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I really struggle with contractors coming to my house, and I'm looking to both vent and see if there is any place that my wants can be met or if I'm out of luck. I have PTSD due to sexual violence and it's really hard to have strange men in my home (which most contractors are). So when...

I am signed up for an EMDR intensive for my early childhood trauma and am having a lot of anxiety about it. From what I understand, treatment will be approximately 30 hours spread throughout five days (so six hours per day), and some of it will be EMDR, some might be trauma-informed yoga, etc...

I am a survivor of CSA from when I was a young child (under five years old). My only sexual experiences are from that abuse. I believe this has led me to have a really hard time understanding on an emotional level how sexual and romantic interactions can be separate from violence. I can sort...

Content note: Childhood sexual abuse (though no details given in this post). I was sexually abused as a very little child by a family member whom I recently found out has been having ongoing health crises and is likely to not survive for very much longer. This has brought up a lot for me both...

I've always struggled a lot with feeling safe, and with the uncertainty that comes with living. It is hard to live with the fact that no matter what you do, you can't 100% guarantee your own safety or that the trauma will not happen again. This has led me to add more and more locks and...

For those who have been sexually abused, especially those who had repressed it, how do you feel about the need for STD testing? It makes me sad. Up until several years ago I thought I knew my sexual history. Now I don't and I will forever have to give that answer. This isn't something that...

I'm a child sexual abuse survivor, and have some difficulty understanding how sex can be loving. I understand how it can be consensual, but how does it express love? It feels very confusing, because sex is separate from love yet somehow connected to it? Like hookups exist but sex is also...

Content note: discussion of sexuality, mostly in general, non-graphic terms. Back story: I'm 28 and female, and was sexually abused as a young child (3-ish years old) by a relative who did not live with me. I have never had a romantic relationship in my life, nor have I ever gone on a...

I'm almost 30 years old and grew up having a difficult relationship with my mother, and no other mother figures growing up. My mother was emotionally and sometimes physically abusive and generally showed very little warmth. I notice that ever since I was a child I would find women who were...

I struggle a lot with wanting people I feel close to to essentially always be available. I have a very hard time when people take days to respond to me, or when my therapist takes a couple of weeks of vacation. I end up feeling very alone, like the only one who is really there for me is...

For those of you who don't remember everything that happened to you (including due to repressed memories etc.), how do you make peace with this? I believe I was sexually abused as a very young child, and have only very fragmented memories of this. I'm not even completely clear about who it...

Lately I have been feeling really anger about the person who sexually abused me as a child. I'm trying to find ways to express my anger. I've been really drawn to the concept of revenge, but I know logically that nothing can really feel like I've made things equal between him and me. And I...

Over the past few years I have uncovered memories of sexual abuse by my uncle (my mother's brother) from when I was little. I've told my parents about this, and even told my aunt (his wife). No one believes me or really takes me seriously. They think I'm confused or delusional. I'm trying to...

Are there any types of treatment for attachment problems in adults? I've been having difficulty with this and my therapist has said that working in a healthy therapeutic relationship helps it naturally, but I've been seeing her for years and although other problems have improved, this has...

I just started a new job yesterday and I'm very worried about it. I just graduated with my master's in social work and this is my first job out of grad school. I will be a therapist, which I was/am very excited about, but now that I'm in the new job I'm really worried about all the demands...

I'm a 25-year-old female who is a child sexual abuse survivor. I function fairly well in most areas of my life (I almost have a master's degree, I have my own apartment, etc.) but I find romantic relationships impossible. I'm sure that I'm exceptionally inexperienced in this area (never been...

I am 25 years old, and have gone through a number of things both recently and in the past that are really leading me to want some more separation from my family. My family is superficially close, and my mother wants to hear from me in some way every day, and we see each other once per week. This...

I have always thought that I was sexually abused, but never had any memory of it. Two years ago I brought it up to my therapist and we have been working on it, including some flashbacks, images, etc. that I have always had but was not sure if they pointed to sexual abuse. I'm now fairly sure...

I've been having a lot of difficulty with menstruation over the past few years (I'm 24), particularly including worsening cramps and mood issues that lead to suicidal thoughts almost monthly. I'd like to try birth control, but I'm worried because I've heard that doctors usually want you to have...

Over four years ago, my friend committed suicide. We had struggled with many of the same things, and over the course of several months I watched her deteriorate to the point where she ultimately took her life. Her suicide affected me in ways that I think are different from other deaths I have...

Right now I'm in grad school (online distance program) full-time and also work full-time. I like being busy, so while doing it this way has been difficult I have kind of liked it, and more importantly I have needed the money for tuition and living expenses. Now that it's summer my workload is...

This is my situation: I have not seen my abuser for approximately six years. My sister is graduating this June and he is invited to her ceremony and party. I have only remembered that it was him for the past six months, so this would be the first time that I am seeing him with the knowledge...

I did not always remember my trauma, but as bad as I feel now I would not choose to go back to not knowing. However, knowing what happened, especially some of the more horrific details, has made it hard for me to do "normal life". I have a hard time reconciling that there are horrible things...

I had an incident recently that really triggered me. It felt retraumatizing and I'm still really upset about it. I know that the incident itself was stressful but relatively minor, so I think that I'm more upset about what this set off internally for me than the incident itself. I'm trying...

How do you get past the sense of shame that so many of us feel? I know logically that I didn't do anything that should make me ashamed, and that if anyone should feel ashamed it's my abuser, but I can't help but feel ashamed and alone. Anyone have any insight on this? Why do I feel so ashamed...