I have chosen not to persue any legal action as I do not believe it will help me in any way.
I've been seeing a therapist to help with processing, and they're very helpful, but I still find myself losing focus at work when my thoughts can just wander and feeling guilty or just 'bad' about the whole thing. And when I say 'bad', I don't know how to explain what the feeling is, other than it's terrible. I'm actively reminding myself that I did NOT ask for this, and that this is not my fault.
I've been channeling anger and anxiety and frustrations into reading books, spending time outside, and attending kick boxing classes.
The things I'm doing are sort of helping but I just feel so lost. My body doesn't feel like mine anymore. And to make things worse, I don't have many people to talk to about this. My boyfriend witnessed the incident and has been beyond supportive but I don't know that he understands and he certainly cannot relate. My best friend is pushing me to handle this from a legal aspect and I don't want to. I'm afraid to tell my family because I think they'll brush it off or minimize how it makes me feel.
My head is spinning all the time and I'm hoping this support group will help. I'm looking for women who have been through this before. How do you cope? What do you do when something triggers you, even years later? What did you do to begin the healing process?
From what you write you're doing a lot of things that help already: Therapy, channeling anger, keeping reminding yourself that it wasn't your fault. I don't have much more advise to give you, sorry. It does take time - as hard as this is (and I know perfectly well how hard it is since I struggle with that myself), be patient and be kind to yourself as often and as much as you can.