Exploitation

Being exploited by an employer or in a work situation

Working conditions that were unsafe, illegal, or abusive. Wages stolen or withheld. Being threatened, coerced, or controlled in a work environment. Exploitation that was enabled by your vulnerability, immigration status, economic desperation, or lack of options.

Exploitation at work runs on the fact that you needed the job more than the job needed you. Stolen wages, unsafe conditions, and threats wrapped in paychecks leave a residue of anger and humiliation that follows you into every job after. Your labor was taken advantage of, and being economically cornered was never a character flaw.

What can follow an experience like this

No two people carry the same experience the same way. These are some of the effects that people with this experience often describe. Having some of them, all of them, or none of them says nothing about how real what happened to you was.

Trust issues Trust that was broken, repeatedly, by people who were supposed to be safe. Problems with authority The original experiences with authority figures, parents, teachers, institutions, abusers, shaping the automatic response to anyone who holds power. Financial ruin Financial ruin is often what trauma leaves behind. Learned helplessness When nothing you did made a difference, when effort did not produce safety, when asking for help did not bring help, the nervous system eventually stops asking. Trouble at work or school Jobs that end, courses that do not get finished, a work history with gaps you do not know how to explain. Depression Not just sadness. Shame Not guilt about something you did. Anxiety The background hum of dread that is always there.

Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and nothing here decides what is wrong with you, because nothing is wrong with you. Something happened to you. This page exists so that when you are ready, you can find people who understand it from the inside.

You do not have to carry this alone.

Bridge of Hope Recovery is a free, anonymous, peer-led fellowship for trauma survivors. Meetings run throughout the week by phone, by video, and in person. No cost, no waitlist, no one asking for your real name.

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