For example, try tapping or touching your arms or describing your actual environment and what you see when you look around—name the place where you are, the current date, and three things you see when you look around.
Since your nervous system is in a hypersensitive state following a rape or assault, you may start trying to numb yourself or avoid any associations with the trauma. When you shut down the unpleasant sensations, you also shut down your self-awareness and capacity for joy.
You end up disconnected both emotionally and physically—existing, but not fully living. Feeling physically shut down. Using stimulants, risky activities, or physical pain to feel alive and counteract the empty feeling inside of you.
Feeling detached from the world, the people in your life, and the activities you used to enjoy. Feelings, while powerful, are not reality. The true danger to your physical and mental health comes from avoiding them. You can achieve this through the following techniques:. Rhythmic movement. Rhythm can be very healing. It helps us relax and regain a sense of control over our bodies. Anything that combines rhythm and movement will work: dancing, drumming, marching.
You can even incorporate it into your walking or running routine by concentrating on the back and forth movements of your arms and legs. Mindfulness meditation. You can practice mindfulness meditation anywhere, even while you are walking or eating. The goal is to observe without judgement. Yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong. These activities combine body awareness with relaxing, focused movement and can help relieve symptoms of PTSD and trauma. After rape, you may feel uncomfortable with human touch.
But touching and being touched is an important way we give and receive affection and comfort. You can begin to reopen yourself to human contact through massage therapy. You can use the toolkit in conjunction with therapy, or on its own. Over time, it can make a huge difference in your ability to manage stress, balance your moods and emotions, and take back control of your life. You may feel tempted to withdraw from social activities and your loved ones.
Support from other people is vital to your recovery. Having fun and laughing with people who care about you can be equally healing. Reconnect with old friends. Make new friends. If you live alone or far from family and friends, try to reach out and make new friends. Take a class or join a club to meet people with similar interests, connect to an alumni association, or reach out to neighbors or work colleagues.
Healing from sexual trauma is a gradual, ongoing process. This can make life seem difficult at times. But there are many steps you can take to cope with the residual symptoms and reduce your anxiety and fear. Avoid doing anything compulsively, including working. Be smart about media consumption. Avoid watching any program that could trigger bad memories or flashbacks.
This includes obvious things such as news reports about sexual violence and sexually explicit TV shows and movies. Take care of yourself physically. Exercise in particular can soothe your traumatized nervous system, relieve stress, and help you feel more powerful and in control of your body. Avoid alcohol and drugs. Avoid the temptation to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. Substance use worsens many symptoms of trauma, including emotional numbing, social isolation, anger, and depression.
It also interferes with treatment and can contribute to problems at home and in your relationships. When a spouse, partner, sibling, or other loved one has been raped or sexually assaulted, it can generate painful emotions and take a heavy toll on your relationship. Let your loved one know that you still love them and reassure them that the assault was not their fault. Allow your loved one to open up at their own pace. Some victims of sexual assault find it very difficult to talk about what happened, others may need to talk about the assault over and over again.
This can make you feel alternately frustrated or uncomfortable. Following the trauma of a rape or sexual assault, many people feel totally disempowered. You can help your loved one to regain a sense of control by not pushing or cajoling. Encourage them to reach out for help, but let them make the final decision. More than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men experience sexual violence during their lifetime, the CDC says. Jeglic says.
Sexual violence — sexual contact that happens without consent — is very common, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC , affecting more than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men at some point in their lives. Barriers to reporting sexual assault include distrust of the criminal justice system, and the fact that victims know how rare convictions are in such cases, says Jeglic. Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment. When a high-profile sexual assault case unfolds in court, it can cause different reactions among survivors of sexual assault, notes Shauna Springer, PhD , a California-based trauma expert and the chief psychologist at the Stella Center.
In some cases, the news generated by these trials can galvanize survivors to continue speaking out against sexual assault and in support of victims, while in other cases, it can be retraumatizing, Dr. Springer explains. Sleep Disorders - Symptoms of sleep disorders can include trouble falling or staying asleep, sleeping at unusual times of day, or sleeping for longer or shorter than usual.
If you are thinking about suicide, there are resources to give you the support you need to get through this tough time. Truly elevating, truly healing. No words to express my gratitude—you made it all such a pleasant experience. I celebrate you and thank you. Brad, survivor. Get Help. Donate Now.
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