As survivors, our recovery process is integral to reclaiming our power and our voice. It’s easy to feel as though we are the only person going through a traumatic, world-shattering event following the assault. But the fact of the matter is that we are not alone, and that there are people out there trying to heal from the same things that we are. Today, Lauren sits down with us to walk us through her recovery, pre and post assault, in hopes to empower others to own their stories and encourage them that they will survive whatever it is they are going through.
Topics/Triggers:
- The power of a support group, of sharing stories, and of meeting fellow survivors
- Being raped at college as a freshman during her first semester — the most dangerous time for any new college student
- How her life was destroyed following the assault, leading to eating disorders, destroyed relationships, and a negative view of men
- Repressed memories and how therapy was the key to unlocking it
- Why making it to the other side alive and healthy is a tremendous amount of work and not easy whatsoever
- Becoming a Peace Over Violence Sexual Assualt Advocate
- How life is transformed after the assault due to the loss of self, and that healing is how we come back to the self
- The intimidation of reconciling with your own power and what you survived
- Recovering from losing her sense of humor, cheerfulness, spontaneity, and belief that goodness is inherent in all people
- Colleges and their lack of education of sexual assaults on campus
- The brain’s minimization of the event in order to protect us from the horror of what we survived
- Rape culture, the constant invalidation survivors face, and how people in power tend to doubt survivors
- The difference in pre-rape and post-rape perspectives of the self and of the world, and how some are born into trauma without ever having much of a pre-life
- The loss of the “normal” path of life
- The Babe article describing Aziz Ansari’s sexual assault
- The value of knowing that you deserve to heal from this
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If you or anyone you know is suffering through trauma contact the National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or online for 24/7 support. (This podcast is not a replacement for psychotherapy or mental health care. You can obtain a referral for mental health care provider from your primary care physician, or search on Psychology Today’s Find a Therapist directory)
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