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    Dealing With Triggers of Abuse

    by Christina Enevoldsen

    I’ve loved horror films since I was a child. Even though I wasn’t allowed to see them, something about those stories resonated with me and I managed to watch them anyway. Through them, I was able to express what I couldn’t even acknowledge to myself, the terror of a childhood haunted by sexual abuse.  Scary movies confirmed that monsters really do exist, which I knew all too well.

    The part that frightened me the most was watching the girl curiously walk toward the strange noises. Her companions disappeared, her candle flickered, and still she crept forward. I always squirmed in my seat, yelling at the screen, willing her to turn around, “DON’T OPEN THAT DOOR!!!”

    When it comes to healing from sexual abuse, I’m the girl determined to search out the mysteries behind the door, but I’m also the audience member pleading with the girl to run in the opposite direction…

    [continue reading...]

    Possible Indicators of Sexual Abuse

    Do you think you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual abuse? Sexual abuse is one of the most traumatic events a person can experience. Victims of traumatic events commonly repress the memory of the event. Memory repression is a coping mechanism that allows the person to survive mentally, emotionally and physically. If you recognize these symptoms in another person who is not aware of possible past abuse, please be sensitive to that person’s well-being. Memories are usually recovered naturally when the survivor is ready to face their painful past.

    Listed below are some of the indicators of sexual abuse. Please note that one or more of these do not necessarily indicate abuse, but are merely indicators of possible abuse. There may be a variety of reasons for these symptoms.

    Sexuality- 1. I began masturbating at an early age. 2. As a child, I used to insert objects into my bottom, and I do not know where I learned to do this. 3. I seemed to know some things...

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Articles

Straight Talk to Parents About Protecting Children From Sexual Abuse

by Christina Enevoldsen I come from a long line of parents who didn’t protect their children from sexual abuse. My maternal ...

Truth Talks–10 Minute Audio

The Fear of Being Re-victimized

by Christina Enevoldsen & Bethany Ruck Childhood sexual abuse often leaves the survivor vulnerable to more abuse and afraid of being ...

Getting To The Truth: The Role Of Truth In Our Recovery

by Christina Enevoldsen & Darlene Ouimet Abuse misinforms us about our identity and our value. Recovery is the restoration of our ...

How To Help Others Without Hurting Yourself

by Christina Enevoldsen & Patty Hite Do you give more time to other’s healing than you give to your own? Are ...

Guest Blog

Standing Up For Myself: Reclaiming My Self-Worth

by Penny Smith Sometimes in the healing process it feels like I'm not making much progress. Then something will happen that ...

Why Was I Afraid of Healing From Sexual Abuse?

by Penny Smith I had admitted to myself that I had been abused. I reached the point that I was tired ...

I Never Believed That I’m Beautiful

by Linda Pittman People used to tell me I was pretty but I never believed it. I always felt like they ...

Rebuilding My Boundaries After Abuse

by Linda Pittman Throughout my healing journey from childhood sexual abuse, I have heard a lot about the need for “healthy ...

Diablog–Multi-Person Blog

Is It Possible to Heal From Abuse Without Therapy?

by Patty Hite, Jennifer Stuck & Christina Enevoldsen Patty: Thirty years ago, when I started to heal from sexual, physical, and verbal abuse, there were no support groups for survivors. No one talked openly about abuse, especially not about sexual abuse. I tried to talk to my friends. Although they felt compassion for me, they [...]

Christina’s Blog

Dealing With Triggers of Abuse

by Christina Enevoldsen

I’ve loved horror films since I was a child. Even though I wasn’t allowed to see them, something about those stories resonated with me and I managed to watch them anyway. Through them, I was able to express what I couldn’t even acknowledge to myself, the terror of a childhood haunted by sexual abuse.  Scary movies confirmed that monsters really do exist, which I knew all too well.

The part that frightened me the most was watching the girl curiously walk toward the strange noises. Her companions disappeared, her candle flickered, and still she crept forward. I always squirmed in my seat, yelling at the screen, willing her to turn around, “DON’T OPEN THAT DOOR!!!”

When it comes to healing from sexual abuse, I’m the girl determined to search out the mysteries behind the door, but I’m also the audience member pleading with the girl to run in the opposite direction…

Bethany’s Blog

Dating After Sexual Abuse: Who Was I Attracting?

by Bethany Ruck I grew up watching Disney movies, dreaming that one day I could be the heroine of the story or wed a handsome prince. I yearned to live out an epic romance, where I would be swept off my feet by a loving man. I wanted a guy to see me and think, [...]

Patty’s Blog

Domestic Violence: The Signs I Missed

by Patty Hite The day we got married, Bill greeted me in our kitchen with a slap across the face that was so hard it knocked me to the floor. He grabbed my hair and dragged me into the bedroom where he raped me. Afterward, he told me that now I belonged to him and [...]

Jennifer’s Blog

The Secret About My Abuse I Was Too Ashamed To Tell

by Jennifer Stuck When I first started opening up about my childhood sexual abuse, I felt like I was carrying a deep dark secret that made me different from other survivors. It was the part of my story I always skipped over when talking about my abuse—something I could barely admit to myself, let alone [...]