Not Hyberbole
“…child sexual abuse represents a greater threat to this country’s future than cancer or nuclear war.”
My co-author, Carol Scott, quotes David Hechler:
“It has been suggested that, given the vast array of crime and violence which can be traced to those who were sexually abused as children, child sexual abuse represents a greater threat to this country’s future than cancer or nuclear war. Hyperbole? Time will tell.”1
I know Hechler’s words are not hyberbole.
Today, there was another funeral for another of my high school friends. Another suicide. A beautiful, vivacious, successful woman. In spite of all the outward success, she had a brilliant career as a local media personality, a wonderful family with beautiful children and grandchildren, she ended her life.
One cannot do all the stuff we’re “supposed” to do to transcend the toxic shame of childhood sexual abuse. That abuse assaults a child’s sense of self—and can only be healed with professional psychotherapy. One cannot achieve societal accolades to erase that pain.
My successful alumni is a testimony of that.
The three men, who lost their minds or died unsheltered prove it also. Good looks, charism, intellect, and savvy smarts can’t erase the fact that they all witnessed torture and trauma at such a young age. Professional therapy can help one to move beyond the trauma of our youth.
Get help now. You deserve your life. I promise you; you can heal and build your own uniquely beautiful life.
I beg you, my homogeneous2 survivors:
LIVE.
If you don’t think you can, PLEASE CALL 9-8-83. Right now.
Crawl your way out of this if you have to…life is beautiful. Professional therapy can help you stabilize so you can start to see your inherent beauty. Once you see it, you’ll start seeing it everywhere.
Do simple things for yourself. Take a walk. Pause. Even if it’s cold outside, breath. Marvel at the air filling your lungs. Exhale slowly. Slowly releasing your breath will help decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. If you get ambitious, attempt to do Friedrich Nietzsche’s famous quote:
I was in darkness, but I took three steps and found myself in paradise. The first step was a good thought, the second, a good word; and the third, a good deed.
Pet a dog, pull a weed, take a shopping cart back: simple little things for no one else but yourself. A good deed can elevate you.
Promise me, if you don’t think you can do those simple steps, please call 9-8-8.
We can’t let childhood sexual abuse and all its residual ramifications destroy us all.
Live.
See Paperdolls & Cowboy Boots, approx page 252
homogeneous /hō″mə-jē′nē-əs, -jēn′yəs/
adjective
—Consisting of parts that are the same; uniform in structure or composition:
—Of the same or similar nature or kind.
—Consisting of terms of the same degree or elements of the same dimension.
I am deeply sorry. I didn't know her but such a tragic story. xoxo