Survivors

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Sharing – Parenting through Sibling Sexual Abuse | The Impossible Choice
ByMikeM October 29, 2026 Reading Time: 3 minutes

A lot of other survivors of sibling abuse are dealing with this every day, trying to do what is right for their own healing, and we shouldn’t judge them for it. But parents have their own decisions to make, too. Those decisions come with consequences. That’s life. When you children are both the survivor and the abuser, you can’t ignore the reality of the situation. Too many parents expect their children to “get over it” in the name of family harmony, which translates into choosing the abuser over the abused, in the name of your own comfort. When the survivor asks you to also cut off contact with their abuser, you don’t have to do it, but understand where that is coming from. It’s very likely they don’t feel believed or understood, and seeing everyone treat their abuser like nothing changed is going to impact them.

There’s no easy solution for you as parents, but understand there’s no easy way to heal as a survivor, either. It’s messy, and things are going to get spilled.

Read More Sharing – Parenting through Sibling Sexual Abuse | The Impossible Choice
In the News

When a survivor’s story is weaponized – don’t ask why people don’t come forward
ByMikeM October 20, 2026 Reading Time: 1 minute

Amy Acton is also a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. At the age of 12, she became estranged from her mother due to the abuse she suffered at the hands of her new husband.

Her opponent is running a political ad featuring Dr. Acton’s mother calling her a liar with mental illness.

Read More When a survivor’s story is weaponized – don’t ask why people don’t come forward
Links

Something You Can Do For Your Mental Health – Something New
ByMikeM October 1, 2026 Reading Time: 1 minute

For many survivors, routine keeps us safe. That same familiarity means you never have to deal with the unexpected, but it can also leave you stuck. It’s hard to develop resilience without occasionally doing something new. There’s also the reality of missing the mental health benefits of new experiences. That’s a real thing. Luckily, the something new doesn’t have to be anything big. The article above has some ideas: small, everyday things you can do to practice doing something new.

Read More Something You Can Do For Your Mental Health – Something New
Links

Sharing – Chronic shame may drive destructive thought patterns in abuse survivors
ByMikeM September 13, 2026 Reading Time: 1 minute

I don’t always recognize myself as a survivor of emotional abuse, because the physical and sexual abuse was more obvious and memorable, but this description sounds familiar, and the reality of shame because of our abuse is something I think any of us who grew up with abuse as a kid feels.

That shame can lead to brooding and constantly trying to fix ourselves. That, I understand. The frustration of trying to fix ourselves because of something that wasn’t even our fault to begin with can be immense. If anything, I’d like to see resources that help all of us give ourselves a break and understand that this was someone else’s personal failing, not ours.

Read More Sharing – Chronic shame may drive destructive thought patterns in abuse survivors
Links

Sharing – Why Trauma Returns Through Sex
ByMikeM August 29, 2026 Reading Time: 2 minutes

Because of this stigma, articles like the one above become rare, and important reads. The stories shared in it might feel familiar to you as you read them, or they may help you understand what many survivors of sexual abuse deal with in thier lives. When you’ve been sexually abused, sex and arousal can become very complicated things. That complication shouldn’t come with judgement, but we know that it too often does. The judgement doesn’t help anyone heal, in fact, it likely does even more harm.

Read More Sharing – Why Trauma Returns Through Sex
Links

Sharing – Why Trauma Survivors Often Don’t Ask for Help Until It’s Almost Too Late
ByMikeM August 25, 2026 Reading Time: 1 minute

It’s one thing to encourage trauma survivors to ask for help. It’s quite another to make sure the help available to them won’t make things worse. There are too many unsafe people in this world who would mock, dismiss, or retraumatize survivors. So long as those experiences keep repeating themselves, there is no wonder that survivors don’t ask for help until it’s the absolute last resort. That’s exactly what happened to me, too. I didn’t ask for help; I just kept getting worse until I had no choice but to get help.

That shouldn’t have been necessary.

Read More Sharing – Why Trauma Survivors Often Don’t Ask for Help Until It’s Almost Too Late

Survivors

Sharing – Parenting through Sibling Sexual Abuse | The Impossible Choice

When a survivor’s story is weaponized – don’t ask why people don’t come forward

Something You Can Do For Your Mental Health – Something New

Sharing – Chronic shame may drive destructive thought patterns in abuse survivors

Sharing – Why Trauma Returns Through Sex

Sharing – Why Trauma Survivors Often Don’t Ask for Help Until It’s Almost Too Late

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