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Sharing – Male Survivors Of Sexual Abuse Struggle To Find Treatment
When I was undergoing treatment with a therapist, she actually tried to get me involved in group sessions. The sexual abuse survivor group I attended a few times was not for male survivors, it was for any survivor, and I just happened to be the only male in the group. It didn’t last long. To get any help for me, as a male survivor, I had to kind of be wedged into programs and tools that were designed for female survivors. It still helped me, but it could have been better, and might not have helped a lot of men. I do believe it’s gotten slightly better over the years, but only slightly. It’s still a huge problem. We still don’t have any real idea of how many male survivors there are, or how to make resources available to them. Partly because we don’t talk about it enough, and partly because when men do talk about it, they aren’t listened to.
We pay the price for that. Those survivors grow up, and struggle, on their own, with mental health and other issues. They don’t feel safe coming forward, and they are often made to feel weak if they even consider asking for help.
That’s no way for anyone to go through life.
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Sharing – Trauma Stands Between Us and Healthy Communication
Our trauma taught us how to react during childhood in ways that are, in fact, not at all appropriate to the reality of adult life. Things that remind us of our abuse can set off a panic in us, causing us to do, and say, things that are not appropriate to the current situation, and people on the receiving end of that communication can have a difficult time understanding what has happened. Interactions between survivors can be rife with underlying messages and reactions that have nothing to do with the current situation because we are all bringing our own trauma into the conversation.
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Sharing – Why a child might not disclose abuse (and how to word a question in a way that may promote disclosure)
At least we can consider the possibility that we are actually doing the thing the abuser claimed would happen if the child ever told, a big, scary deal that kids would do anything to avoid, including remain silent about abuse.
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Shared Links (weekly) July 11, 2021
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‘We Can Talk About This’: Kids Benefit When Parents Open Up About Mental Health Struggles
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COVID-19 Did Not Affect Mental Health the Way You Think
– Turns out there’s a lot of resiliency out there too, but it looks different for everyone.
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How one woman’s experience with childhood sexual abuse inspired her to help others heal
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Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45
– in the UK
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“Never Look on the Dark Side”: The Science of Positivity from Early Eugenics to Today
