Victims of sexual assault

Jdublingirl

Hi lady's, I was sexually assaulted a couple of months ago and I am finding it very hard to cope. I am feeling so along and i am Just wondering has anyone else been through this and what did you do to cope?

Morag

I would suggest that you consider contacting a professional to get a bit of counseling.
Talking helps and they will work with you to give you coping strategies.

http://www.rcni.ie/

As well as Morag's good advice, you might find it helpful to read through this thread

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=77974954

You are far from alone in your experience.

Best of luck.

Hi there JDublingirl. I have moved your thread to the Personal Issues forum as I think you might get some more help here. I have also left a re-direct link in the Ladies Lounge so you might get some help from the posters there too. Best of luck.

Rosy Posy

Have you talked to your friends about it? I understand that it can be difficult to talk about but I guarantee you that you won't be the only one. I was sitting down with a group of close friends a while ago and we got into one of those in depth conversations about our first sexual experiences, and once we began to be really honest about it nearly everyone had had some kind of sexual assault in their past. You are not alone. It is sadly something that is all too common. The one thing that I did notice from that conversation was that the people that were able to speak freely about what had happened to them seemed to be the people who's lives were suffering the least long lasting effects of the assault. For me, the initial assault was so confusing and frightening that I simply buried it in my unconscious mind. I didn't even admit it to myself but my behaviour and self image changed and my life started to spiral out of control. It was only through talking about it, acknowledging what had happened and realising that I was in no way to blame that I could move on. I also did some work on personal development and self love and self care. It would probably help to talk to a professional, as other posters have advised. Be strong, op, you have survived the assault and you can survive this!

Emme

Jdublingirl wrote: »

Hi lady's, I was sexually assaulted a couple of months ago and I am finding it very hard to cope. I am feeling so along and i am Just wondering has anyone else been through this and what did you do to cope?

I went through this a number of years ago and I would agree with somebody else who says it is very common. Even so I would advise you to speak to a professional without delay. Somebody else suggested the Rape Crisis Centre and I second that. I found them very helpful. At the time of the attack I felt like you but didn't tell anyone and just got on with things. I thought I would be ok but I wasn't. I had nightmares. I started drinking more than usual, an eating disorder resurfaced and I was taking risks I wouldn't have before the attack. The times around the anniversary of the attack were the worst. I suffered on and after 3 years went to the RCC who were very helpful.