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Survivor story

#95

Original story

Message of Healing

No longer feeling ashamed of my experience. Accepting that it occurred but that whatever happened the experience was real and I did not lead him on. My short skirt, the alcohol, and the clothes I was wearing did not cause my rapist's wrongdoing. Healing means having self-compassion for myself. Stigma and memories may affect me but through self-love and self-care I can move forward. Therapy has helped me find strategies and coping mechanisms to be compassionate and no longer feel shame, guilt, and panic.

In my first week as a university student, I was raped by a course-mate in my campus bedroom. I was very tipsy when I met him at a student bar. We started kissing and I thought sex was what I wanted so I took him back to my room. I changed my mind a few minutes later, I felt stuck and was afraid that he would become aggressive. I did not consent and suddenly I was naked and he forced himself inside me. I remember him saying that I was so tight. I remember him tightly grabbing my boobs, pain coursing through my body. Every time he slammed into me, I just wanted to escape. Afterward, he clung on to me. I still to this day don't know where I found the strength within me but I managed to kick him out. I felt like an empty shell, I felt so ashamed and guilty, and I convinced myself it was my fault. I repressed this trauma, and if it somehow came up in conversation, I just talked about it as if it had been a normal one nightstand. Fast forward a few years, and over the course of therapy and addressing my trauma, I am finally processing and undoing all the feelings of harm, shame, and guilt. I am working towards self-compassion.

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