Every day, thousands of women all over the world are sexually assaulted. If you’re reading this, you may be one of those women and if so, congratulations are in order. Why?
Before we begin with this course on processing and overcoming the trauma of sexual assault, we should take a moment to appreciate the strength and intelligence it took for you to seek help for yourself.
Rape is a topic shrouded in so much shame and secrecy that it can feel like a burden the victim has to carry in isolation. But the fact that you have sought information to support your recovery, speaks to your own inner resilience and remarkable self preservation. I want to personally thank you for taking this step towards your own healing. Each person’s journey to recovery is different, but we would be honored to be a part of yours, whatever it may look like.
In the pages that follow, we’ll be adopting a gentle, intuitive approach to understanding and managing the fallout from sexual assault. We’ll look at some of the latest evidence-based theories and techniques that have helped countless women like you. We will also try to find ways to make sense of what can be an event of unparalleled trauma and disruption.
Throughout, it’s important that you consult yourself as the final authority – nobody experiences sexual assault in the same way, and so everyone’s healing process will be different. As we move through the exercises here, bear in mind that you are under no obligation to try all of them.
Thought it may feel as though rape and sexual assault is a deeply private thing, and that healing happens quietly, behind closed doors and in your own time. The fact is that it is also a cultural and even political act. The way that you make sense of this kind of trauma comes in part from what you have been taught since you were a baby – ideas about sexuality, about culpability, about boundaries and about integrity. Unfortunately, some of these ideas will be actively working against your recovery.
We’ll be looking at the “bigger picture” as we progress through the course, but for now, we should emphasize that this course is about healing. Here we’ll take the view that the body and mind are both exquisitely resilient and that healing is something that the body wants to do. And it can do it! Finding equilibrium again becomes a matter of supporting the body and mind so that it can do what it already knows how to.
This course will be an attempt to provide just the right circumstances for the healing processes that are already built into you, right now. You might not really believe this at the moment, and that’s OK. You may be feeling pessimistic. I hope you’ll keep reading anyway, and give yourself a chance.
Before we jump in, I’d like to recommend that you find a place to record your progress and your feelings as we try the following exercises. This could be in a journal or even a diary kept on your computer. Make sure it’s truly private, though. I would also like to ask that no matter how fast you move through this material, that you commit to doing a little each day.
Are you ready?