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Original story
Being able to feel and take care of myself where no one did before. To give myself compassion and a safe space to feel my feelings.
I was 16 living in a foster home, I had been there maybe 5 months. The man Foster Dad the foster dad he had never really talked to me very much and he didn't spend alot of time with me. One day I was cleaning up my room and Foster Momthe foster mom was across the street at a neighbors house. He came to the doorway and stood there asking me if he could give me a hug and I thought nothing of it and said ok and he came into my room and he did. When he pulled away his hand rubbed against my breast and I thought to myself maybe that was an accident and then he asked me could he hug me again. I felt uncomfortable but don't really remember why I let him hug me again but I did and this time he rubbed my breast again and I slapped him across the face and ran out the door. I think he told me not to tell anyone. When I got next door I said what happened and she was upset at me and said you shouldn't say things like that in front of people. I was shocked and just turned around. I don't remember what happened after that. I remember going to counseling and I finally spoke to the counselor about the sexual abuse that had occurred even before this incident and I suppose I was confused. I didn't really think it was bad because the word rape was bad and he only touched me so I wasn't sure that was bad and after talking to the counselor I remember her telling my foster mom and the social worker that I was afraid of men. I suppose because I told her so many stories maybe it didn't seem like I was telling the truth and somehow now Foster Dad wasn't guilty and I thought I was wrong. I remember thinking I am not afraid of men and only recently understand I can't stand them really. It wasn't long after this the foster mom got cancer well she already had it and told me I couldn't stay there anymore, so now the social worker was looking for a new place for me to live. I had a boyfriend at the time, who I later married when I was 17. The social workers thought he was a good influence on me, and I believed them. He was a constant for me where no one else was, but he was emotionally abusive, he became physically abusive after my first pregnancy. Now off to my second foster home after meeting some others that didn't seem to want me either it was almost the end of the school year and summer was approaching. Before I left I had started to go to the store to hang out with what I called a foster sister back then, she was an adult and no longer living with my foster parents but I liked her and so we hung out sometimes. I thought I could trust her. She started talking to me about what happened and said he did it to her too and he had done it before and I thought to myself did they all know this and was hiding it. I can remember having my then best friend over and she wanted to ride to the store with my foster dad to get pizza and my foster mom was very against it like really defensive and I thought it was weird and after that she wouldn't let her come over anymore either which I then thought was even weirder, but now it seems to make sense. I don't know for a fact but I feel like she knew all along and just hide it. They couldn't have kids of their own and she did adopt a boy who was also and adult by the time I met them, but only fostered the girls for a time being and then were off to other homes. The next foster home wasn't much better, I suppose I can save that story for another time. I didn't understand what sexual abuse or rape even was and to me if someone just touched me that it was ok that wasn't rape so it wasn't bad. When I think about the word rape I don't feel much of anything, but if I say someone had sex with me when I didn't want them too I start to cry or feel it more. It's strange I say rape is a bad word but really I feel nothing when I say this. Maybe from all the movies my mom would put on tv as a child that made it seem ok to rape someone. Then my foster mom certainly didn't help much and neither did the foster sister. The foster mom tried to be in my life for a while and we even rented from them when I first got married. I suppose because the social workers, and counselors, and whoever else I was around back then didn't seem to have a problem with what he did that I guess I thought it was ok, but now all this time later I am just understanding that none of it was ever ok.
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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.