Physical violence

Being physically harmed in a medical or institutional setting

Physical harm that occurred in a hospital, psychiatric facility, group home, residential program, or other institution. Restraints used as punishment. Force used without necessity or consent. Harm that happened in a place that was supposed to be helping you.

Being hurt in a place that existed to help you turns the whole idea of care inside out. Hospitals, wards, and programs hold power that patients mostly cannot refuse, and when that power hurt you, every waiting room afterward can feel like a threat. Your wariness makes sense, and it deserves patience, including your own.

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.

PTSD After certain experiences, the brain can get stuck, replaying what happened through flashbacks, nightmares, or sudden intense reactions to things that remind you of it. Hypervigilance The nervous system that learned to scan for danger all the time. Trust issues Trust that was broken, repeatedly, by people who were supposed to be safe. Anxiety The background hum of dread that is always there. Depersonalization Not feeling at home in your own body. Problems with authority The original experiences with authority figures, parents, teachers, institutions, abusers, shaping the automatic response to anyone who holds power. Medical avoidance Putting off appointments, leaving symptoms unexamined, cancelling at the door, or sitting in the car park and driving home. Chronic pain Pain that has been investigated and treated and remains.

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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