5 Reasons Affordable Mental Health Matters For Sexual Abuse Survivors
Why helping survivors is important for everyone.
Most people don’t get involved in a cause until it affects them or someone they love. That’s how our brains, and hearts, work. We can only take, and do, so much.
As a childhood sexual abuse survivor at age eleven, who reported and testified (twice) against my abuser, this is my cause. Trauma. Survivorship. Healing.
I write about it (three books so far), created a chat to help others know they’re not alone (#SexAbuseChat on Twitter, every other Tuesday at 10 am pst), write blog posts, articles, sit on panels, speak, etc.
You name it, I do it — because we have nothing to be ashamed of, we survivors. We did nothing wrong.
So why am I writing about mental health? Because, on average, estimates put the economic cost of sexual violence in the United States in the trillions of dollars, primarily due to the aftereffects of abuse. Survivors need to be supported and believed when, in fact, we rarely are (another contributor to our mental well-being — or lack thereof). Let’s break it down.
The Emotional Toll
I started dealing with migraines in my late teens, early twenties, and most severely, in my early thirties. This…
