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Sexual Assault Ritualized Abuse?

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chant2012

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So, just saying, this is going to be long. I have written this in my online journal thing but just need to get it out here so I am pasting it here in chunks for easier reading... I just need some input and support. I apologize for the length.

I have survived ritualized abuse (not to be mistaken with ritual abuse). *There was a definition that I saw that said a broad definition was abuse that is done in a systematic manner or done in a ritualized way (like in repetitive and systematic abuse) often involving degrading sexual, physical, mental, and emotional abuse and mind manipulation. Military basic training, hazing, partner-battering, and spanking children can be seen as ritualized abuse. [broad definition].

I am not meaning occ*lt rituals. I just want this to be clear. I am NOT trying to invalidate anyone. Please know this. I am just merely trying to process the systematic abuse. And my T said he seems very ritualistic in how he did it as did my dad and his family, maybe.*

He used a lot of manipulation and he conditioned me to react certain ways when he did or did not do certain things. And the ways he hurt me, it did it the same way and did the same things to trigger me to be dissociative before he did whatever it was he was going to do.

Also, as a child, my dad and his mom and sisters turned me against my mom and poisoned my small mind against her and made me believe that my purpose and duty was to please and protect my dad. I didn't live for myself. I didn't even ever focus on me as a child. My purpose was my dad. I was so sick. I AM so sick... I can't explain it all.. It hurts a lot.
The psychological abuse was horrible and it forever altered my mind it seems...

Also, some of what I am going to write below has been posted by me in a post that I made called "Sadistic Sexual Abuse" . So, if some of this below seems familiar that is why. The only reason I am reposting this part is because I have added some more to it and when more in depth I guess. I don't know...

You see, it was very ritualistic in how he abused me and followed through with the abuse and he [my ex] manipulated and controlled my mind. I began reacting like a robot almost in time from the things he did. He conditioned me or 'trained' me... So, I don't know how it was that he truly got me to think and perceive things as he wanted me to or how he got me to react the way he wanted to... Well, it was through abuse but still, that just doesn't seem to cut it? I don't know... I guess I have been told it was gaslighting and is a "form" of mind control or at least an aspect or facet that is used in it.
I am hoping to find even a small trace of validation even if it is knowing (or not knowing) what happened to me and what exactly to call it... Either way I will be one step closer to the truth...

Oh, and I wasn't a child either when this part of my abuse happened. I was ages 17-19. There were times when I was a child that my dad and his family (unknowingly/unintentionally caused harm, but I know that they would never have meant to hurt me on purpose) but they controlled my mind from an early age and it hurt soooo bad. It still has left me f*cked up in the head although I am trying to break through the lies.... I will maybe share that too while I am here. Sorry... I just wanted to put it here to just in case and because someone said (and I have always felt in a way) that it was ritualized and VERY intentionally done to gain control of me...

Okay, here we go:

I know it is not as sadistic as many others have experienced .. Hell, I am not even sure if it is sadistic at all. I am not sure what it was or what to call it... I don't freaking know...
Hugs and comments GREATLY appreciated.

February 25, 2013

"I feel he was a sadist in an emotional sense. He got enjoyment out of making me suffer emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically. It felt tortuous... Which is why I wrote what follows... Please tell me if this does not being here... I will remove it.

He would torture me emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and he would physically abuse me and then he would expect me to have sex... I was semi-dissociated sometimes... He an*lly r*ped me once too. So much blood. And he v*ginally r*ped me more times than I am even sure of. He'd pull my hair and he would batter me verbally until I was a compliant shell of a human being too afraid and "out of it/zoned out" to fight him or even really care what was happening... Don't get me wrong, I cared but, I can't explain it, I kind of gave up and was resigned to what he was doing to me and what he was going to keep doing too me. I loved him. I was his amusing toy he could manipulate and abuse and get pleasure from… plus he knew I loved him and he used it against me. That and my age. I was 17 and he was my first boyfriend. I never saw at home what a relationship was supposed to really be like... But that is another story entirely…"


March 30, 2013.

"I remember some other things. But I am not sure they fit here since they didn't happen while being sexually assaulted. But, I will list them anyway.

I remember him choking me once it was on Easter. 4 years ago. I was 17. He put my on the ground or, I don't remember how I actually got there... But he wrapped his hands around my neck and he choked me. I started to blackout. My vision became tunnel-like and it got smaller and smaller if that makes sense. Anyway, I figure it was due to both inhibited blood flow to my brain and lack of oxygen. He all the sudden stopped and freaked out and started crying saying how sorry he was. He told me that he deserved me leaving him. He did it in a way that made me feel bad for and sorry for him. I was the one who ended up comforting him!!!! What the hell was wrong with me?!?!?

Very often he did things like:

Pushing me into walls
Pushing me onto his bed
Pushing me to make me fall
Pinning me to walls, his bed, wherever
He pulled and dragged me by my hair...
He pushed me into the bathroom door once thinking it was latched but it wasn't and I fell through it and hit my head and back on the bathtub. That hurt!
He called me the most dehumanizing names. He got into my head and convinced me that I deserved it somehow and that it was completely justified and my fault. I really did feel like an animal sometimes... I truly thought it was my fault. I don't see how but I did. And to an extent a part of me still does...

He would follow me around sometimes and I would get kind of freaked out. He would interrogate me or something along those fashions but with some physical stuff mentioned above to get me all scared and zoned out and with the threats of "bad stuff" I just somehow knew he could and probably would do...

He did so many awful psychological (mental, emotional, spiritual) things, physical things, and sexual things. He loved the power of me being powerless. It tripped his trigger.

There were so many other things. It's impossible to remember them ALL.


April 4, 2013

"I have no idea how he did this... But he sometimes had me convinced I was crazy!

Sometimes after he would hurt me (either physically, emotionally/mentally, spiritually, whatever) he would literally have me convinced that I was crazy. It was the weirdest thing ever. I was sure that I knew what had just happened but he assured me that I was remembering it wrong or that I was making it up somehow. It took awhile before I got to the point where I doubted my own sanity. I think that the abuse and manipulation have to be somewhat recurrent in order for it to progress to this. At least that is how it was for me it seems.

See, when the abuse first started happening, I was sure of myself. After he did something hurtful to me, whatever that something was, I knew without a doubt that it did indeed take place. I may have rationalized it and made excuses for him and been in denial, but I still knew that it had taken place. And it didn't matter how many times after the incident he told me that I was making it up. I knew it truly happened. But after some period of time (a few months) and after repeated abuse and reassurance from him that I was making it up and that I was crazy in the head, I guess I started believing it? I can't tell you when exactly it happened.

But I think I have an idea of one of the techniques he used to get me to comply to how he wanted me to view the situation: conditioning. I hope that it is OK to use the term 'conditioning'. If not, I am sorry. But those are the only words I can really think of... or maybe 'trained'? I really don't know... Sorry. The thing is, it's still there. In my head I still react how he wants me too. 4, almost 5 years later.

So, this is how it usually went down. He would usually tell me one of these two things:

He would tell me that I "made" him do what he did and that I was taking it out of context. That he was doing it out of concern and love and was only trying to teach me how to act so he could help me. (This is primarily what he used when the abuse first started to occur. He said it in such a way that it sounded like he truly cared. This is how I explained away his behavior and remained in denial. I told myself if only I hadn't of done this or that.)

I think that I knew deep that I didn't "make" him do anything, but I loved him... I wanted to believe him. I was so f*cking stupid...
Then he would hug and tell me how much he loved me and I would say the same, now somewhat reassured that he did in fact love me.
Then we would go and do something fun and he would be the nicest boyfriend ever. I 'forgot' that anything had even happened.

Eventually, (about 8-10 months into the relationship, and I am assuming once he saw that I was mentally 'pliable') he progressed to telling me that I was crazy and that nothing at all happened.
At first, I was resistant to this and I would sometimes say something like, "No, I know what happened. You just pushed me not even 5 minutes ago. I am not making that up. You just did it. I am not crazy."
This would piss him off. He would be adamant I was indeed not remembering it right. (Yeah, like I could forget how/what happened in a period of minutes lol.)
The more and more he told me I was remembering it wrong, the more aggressive he became. His demeanor was threatening. He would shove me just a little bit to where I lost my balance but didn't fall completely over, he would tower over me and scream terrible things at me and squeeze my arms with his hands until my arms started to hurt. He had this horrible look in his eyes.
He would again tell me that I was misconstruing everything. He would say that he would NEVER hurt me because he loved me so much.
Then he would take my arms and wrap them around his neck and he would hug me really hard. Too hard. It was sometimes difficult to breathe and I was scared because I felt smothered and trapped. But I couldn't get away because he wouldn't let me go until he was done hugging me. It was on his terms.
But I just HAD to get free. I felt so anxious.
So, I tried to get free because I was feeling scared and mad and I would say, "Let me go! I want to go home!
He would then get mad again and push me on the ground, or up against the wall, or on the bed...
He would block the door and not let me leave. He would say, "You aren't going anywhere yet. Now, I really AM sorry for having to do that but I was just trying to give you a hug. Come here." - Then he would again pick me back up and hug me. Except this time I wouldn't fight it. I didn't feel anything at all. I was blank. I was like a zombie and I just was 'playing the part'.
I don't really know what happened after this would take place. Maybe he let me leave? I don't remember. It happened so often. There were so many other things he would do. There were times he wouldn't let me do things unless he said so or felt it was OK. If I went against it, he would physically hold me "captive" almost by blocking his door and he had this cold and evil, almost primal, look in his eyes. I would be so scared... He LOVED it! WTH?!?!

I feel bad for complying... I feel like I allowed it. And I feel so dumb that I honestly did believe that I was at fault and crazy.
Part of me thinks it was just safer to agree with him and go along with him in believing that nothing happened, but I can't be sure.
And honestly, looking back, I think that deep down, I knew the truth. At least in the back of my mind. I knew what he had done. But not agreeing with him would have been worse and I loved him so much and wanted to believe him so badly. So, I did. I began to believe that maybe, just maybe I was mixing everything up.

So, these types of things began happening so often... Sometimes multiple times in a day. I just stopped feeling and I agreed with him. It was like a natural response. And he KNEW he 'trained' me to be like that. But at the time, I had no idea that he even was training/conditioning me... I just, I was so f*cked up in the head... Honestly I didn't even know what was what any longer. Sometimes it was like I didn't even know who I was anymore... It sucked. I still don't get it.

But there were other times that I expected him to be awful and he treated me so awesome. Like he had in the beginning when I first met him. He acted like the guy I fell in love with. And I would be confused and I would think, "Finally! He is back!" and then I would let my guard down... And then he would hurt me again.
He would tell me that nothing happened and that I was just misconstruing everything. He would then say that even if something hypothetically did happen, it was because I provoked him and that he would NEVER do anything unless I gave him a reason.

But he REALLY did love me at one point. In the beginning of the relationship. He had to of. What is wrong with me? I feel crazy all over again.

I just can't get over how I obeyed him! I listened and reacted how he wanted me to.
It just happened. I didn't even know that this is what was happening! Not to this extent anyway!
When I reacted to the abuse (after prolonged exposure) it was like a reflexive natural thing I did. And HE caused it.

Are there different degrees of conditioning or control of the mind or mental manipulation? Or is it something else entirely? Again, I am not trying to make anyone mad or offended nor am I trying to invalidate or discredit or lessen what has happened to you all. I am just so lost and mixed up still... Been doing so bad lately.

Even now, I catch myself not wanting to believe it and I find myself making excuses for him.
And when I talk about what he did, I get terrified. I still am scared of seeing him around (which happens often because we live in the same town) because he said that if he ever heard that I had been talking about "the sh*t that I am blatantly making up" he would bash my head in with a tire iron... I wouldn't put it past him...

Lately I've been seeing him places. I get so internally panicky. Heart races. Mind races. Uuuuuugh. And I have been really struggling lately with the feelings of panic, dread, irritability, racing heart, trouble breathing, and hands shaking and trembling. And very often I have an overwhelming feeling of dread. I've been hyper-sensitive and very jumpy like I'm always on guard. Everything seems to startle me. And these feeling aren't always when I'm triggered either; sometimes it seems to happen out of nowhere. But lately, more often than not, it is a persistent feeling/reaction I'm having. Also, it seems that my mind is constantly going over and over about the abuse that has happened to me. Like internally in my mind it happens on a loop sometimes. I can feel the emotions I was feeling at the times of the r*pes or there was even a few times several months ago a few weeks after the last r*pe occurred where I could actually physically "feel" it happening. I know that makes no sense though.I'm having trouble concentrating and staying focused and everything seems to get me riled up, anxious, or pissed. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to go crazy. Everything gets fuzzy and I sometimes feel far away. And now anytime I talk about what's happened to me (the r*pes, abuse, and just all of the bad stuff that's happened), even if it's just typing it on the computer, I start to shake and/or my heart races and I begin to feel what I listed above.

But I do find it odd, I know in my heart that what he did was wrong but still try and talk myself out if it sometimes. And even though I know it was him, not me, I still feel the fear that he instilled in me and that he trained me to feel and react to in the way(s) he wanted me to react.... And it won't leave even though I know he is not hurting me any longer. It's like a physiological and mental response. It just happens.
Why?
How?"

That's the end of that... But I was thinking, perhaps the reason (other than that I truly did love him) was that I desperately wanted to please him... More than anything I wanted him to be the guy I fell in love with and I wanted to do anything to make him love me... That makes it my fault... Also, I think part of the reason I felt like this was due to what my dad and his family did. I was told as a child up into my teens (16 or so) that it was my purpose to protect and serve my daddy and make him feel better. And he loved me so much and in such an intense way. He loved me and talked to me the way you would talk to a lover or best friend... He always (and still does) introduce me as his daughter, pal, buddy, best friend... And I loved him also with that much intensity. It was sexually tinged and I am so gross and dirty. I was used but I am still gross and nasty. They put their ideas in my head. They poisoned me against my mother. Something so deep that even now it is still in there. Nothing will make it go away. I think that what they did maybe set me up for this. And all of the other r*pes that have happened... Anyway, sorry for this tangent. I will post maybe more about my dad and his sh*t after I post this if that's OK that is... (I want to split these two abuses up).

Again, I KNOW I apologize too much but I can't help it... It is one of those things that I chronically do and have no clue as to why...
 
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*This is going to be rambly. My head is all over and I can't think too well.*

So, to start off, as a child there was a lot of emotional/covert incest and possibly non-touching sexual abuse by my father. Well, maybe some touching 'down there' in that 'area'. He also pretended to pinch my (maybe he even did) nipples and boobs as a little girl and preteen and even some in my teen years but it was just playfully... But I don't think he meant it as bad. No, I know he didn't because he isn't sick like that. Besides I have to protect him. I HAVE to. I can't betray him. I am supposed to that's what they told me! Whatever... but I am confused because I read that for something to be sexual abuse however, I guess the person has to do it with sexual intent. So, touching, if done innocently wouldn't be sexual abuse..? I am confused about this because it's hard for me to be upset and angry without knowing my dad's intent. I KNOW he loves me and would never mean to hurt me. He did take the belt to me as a kid sometimes but I don't know. It was traumatizing and very excessive and cruel at times I feel but he didn't want to hurt me. He also choked me once or twice. He wrapped his hands around my neck and I couldn't breathe or anything but I was an adult when this happened though so it's not like I was a child or anything. So it's not that bad right?

He liked to play mean and painful games that prevented me from having control of movement or well, any control. And he found it funny but they hurt. But I still liked them because I was stupid and young. Plus I got attention from my dad and I loved him so very much. One of the things was "See How Long You Can Take It" which was being tickled relentlessly without laughing or moving. You couldn't move at all or we would have to start all over. It tickled so much it almost hurt! I loved it and I hated it but then I just begged to stop but we couldn't until I had not moved. I failed over and over....
And then he would pinch HARD my tendons that sent like a sort of nerve shock through my body. It made me collapse. I can only describe it like a shock going straight through my neuro system. Not like an electric shock but then again it kind of felt like one. I have been shocked before by accident as a child and I can't describe how it felt exactly but it was similar in the sense that I felt this sharp pain that went along my tendon and it affected my nerves and just was crippling. A painful involuntary spasm. The primary one's being the tendons in my neck by my carotids, the ones behind my knees, and the one where your leg bend at the hip (right next to my v*gina). That hurt a lot but then he made it tickle some too... And then I laughed but partly due to being nervous maybe?

He and his family also brainwashed me in a sense. But they loved me and they weren't intentionally trying to hurt me. They couldn't have. They wouldn't have done that.. I don't think they knew what they were doing. But it caused unbearable emotional and psychological pain and confusion for me. I can't even begin to verbalize the pain. I really can't. You know the heartbreak that you felt when you broke up with a boyfriend or someone you love? Or the feeling when you lose someone you love? You know how it felt like you just couldn't go on with life? That intense ache. It's unbearable. Well, the pain psychological pain I felt was so much worse that any of that (and I have felt both of those things, more than once). The pain almost paralyzed me. It made me "learn" to hate my mom through them. They poisoned me. Anyway, that went on from early(ish) - mid childhood to mid teens. Along with the "sexual tinged" stuff from my dad. You see my dad, from a young age started getting me alone and told me terrible painful things about my mother that weren't even substantiated I don't think but I was just a little kid how was I to know? But I believed him. And he told me I was his special girl... We were best buds, pals. And I loved him with an intensity I can't describe. A loyalty. An understood agreement between the two of us and his family. One I was to keep at all costs... I had to. That was what they told me. My mind was so trashed. It was NOT natural but to me it was. His mother and sisters told me it was my duty to protect daddy from mom because she was evil and terrible. They would ask me if I really loved my dad I needed to protect him and make him happy. That meant holding him while he cried sometimes and I would be bawling because the person I love the most is in so much pain. I felt every bit of that pain. Every single bit... I don't get how they all got their pain, ideas, beliefs, and thoughts into me but they did, and I felt all of their pain plus my own. It was so horrible I even felt it physically. And then for my mom, they instilled a hatred so deep, that it still manifests itself sometimes deep down. It is always there. It is first response. I can't get it to stop or leave. They put it there in my head those assholes! But I can't call them that because they loved me and I loved/love them all so dearly and in every other aspect they were amazing. .... F*ck I get these two conflicting messages in my head from one side I hear this and then I remember I can't feel that way it't not right to betray daddy.....

But about the stuff with my mom again... Sorry for talking so much. I just, no one gets any of this mind manipulation shit.... I hope I am understood somewhere...

Anyway, The things my dad told me that my mom did were excruciatingly painful to hear (even as an adult, let alone child of 9, maybe younger). But as I got older the bitterness grew and festered and it was so deeply rooted that I even began to hate myself. I was so mean to my mom. Everything she did to get close to me I seemed to knock down. I wouldn't let her get close to me. I 'hated' her, but at the same time I felt bad because I loved her. Even now I am almost in tears remembering how I felt. All of these emotions are coming back. I was in such conflict all the time.) Nothing was real ever for me. I didn't even know how I felt. Who was the 'real me'? I didn't know whose emotions I was feeling... Grandma's? Dad's? Aunt's? Had they become mine? "What is wrong with me? You are a stupid, evil bitch?!" I often thought...

My mom would always ask me, "Why do you treat me like this Chantel? What have I ever done to you to deserve this treatment?!"

(I couldn't tell her what my dad was saying that made me hate her so. I had to protect him! He was my love and I just, I loved him so much it hurt. Literally. I loved him and had to protect him at all costs. That was my job! My duty! I didn't have an option...)

So I just said, "I don't know why I act the way I do mom. I am a f*ck up. I am a b*tch."

The whole time inside I was hating myself for hurting my mom because I really didn't hate her like I told myself... I loved her so much but I couldn't tell her why... So, I think that I just made myself believe that I really truly hated her as a way to cope... But I knew I was killing her inside (part of me hated hurting her and the other part loved it. I thought she deserved it for hurting my dad so much because he was my favorite). Looking back, I can see how I would have thought I hated her. I had such ANGER towards her for hurting my love... I had such resentment inside. I could not be nice to her. I just couldn't. I can't even explain it. I just can't and I am sorry...

The thing is, I never gave her a chance to tell me her side of the story. It somehow never dawned on me that she had a side to tell. I always just thought she was the bad guy and my dad was the angel. (Now that I am forcing myself to think about it; I can only imagine how confused my mom must have been to have at one point, had a child who loved her so much and then, BOOM change into this hateful little kid.) My mom and I honestly had a pretty good relationship until the "age of awakening".

Oh, and you know what the "funny" and crazy making thing was? During times when I was being horrific to my mom (which I have no excuse for honestly even though I was just a little girl); my dad would always ask, "Why do you you treat your mom like this? Why are you so hateful? What is wrong with you?". He would be so mad at me and then I would have to try and come up with the right answer on the spot without giving him away. I was under so much pressure... I just I don't remember honestly. I think I just blocked a lot of the emotions out.

But it drove me so mad!!!! He and his family told me all this horrible crap about her and told me how hurt and bothered he was by her and expected me to not act otherwise?! All of the 'evil' stuff she had done... How was that not suppose to affect me for f*ck sake... I was a child!!! I couldn't f*cking process it, let alone know how to act towards her...) I don't honestly think they knew that they were doing was wrong... Which then makes me the guilty one for being angry. I wasn't supposed to be angry I was supposed to protect and I just need to punish myself when I get like this..... I am sorry I really am for being so horrible... And I am sorry for that tangent. That wasn't even half of the mind stuff but I can't do anymore right now it hurts me too bad...

Saying all of that wasn't supposed to happen. My hands kind of took over. I apologize. I wasn't supposed to say all of that.

But here I am not able to f*cking stop eh? I just it is coming out and I really should not be saying any of this... But I feel compelled to...

And so, there is this memory that I realized I have always had but just somehow 'forgot' it? It was I remember something from when I was REALLY little. It is almost like it is in snapshots. It takes place in my old house. I moved from there when I was 4 so I couldn't have been very old.

I don't remember what happened or why I was in pain... Dad... That's why.

Somehow, it seems like I am naked? But it can't be real. It seems so unreliable. I barely know what happened I only have like 3 or 4 snapshots and then some feelings of pain and sadness and fear. Such hysterical fear-for-your-life type of fear. But maybe this was a dream. Maybe it didn't happen. I don't know...

But, like I said, it seems like I am naked somehow. It also seems like I am seeing myself. During some parts it is like I am actually viewing it out of my own eyes, but then other parts it's like I am watching a movie or just looking at pictures. Does that makes sense?

Anywho, in some parts of this it seems like I am crouching on a register (air vent) absolutely hysterical. I do remember (I think) doing that hiccup thing when you cry too much the sobs turn into spasms. I remember pain. Lots of pain. I am guessing the belt was involved.

Some reason it seems my mom is in the mix. Purple pajamas. Something about purple pajamas... Maybe she is wearing her purple pajamas? It seems like she was holding me. I am not sure when though.

I don't really remember anymore.
I am not even sure if this is real.
What could I have done to cause this? I was maybe 3? I had just turned 4 when we moved...
I wish I could know the whole thing so I could know what it is that I did...
I know I did something though. He was mad. He never did it without a reason. He wasn't mean like that. He is a good dad.

This type of treatment wasn't ALL the time.
He does love me... I know it.
But, again I doubt this is even real. I just have this feeling it is not how I thought it was. There is a reasonable explanation for this. There has to be. I did something bad. Maybe he didn't even hit me. I don't f*cking know...
 
I shared some of this (the parts that had to do with my dad) with my mom and she kind of got mad at me. I think she holds resentment towards me for the way I felt and acted towards her when I was a child. It's odd that she isn't trying to understand now that she knows (some) of the truth of what happened.

And my grandma is dead now but I really did love her dearly and she was a good grandma for the most part and she didn't mean to... And I am pretty upset at my dad because his best friend r*ped me back in September and he knows about it (he was in the room while it was happening) and is still best friends with him.

Yesterday dad and I went on a little outing and it was so much fun. We had a blast! But when I start to have fun with him, then something inside me almost switches over and I feel like I have to hate him or something. It's so strange. I have all these different parts of me that conflict with each other. I hate it and I don't know why I feel like this all the time.

I went to prayer group last night (hope that is not triggering for others). It helped some. I am just super confused. It dawned on me just how screwed up my mind was and how much of a robot I was for them and how much control they had. I mean, I didn't even live for myself at all. Everything I did revolved around my dad and his needs and being his happiness and his support and he twisted my mind. I felt controlled but I didn't even know I was nor did I ever question it. I felt like we (my dad and I) were one. Like when someone gets married (I know that's gross...). I can't explain all of the weird and sick sh*t he did and I can't even begin to describe the feelings.

About the r*pe that occurred last September: My dad (and another man and a little boy) was in the room while it (my dad's friend r*ping me) happened. I thought he was asleep and I didn't want to traumatize the boy so I didn't say anything or scream... Plus, there were guns all over the place and I was scared that my dad would freak and then his friend would freak and shit would go down. One of the biggest things however was that I was so ashamed and embarrassed... And as much as I wanted him to stop and for my dad to help me, the thought of him seeing me like that was almost worse in a way... (I know that is stupid). And, in my dad's defense, he did at one point (after it had happened for awhile) say, "Chantel. what are you doing over there?" or maybe it was "Chantel, what is going on over there?"

I practically screamed at him in a "begging" voice, "Dad, stay over there. Don't come over. Go back to sleep!" for some reason I thought he had just randomly woken up and thus had no clue at all to what was happening... But a friend informed me that even though I told him not to come over, he still should have anyway.
My dad said he can't be mad at his friend as I was wasted drunk and his friend was drunk too and (has said he has no recollection of the event and blacked out: convenient eh?)... Anyway, my dad said that he gave me "an out" when he asked what was wrong and that I didn't take it... So, it is now my fault...

Also, a friend of mine informed me that my dad should be pissed at his friend anyway. This friend of mine said that hypothetically even if this guy and I had been doing stuff consensually, it shouldn't matter to my dad. He said that most dad's would be mad at their best friend for doing 'anything' with their daughter, whether it was consensual on the daughter's part or not. He (my friend) told me that a dad would normally be mad at their friend just for the fact that they were willing to even think about doing stuff with their daughter because that would mean that they don't respect the friendship very much. I mean, I would never do anything with a child that belonged to one of my friends (even if they were of age and fully consenting) just out of respect for my friend. And since I was drunk, it makes it worse since he took advantage of that... But my dad just does not see it that way at all.

Also, I have been told by my T that as a child, I was taught almost or trained into compliance. Which might have helped contribute to all of the violence I feel I have "attracted". Although she says I am not actually attracting it at all. She said that people can sense those who have been hurt and will use that to their advantage. She says however that I haven't done much to stop it either. She is right. I just usually (if not always) lie there and internally hate it and myself... She said it was "learned helplessness". I was trained that I need to please and protect those other than myself... But, I DO want to say that my dad and his family all love me very much and really did not mean this as bad... But, it is what it is so I have been told... But f*ck, I get so mixed up.....

"Don't do anything that won't protect your father..."
"Don't say or do anything that will cause your father to be found out or in trouble."

My T said that I had a devotedness to my dad and his family and their views that they put into my head much like she has seen with people who have been indoctrinated within belief systems. I didn't think for myself. And even if I did I would have felt guilty for it. I would have felt like I was betraying my dad... And then I would feel the need to be punished and I would punish myself. But even then, at that time, I wasn't even aware that I was being punished or used or hurt. I didn't know anything was wrong.

Even now when I talk about it, I get this OVERWHELMING sense or need to recant everything or somehow make it OK so people don't get mad at my dad. I need to protect him. But at the same time, I want to tell how it really was.. Well, there is a part of my brain that wants to talk.... And it does too. But then I, or at least a section of me, gets very angry when this part of my brain takes over and talks and starts to feel disloyal and thus will punish it/me. So, then, that is sometimes how or why I cut... It is more like cutting the "body" or part of me that told. That is, when my rational self is in charge and angry that stuff was told. Sometimes it doesn't seem or feel like it is me. But then again it does. I mean, I am aware of it. It is just that I don't always have those emotions as the one that feels this or that way about what happened. Does that make sense? Maybe not I don't know. Now I just feel crazy. That might be it. I feel like I am being a trouble causer.

Sometimes I get triggered and I go like on auto-pilot. It's like I'm in a tunnel or underwater. Or it's like I'm looking through a foggy glass kind of. Sometimes my body goes tingly or feels heavy/numb. Sometimes I feel like I'm spinning (literally) and sometimes I almost black out. Maybe I do I don't know. A lot of times I feel like I'm hovering. And when I'm talking it's like I'm a robot. It hard to explain. It's kind of nice I can just take a rest or whatever and then I come back all the way after a bit when the trigger or stress or pain is gone. Isn't that kind of nice of my brain to do that for me?

So.... now I sound REALLY crazy. And ya know what? Maybe I am... I don't even care.

I thought of a good word to explain it... it's like there are fragment(s) or something. It's disjointed. I don't know, it's odd. I have a happy, on the job/at work "me". A loyal, almost child-like "me" that gets emotional and scared and feels small and stuff like that, a "me" that is the punisher/sometimes suicidal though not as often. A section that just wants to get high or wasted. But I don't because I am a nurse...
I am aware of these things... it's like sometimes there is like a switch that turns on or off. But it is all part of me. I'm aware of it...

Haha I am probably terrifying... I have never actually written this out.... this is kind of helping me think straighter! I have NEVER told my therapist this because I didn't want her to send me to the psych ward or think I am nuts...
 
Haha I am probably terrifying... I have never actually written this out.... this is kind of helping me think straighter! I have NEVER told my therapist this because I didn't want her to send me to the psych ward or think I am nuts...
@chant2012 how can you possibly expect therapy to be helpful unless you share your trauma history with your T? Sorry to be blunt, but you have shared so much here and elsewhere, that you are obviously craving to understand and process it all. Therapy is designed to do that.

Of course a T would not think you are nuts - they would see you as someone who has suffered copious traumas from a very early age, and has resulting psychological distress.

Please - talk to your T and show them all that you have written here. You deserve to move forwards from this.

Best wishes,
Lucy x
 
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Well, I guess I should have worded it better...
I just started going to a different T. After seeing my last one for 2 years, I had to start seeing a new one for insurance reasons...
I find it hard to share this all with her just yet. :no: I will in time. It took me a good many months to even share anything with my last T...
And it is OK to be blunt. I did not take offense to it...
Thank you sincerely for your best wishes. I wish all the same to you and more!

Much love, Chantel ♥
 
I have a bit more to add... Thanks for listening and caring.
I will try to get this all covered with new T eventually. :rolleyes:

My mom was super pissed. My mom told me that she wanted me to report it and she told my dad that we (she and I) were going to report it.

This is what I wrote a few weeks after it (my dad's best friend r*ping me) happened. This is when I told me dad and mom... So, I wrote this in my journal about a year ago...

*** I told my mom what happened early yesterday morning like around 5am... And I told dad yesterday night. THAT is what was really terrifying for me..... It took ALL my courage to muster up the strength to tell her and I wanted to tell dad but I just counldn't...... So, I told him around 5pm...

Well, when I told my mom she was livid at dad's friend for doing this to me. She was not mad at me though which I was surprised about. She helped me tell my dad. THAT is what I was freaking out about..... I had no idea what he would do.... It was hard to tell mom but it was SOOOOOOOOOO HARD to tell my dad.... I don't know how or what to do.....

My dad has made me feel guitly all over again and now his friend's life is ending and I feel awful... Even though I should be mad at him I can't I only feel mad at myself for telling everybody and ruining everyone's lives...

I guess I am just so thankful that my mom is being so supportive now. The reason she was being so b*tchy to me was because she didn't understand WHY I rescheduled my Boards (I am a nurse and was scheduled to take my licensing RN Boards 6 days after it happened but had to reschedule them due to being unable to function). Now that she knows and understands she is not mad and is in fact being so very supportive, loving, and caring towards me. I mean, she has also been very depressed because my sister is still shipped away and who knows where she will be living at for the rest of her life. Also, she works sometimes 13+ hours and she isn't young. She works usually 5 days a week. She has just been under so much stress. And I admit, I do NOT help her at all and I do make it worse for her... Anyway, my mom is being supportive now and that's all that matters... I am just confused about my dad... I am not doing well. It DOES feel like a load has lifted off of me since I got out what happened but it still stinks and just isn't right. The things my dad did and said tonight regarding what happened hurt... He was so invalidating to me ... He keeps saying he loves and supports me but at the same time he keeps sticking up for his friend and making excuses... Even though he says what is friend did was not a good thing... He more than once said that what happened to me wasn't r*pe and that his friend didn't mean to...

My dad left to drive around and talk to his friend on the phone right after he, I, and my mom stopped talking. He left and mom said that he just had to drive around and soak in what I told him and that he had to think. But he was gone for a good hour maybe and then he got back. I was a bit pissed that he couldn't call his friend with ME present so I could hear what he was saying. But he said it was personal and that he needed to talk to him alone for privacy and whatnot...

Anyway, after he got back he came into my bedroom and he said that his friend is adamant he doesn't remember doing what he did to me. I have the actual story the way I remember it and then the way my dad said it happened according to his friend. Two versions I guess. Although his is VERY short as he remembers nothing.

My dad said his friend was crying on the phone while they talked and that his friend has been very depressed ever since "it" happened and that he is going to stop drinking...

So, obviously he feels bad about what he 'doesn't' remember doing....??? *hahaha that is fishy isn't it?*

I even said this to my dad and my dad said that it isn't fishy at all. He said that ever since that night, his friend has been depressed. My dad said that he has been confused as to why his friend (T**) has been acting sad and distant but now it all makes sense... My dad THEN told me that his friend told him something that he is very ashamed about... I asked him what it was...

My dad then says, "Remember how your shirt was all wet when you woke up and you said that you must have spilled beer on it?"

"Yes." I say.

"Well, do you actually remember spilling beer on it?"

"No."

"Well, even if you had of spilled beer on it, it would have been dry by the time you woke up. Also, wasn't the floor all wet around where you were laying?"

"Yeah, I just figured I spilled my beer....."

"Well, T** tearfully told me that it wasn't beer. He told me that he pissed all over you. He said that when he woke up his underwear were all wet and he put 2 and 2 together.... So, THAT is why he has been so sad. He honestly doesn't remember any of this. The reason he has been sad is because he realizes he really has a problem with drinking. These are his word Chantel, 'If I can't hold my piss long enough to get outside to pee and instead just pee all over the place and floor, then I must REALLY have a problem. I have been very depressed and ashamed about this.. I need to stop drinking."

"And you really believe that is why he is f*cking sad?!?!"

"Well, yes I do." said my dad.

My dad dad then said, "it isn't like he hurt you or anything."... my mom was standing there when he said this and she about blew a gasket...

He quickly tried to recover himself and said, "No, I mean he didn't physically hurt you." but he just kept digging a deeper hole and the only thing he succeeded in doing was pissing my mom and I off... I tried to explain to him that he did hurt me sexually and psychologically but he just... I don't know, didn't really listen... Then after awhile I yelled at him to just get the F out of my room if he was going to be an ass and stick up for T** instead of me... He said that he understood me completely (yeah right) but that he was just trying to get both view points.... *Sigh* The last thing he did before leaving my room and not talking to me at all for the rest of the night was this:

Me: "Here dad, I will show you the new definition of r*pe." They changed back in January of 2012. His friends digitally r*ped me which is why I wanted to show my dad this revised definition. [DLMURL]http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/January/12-ag-018.html[/DLMURL]

Dad: "No... Look, it wasn't r*pe. It would never stand up in court. They would ask you why you didn't cry out to me while it was happening when I was in the room the entire time."

Me: "Just because a court doesn't find someone guilty, doesn't mean the crime didn't take place."

Dad: " I am not doubting it happened. I KNOW it happened and I am sorry but you didn't yell out to me and after you woke up you went and laid down on the couch again... Right where it took place. You were practically asking for more."

Me: "F*ck you! Get out of my room."

Dad: "Fine." *walks out and doesn't talk to me for the rest of the night*

Maybe he is right I don't know.

Oh, and my dad also told me that now T** is going to have to go home and tell his wife what he did and he will more than likely have to get a divorce... My dad told me all of this and now I am the one who feels guilty for ruining HIS life because he doesn't even remember doing it in the first place... Why did my dad have to tell me all of this? Does he want me to feel bad so I will be on his friend's side and forever blame myself? ***

----End journal entry---

Well since this was almost a year ago, it's kind of blown over by now I guess here at home with my parents. It's not talked about...
And I did move out for awhile there with my ex. But then I had to move back and I guess my dad managed to talk my mom onto his side because now she says it's my fault and that it wasn't really r*pe. Oh well. But I guess they are too ignorant and in denial to be able to put two and two together about why I'm always angry.
They are always asking me, "I just don't understand why you are so mean and angry all the time Chantel."
Ha! It's almost comical.
 
T was somewhat difficult...
I was very dissociative. I floated away in a sense. I got really heavy like I was melting into the couch yet at the same time I felt weightless. I was inside my head seeing everything that was happening but it was like I wasn't really there completely. I was underwater or something. That's what it sounded like... Afterward, I was extremely sleepy. This happened all throughout the session. It happened after she said a few things... Well, after she suggested something, a new idea... She said she could immediately tell that I was gone because my face and body posture changed.
 
Hi Chant,

What have been the positives of the therapy you have been receiving? What changes have you noticed and how far have you come?
Do you have an idea of what recovery will look like for you?

What are you doing with your life at the moment? Do you have hobbies? Or maybe you spend time with friends and associates? How do you spend your day? How often do you see your therapist, and what form of therapy are you getting? I know I am asking a lot of questions, but I notice that you write a lot about your past, but relatively little about your present. I love to read about positive change and would very much like to hear more.
 
@chant2012 , I commend you for writing so much, however, for me, it's too much in one go. I will read your entries, and reply, but it will take me some time to read so much, so please bear with me.
 
Hi Chant,

What have been the positives of the therapy you have been receiving? What changes have you noticed and how far have you come?
Do you have an idea of what recovery will look like for you?

What are you doing with your life at the moment? Do you have hobbies? Or maybe you spend time with friends and associates? How do you spend your day? How often do you see your therapist, and what form of therapy are you getting? I know I am asking a lot of questions, but I notice that you write a lot about your past, but relatively little about your present. I love to read about positive change and would very much like to hear more.

Oh, ok I'm sorry... I know I'm being a Debby Downer...
Therapy is alright. Have a netter T now. Actually just got out of T... I see her once a week. She's a psychologist actually. I am doing neuro-feedback and also talk therapy.
I just started this so I am not sure about the changes just yet.
But I am/was slowly working through a lot of this stuff with my old T (I was with her for about 2 years).
I am not sure what recovery will be like. Maybe an understanding or a sense of peace? I just want to know.... that's what I want... I may not get that though...

I work ALL the time. That's what my life is lol... I am a nurse at a nursing home. And I go to church (when I'm not working) and am a leader there in the youth ministries (the other leaders are friends) but I haven't been able to go for a month or so. Always work...
I write some... I used to hunt. That was a big thing... I also like just shooting (targets and whatnot...) but don't do that anymore :-/
 
@chant2012 , I commend you for writing so much, however, for me, it's too much in one go. I will read your entries, and reply, but it will take me some time to read so much, so please bear with me.

I completely understand! Haha. I KNOW it's a lot. I apologize. I just wanted it out of here *points to head* :P
Your support means a lot.
I support you 100%!!! <3
 
I know people get aggravated when I add to this... but I just have been struggling all day yesterday (Halloween) and also now...

I fight with myself inside my brain... Like I go back and forth on what to think, do, believe... I can never figure anything out. I can't come to conclusions. I have found out that it is almost impossible for me to say 'no'... and that I do not have an assertive bone in my body it would seem (which really stinks because I am a charge nurse and NEED to be assertive to do my job)... I get walked all over. Also, very scared and upset. Feel very unsettled inside and internally panicky... I dislike this time of year I guess maybe? Not sure why. Very scared... Do not feel OK at all. Just it is all so much right now. Can't process these things coming up. Need to process. But the processing is not happening... I think that some ice cream would help... Perhaps I will watch some TV and take a couple PRN's... And reading the Bible is probably a given... Yeah, that seems mandatory right now... Much needed...
i am triggered by just my own freaking mind... I don't know why. But fall makes me anxious. I love the fall leaves and colors. But I just have this bad feeling about something. And I liked Halloween. I still do like it. I like getting dressed up (in non-evil/non-scary things) and I like the candy part, but I hate the evilness of it and what it truly means and stands for... It's scary. But there is just this feeling I get and when I think about it (fall time). My mind goes back to this image of me in one of the hunting (bean) fields during this time of year... it goes down the the river bottom... I have these feelings about my aunts old house... I just have these unsettling "feelings"... But it really is probably nothing at all... No clue why I feel so unsettled internally in my head... And my job. Of my gosh my f*cking job I hate this one lady I work with. I can't stand her. She makes me miserable... I hate myself... I just am so triggered and just all around upset. Oh my f*cking gosh. I have no clue what to do right now... I feel so anxious... scared. I miss my dog. HUGE trigger. It's already been 5 months... :cry:
 
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