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Sexual Assault Need Help Figuring Out What Happened

  • Post starter Post starter Mary-Ann
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Mary-Ann

I'm sorry- I'm new here and it's kind of a long story, but I have problems dealing with something that happened to me a few weeks ago and I was hoping someone here might help me figuring things out. (Please excuse my English- I’m not a native speaker.)

I met up with a guy I met the other day on my way to university. I asked him what he has planned for us to do and he said we have to take the subway. I asked what we are going to do and he told me we would go have a cup of tea. I followed him and he asked me a lot of questions and we talked and laughed. I don’t know if I was being naïve or just plain stupid, but the next thing that happened was us standing in front of his dorm. I froze on the spot and told him that he said we would go have a cup of tea. He said ‘yes, upstairs’. I feel really stupid now afterwards for imagining there’s some kind of cafeteria upstairs.

He took me to his room and I was hardly able to get out of my shocked/scared state. He hugged me but when I didn’t response he took my arms and positioned them around his neck. He told me I was tense and I said that I’m very uncomfortable and feel like a child and that all I wanted was just a cup of tea. He kissed my arm and I couldn’t move. He asked me if I would like to massage him and I said no. He asked me if I would like him to massage me and I said no. He did it anyway and told me again that I’m tense. I told him that I don’t feel well, that I’m very uncomfortable. He told me that he would really like for us to both take our pants off and just lie in his bed and cuddle. I said that I don't want to do that. I just felt shocked by everything he said and did. He then took his pants off and lied down on his bed. I took a seat on the edge of his bed and he said that normally he doesn't like people to sit on his bed wearing jeans/pants, but that he would allow me to. After questioning me again I told him that I would like to keep my clothes on and asked if we could just talk.

I can’t remember how it happened but he suddenly started to unzip my pants and just as I saw that they were too tight and that my panties would undress automatically as well I stopped him and did it myself. He told me I should lie on my stomach, but I didn’t want to so I lied on my side. I was about to ask him if we could just cuddle as he said earlier, when he put me on my stomach and I froze again. I was shocked and my body tensed up and he kept saying I shall relax when he started groping me. He put me on my back and removed my panties. I couldn’t speak or think a single word, but my legs wouldn’t open as he tried to open them. I don’t remember how I myself or he got me to open them and I still feel incredibly ashamed about my body’s reaction to him giving me oral. After that he then put me in a sitting position and took off my blouse and my bra and pushed me on his bed again. I felt like a doll, I wouldn’t move a single limb. He positioned my hands around his neck in his hair and I just lied there while he groped me. He then moved me on my side and got a condom. He told me to open it and I did what he told me to. It was painful because of the position he forced me in with his hands (my back would hurt for five days) and me being extremely tensed. I wouldn’t look at him, I just heard him saying again that I should relax and that I shouldn’t move. I asked him what he was doing (forcing me in this position) but he just told me to relax again.

When it was over and he was in the bathroom I felt strangely euphoric and relieved. When he came back he asked me if I was okay and I said yes. He asked me if it hurt and I said no. He wanted to cuddle but I still wouldn’t touch him, so he again took my arm and positioned it around himself, while I was tensing up. After about 5-10 minutes I left.

I don’t know what happened and my brain can’t figure this out. Was that some kind of assault or am I overreacting? I didn’t want him to do any of these things he did and I feel like my brain and voice just left me there in this situation all alone. And my reaction really scared the hell out of me. It was just plain horrible and I’m so scared that something like that could happen again with someone else. I feel really messed up. (I'm even paranoid that he might read this thinking I'm messed up for doubting the whole thing being consensual/ that I'm overreacting) I think I'm a mess. I can't talk to any of my friends about what happened, because I don't know if I could handle certain reactions coming from them. So I really hope that somone here might be able to help me figuring out what happened.
 
You were raped and not over reacting. If you go to the University call immediately and get an appointment with a therapist. You were in shock and froze that is normal. Get some help and stay away from this man. Be more careful in the future.
 
You were absolutely raped.

I can't tell if you're in the US because you're not a member here. If you're at an American school and you report this incident, make sure you understand your rights under Title IX.
 
You were raped. I only mention it after the others to make sure that you clearly understand this. It was not your fault. Your body reacted to sensations. You were too frozen to fight or escape.
 
Like everyone else said you were raped. It's really common for it to go down like this it's the freeze response like others have mentioned. I don't know if there's a rape crisis where ever you are in the world but that's where I'd suggest. Or if your university has something like it?

I'm really sorry this has happened to you.
 
Thank you all for responding, it helped quite a lot to be honest. My university doesn’t have that kind of consulting service (just consulting regarding molestation and mobbing) and I don’t know if any of the counsellors is schooled in this sort of thing. I’m trying to search for alternatives, but I don’t know if I’m able to talk to somebody about it face to face right at the moment. I feel really ashamed.

Do any of you know if it’s even possible to teach your body and brain to react differently in such a situation? I know that I might can’t teach it myself, but maybe in therapy. I’d just like to know if there's even a possibility.
 
I made really poor decisions before and after my rape in college. I didn't get help. I buried it away and told no one. In my head I casually referred to him as "my college rapist" and only held onto a thread of the fact that I didn't have a choice meshed with a safer version of the memory and now 25 years later my brain decides to deal with it. It sounds like you are looking for solutions so that you can protect yourself on your own without getting professional help. My therapist explained to me that I felt like I could handle stuff on my own because at 19, people think they are "grown" but they really aren't. The brain isn't fully developed til age 25. Also, I have no solutions other than safe boundaries with people and listen to the warnings in your head. Also, keep in mind that the chemicals released in your brain during trauma can alter and distort your thinking, so again, please call, text or chat on a rape crisis hotline.
 
what happened? you thought you were going for tea and ended up at his dorm. Your not a child. your in college. You went to his room and after he kissed and hugged you, you chose to stay even though you say you didn't want him touching you. He said he wanted to be on the bed naked with you and you decided to take your pants off. He wasn't forcing you to stay. you chose to stay. You chose to take off your pants. you could have sat on the floor, stood, or you could have said I'm leaving but you waited until it was all over?

Yes this will happen again if you don't learn to say no. Other people can not be held accountable for you behavior.
 
@TexCat - Thank you for your reply and that info. You are very helpful and I don’t take that for granted.

@Parley - Thank you for writing down all my thoughts. My reaction to reading your comment shows me that I really think it’s for the best if I don’t talk to anybody about what happened.
 
I think you absolutely should talk to someone, Mary-Ann, whether the counseling center or a sexual assault advocate on your campus or a nearby women's center or a rape crisis service, as @TexCat mentioned.

Parley merely illuminated why you should talk to a professional and not just any person who's around. I think Parley's feedback is extremely irresponsible, damaging, and a really stellar example of victim-blaming/shaming, and I hope you only regard it as one of the worst possible examples of what you might encounter when you share this story in the future with non-professionals. The comment could only be made more heinous if you remove the true gem of "this will happen again if you don't learn to say no" and added in its place such phrases as "Well what were you wearing?" And "you obviously wanted it." FFS.

I will say that your reaction of freezing was a strong one for someone with no history of abuse. I highly recommend you speak to a professional counselor about this.
 
I never said you shouldn't talk to someone.

I wasn't victim blaming. she said she was scared it would happen again and I chose to respond.

Personally, I believe a woman can walk down the street nude and it doesn't give anyone the right to touch them. be in the bed nude and if a woman says no, it's rape. being shy, scared, regretful, and unsure doesn't make it rape. sorry if I've offended anyone.

@TexCat - Thank you for your reply and that info. You are very helpful and I don’t take that for...
Mary -Ann~ I apologize if I have hurt your feelings or offended you. You should talk to someone. You are a young lady and you should empower yourself and your friends so this doesn't happen to you or any other young girl too scared to say no.
 
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