*Trigger warning- this post includes discussion of sexual assault and suicidal thoughts

I am one of many, many people who is a survivor of sexual assault and had a really horrible week last week. I thought I’d be writing a fancy pre-amble to find the nerve to get to that sentence I just wrote, but walking around the issue doesn’t make it any easier to talk about, so there it is. It happened to me and I was in a dark, dark place for a very long time. For years, I thought that if I wasn’t ready to relive my trauma and open up about details then I better keep it hidden and not talk about it at all; but after the past week and the way I felt like I was barely hanging on even with the support systems I have in place, I felt the need to write this and share it. If you are a survivor of assault and you are still processing, I want you to know it will get better. I know it doesn’t feel that way, but please hold on.

This entry is written to those fellow survivors out there, but I really believe it might be helpful for those who know and love survivors too– and odds are good that applies to you whether you know it or not. Continue reading →