Redstar13

Welcome to AS! I am sorry for what brings you here and happy you have found it. This is a wonderful supportive site. It took me over 20 years to reach out and I’m so glad I did! You will find connections and things you can relate to and it helps me to feel less alone. You are already making great strides!

Welcome!! Boy can I relate to your feelings. I too did the same thing for many years. I realized that I was only living half of a life though and I want to live fully. To really live! What an amazing community this is- you will feel supported and encouraged here by others who totally “get it.” It can be so uplifting as you seek your new normal. I am sorry you belong here but happy you have found as.

Hello @NssAngel9 and welcome. Like the others here I am sorry you belong here but am happy you found the site. It really does help to hear from others who can truly understand. And yes the anonymity of being behind a keyboard or screen helps too. This is a wonderful supportive community that I too am fairly new to but it has already made a difference to me. Go at your own pace. You will find things that resonate for you and others that may not. Sometimes I just feel called to open up or respond and other times I just can’t. And it’s ok! That’s what’s great about this kind of forum. Again welco

Hello and welcome! I second what everyone else has already said- the great part about this site is that you can interact how and where you see fit. There is no obligation. You will feel called to respond to certain posts or people and maybe not as much to others. Also I am sorry that you belong here but happy you found your way to this site.

Hello @Striver and welcome! Of course you are welcome here! I understand your hesitation and trust me when I tell you we all have felt it on some level. I initially felt maybe I didn’t fit in or would be welcome because I didn’t experience CSA. While most of us are women we can all relate to your pain on some level unfortunately. And I agree with @Hoping8 that you will find certain things that will resonate with you more than others- the same will go for threads and members and can change depending on where your head is at in that moment. Also let me tell you I can relate about dealing wi

I am sorry that you belong on this site at all- but know this- you DO belong and you are not alone. Never discount your own trauma. While your experience and mine (or others) may be different what brings us here is the same. We all feel similarly and our trauma impacts us all in similar ways. Your feelings are valid. And you are not rambling. It’s carhartic to get it out. so welcome and like others have said peruse the site and enjoy the comradarie of a great group of people.

I have just joined and am looking for support from other survivors. There is something to be said by talking to other people who truly understand what it feels like. I have not shared my story often, kept it locked away for over 20 years and I’m just now coming to terms with what I’ve been through. I have been learning that I sleep better and generally have less anxiety if I talk about it as hard as it is.