Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse | Incest
by Christina Enevoldsen I talk about my childhood sexual abuse very publicly now, but I didn’t start there. The first time I ever told anyone I’d been abused it didn’t go very well. For years, I’d repressed most of my childhood memories when suddenly, in my early twenties, I knew I’d been abused. The knowledge came in a flash. IRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen I could never take a vacation for more than four days. I didn’t understand how people could be happy just “wasting time” or how they could prefer fun and games over tangible results. Hard work was my fun. It was frustrating when my son and daughter were young and I tried to get “important” things done whileRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen When I was a child, I was very well-behaved. I listened to my teachers and earned good grades. I got along well with other children and followed all the rules. I obeyed my parents and did helpful things around the house. I rarely got in trouble except for one thing: My parents complained about my bad attitude.Read more
by Christina Enevoldsen When I was a kid, The Wizard of OZ aired on television once a year. I didn’t know any families who missed this event. My family always excitedly anticipated it. We’d eat dinner early, make popcorn and enthusiastically settle in. The Wizard of Oz is an enchanting story of a twelve-year-old Kansas farm girl, Dorothy Gale, whoRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen In the dark children’s tale “Hansel and Gretal”, a young brother and sister are abandoned in the woods by their father at the insistence of their step-mother. She convinces her husband that the whole family will perish unless they reduce the number of bellies to feed. Lost and starving, the children find their way through the forestRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen It was the first time in weeks since my husband and I had been on a date. Don held my hand and I rested my head on his chest while we waited in line for the planetarium show at Griffith Observatory. The young couple a few feet in front of us caught my attention. The woman appearedRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen “Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world’s first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster.” Oscar Goldman in the opening narration to the “The Six Million Dollar Man” If you missedRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen Does time heals all wounds? I’ve heard many survivors of abuse try to soothe themselves by saying, “Soon, this will pass.” It does take time to heal—and lots of it. But time alone won’t repair the soul mutilation of abuse anymore than it will repair the destruction caused by an earthquake. Sexual abuse ravages the depths ofRead more
by Christina Enevoldsen If a friend or family member tells you he or she was sexually abused, please consider the importance of your role in the healing process. Disbelief or disinterest from loved ones can intensify or prolong trauma from abuse. It is emotionally overwhelming when someone you love and trust doesn’t believe you or doesn’t care that something devastatingRead more
I was afraid every day of my childhood. I don’t remember a time when it wasn’t a struggle. I struggled to fit in. I struggled to be good enough. I struggled to figure how to make people like me. Life was hard. I came from a family of four. My mom stayed home with my brother and me until weRead more