0
Members
0
Views
0
Reactions
0
Stories read
For immediate help, visit {{resource}}
Made with in Raleigh, NC
Read our Community Guidelines, Privacy Policy, and Terms
Have feedback? Send it to us
Answer by Dr. Laura
PhD Mental Health Nurse & Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner
What you're describing sounds really confusing to make sense of, and it's completely understandable that you've been uncertain about how to understand these experiences. It sounds like this has weighed on you for a long time, and the fact that you're asking this question shows you're trying to process something that has stayed with you.
Sexual curiosity and exploration between children of similar ages is a normal part of growing up, and this includes exploration between children of the same gender. Many children are naturally curious about bodies and what feels good physically. Same-sex exploration (apologies I am making an assumption about your gender based on quesiton context) in childhood doesn't mean anything definitive about someone's sexuality, and it's an experience many people have as part of normal development. What can make childhood sexual experiences feel harmful or uncomfortable is when one child repeatedly pressures the other, when requests continue after someone seems hesitant or unsure, or when the experience doesn't feel mutual or wanted. When sexual behaviors between children involve one child feeling coerced, unable to set boundaries, or uncomfortable, it can fall under child-on-child sexual abuse, even when both children share the same age.
Sometimes people carry extra layers of shame or confusion when childhood experiences that felt harmful also involved same-sex contact. It's important to separate these two things if you can. What matters is how the experience happened and how it made you feel. If you felt pressured or uncomfortable, that's about the pressure and lack of consent, not about the fact that this involved another girl.
It's understandable that these memories remain confusing, especially since you maintained a friendship with her for years afterward. Many people in similar situations feel torn because the person and the relationship held both good memories and unsettling moments. The important thing to remember is that none of this was your fault. Your sense that these encounters left you uneasy matters deeply, and what you felt at the time and how it affects you now are both valid.
You get to decide what this experience means to you and what language, if any, feels right for describing it. Some people find comfort in naming their experiences, while others prefer to simply acknowledge that something happened that affected them. There's no right or wrong way to understand your own story. Even without a formal label, your feelings are valid, and you aren't alone in wondering about experiences like this. It can help to talk with someone trained in these issues, like a support line or a trauma-informed counselor, so you can explore your feelings safely and at your own pace. Reaching out for understanding is an important step, and you deserve support from people who respect what you went through and help you move forward with self-compassion and acceptance.
You have a comment in progress, are you sure you want to discard it?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate
0
Members
0
Views
0
Reactions
0
Stories read
For immediate help, visit {{resource}}
For immediate help, visit {{resource}}
Made with in Raleigh, NC
|
Read our Community Guidelines, Privacy Policy, and Terms
|
Please adhere to our Community Guidelines to help us keep Our Wave a safe space. All messages will be reviewed and identifying information removed before they are posted.
Grounding activity
Find a comfortable place to sit. Gently close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths - in through your nose (count to 3), out through your mouth (count of 3). Now open your eyes and look around you. Name the following out loud:
5 – things you can see (you can look within the room and out of the window)
4 – things you can feel (what is in front of you that you can touch?)
3 – things you can hear
2 – things you can smell
1 – thing you like about yourself.
Take a deep breath to end.
From where you are sitting, look around for things that have a texture or are nice or interesting to look at.
Hold an object in your hand and bring your full focus to it. Look at where shadows fall on parts of it or maybe where there are shapes that form within the object. Feel how heavy or light it is in your hand and what the surface texture feels like under your fingers (This can also be done with a pet if you have one).
Take a deep breath to end.
Ask yourself the following questions and answer them out loud:
1. Where am I?
2. What day of the week is today?
3. What is today’s date?
4. What is the current month?
5. What is the current year?
6. How old am I?
7. What season is it?
Take a deep breath to end.
Put your right hand palm down on your left shoulder. Put your left hand palm down on your right shoulder. Choose a sentence that will strengthen you. For example: “I am powerful.” Say the sentence out loud first and pat your right hand on your left shoulder, then your left hand on your right shoulder.
Alternate the patting. Do ten pats altogether, five on each side, each time repeating your sentences aloud.
Take a deep breath to end.
Cross your arms in front of you and draw them towards your chest. With your right hand, hold your left upper arm. With your left hand, hold your right upper arm. Squeeze gently, and pull your arms inwards. Hold the squeeze for a little while, finding the right amount of squeeze for you in this moment. Hold the tension and release. Then squeeze for a little while again and release. Stay like that for a moment.
Take a deep breath to end.