Sexual violence

Being raped or sexually assaulted as an adult

Being forced, coerced, or pressured into sexual contact as an adult. By a stranger, an acquaintance, a friend, a date, or anyone else. Including experiences where you froze, where you said nothing, where you were not believed afterward.

Whatever the circumstances, whoever it was, however you responded, sexual assault was done to you and none of it was yours to prevent. Freezing is not consent. Silence afterward is not evidence. Many people here waited years to say it out loud, and every one of them deserved belief, which is what you will find too.

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. Insomnia Difficulty falling asleep. Depression Not just sadness. Startle response The nervous system calibrated to danger will flinch at sounds, movements, or surprises that others barely notice. Shame Not guilt about something you did. Freeze response When the nervous system learned that neither fighting nor fleeing was possible, some people learned to go still.

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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