Q: Tony, My brother just sent me the link to your web site I am excited (if that’s the correct word) about your strategies for healing from sexual abuse that I read so far: daily self -care, psychotherapy, regular source of support, and body work. You are right in stating that the daily self-care is the most difficult.
I am 37 years old and have been struggling for 27 years since I was sexually abused. It took 14 years before this subject was addressed in therapy. It took a major physical breakdown at the age of 24 for me to enter the world of psychotherapy. As a direct result of the abuses my body and mind made a subconscious decision to convert all of the pain, anger, etc. into seizures. It’s taken 18 years (just this past August) to get to the point where conclusive data was compiled – through an Epilepsy Clinic’s 24/7 Video EEG – that my seizures are non-epileptic and psychogenic in origin. 18 years of taking anti-seizure meds for naught.
I have been in psychotherapy for 18 years, on and off, but mostly on. I have participated in some groups specifically for survivors of sexual abuse, I have taken Karate lessons for 4 years, recently returned after a 2 year absence, and am working towards black belt. I guess your advice on the 4 areas to cover to heal from the abuse has been going on in one shape or another for 18 years now.
With the recent news regarding the origin of my seizures, I have been faced with directly addressing the sexual abuse once again. What is the saying I’ve heard about healing? Something about going around in a circle repeatedly over one’s life until a hurt is healed enough to move-on. I don’t think I got that quite right. Anyhow, thank you. Thank you for creating this web site I’m sure I’ll be in touch again.
A: Thank you for such a wonderful letter!
I am so proud of you for your natural courage… in knowing all along what you needed to do, and then doing it – even before your actions got confirmed by reading my info. That’s the way we work. Our bodies and our brains know what we need to do to heal, and then we fight it off for a while, and eventually we find that we can face it and deal with it and do what will work for us.
Congratulations!!
Tell your brother I said “Thanks” for telling you about my site too!
