Charlie.1

Hey @Viceless 🙂 I have been having counselling and it has given me the confidence to speak to my mum and my partner about what happened. I never would of thought that I would ever of been able to do that. They were both really good about it and were really supportive. Since speaking to them I feel like a huge weight that I have been carrying for many years now has been lifted. I knew that the weight was there, but I didn’t realise how heavy it was and the impact that it was having on my life. Forgiveness means different things to different people and like you said you are doing your best and although it is frustrating, it does take time and we need to be ready to take each step so try and be patient with yourself and remember what you said- you are doing the best that you can. You can’t ask for anymore than that! 😊👍🏻 Just do what is right for you

First of all great drawings! As for forgiveness, I don’t think that you should put pressure on yourself to forgive someone if you don’t want to. If you think that it would help you to move towards forgiveness then perhaps you could talk this through with someone? You could contact a helpline if you don’t feel comfortable talking to someone who you know but don’t feel like you have to forgive someone if that isn’t what you want. Do you have some things that you can you can use as distractions to keep you busy? It looks like you are good at art I have made steps forward that I never would of thought I could and it does take time but you can do it with the right support. If you do not have support already you could look online to see what’s available in your area. I hope this helps

Thank you

Hi Celia I am new here too. I joined yesterday.

Thank you all for the messages, it is very encouraging and I feel a bit better already! It’s awful that there are so many people who have been abused, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone but I think that it will help me to talk to people in similar situations.

Thank you 🙂

I can relate to this Sam and it is only now, 15 years later, through counselling that I am beginning to understand my behaviours- why I “let” it happen the first time and then “let” it happen repeatedly but my counsellor has explained that unfortunately abusers treat us and work on us in a certain way so that we feel like we kept “allowing” it but actually they were grooming us from the start. I hope that makes sense. I know that it is confusing but I am working on it myself and it is very difficult to not blame yourself and this is something that I am working on at the moment and I think that it will get there in time

I’m really sorry for what you’ve been through Samantha and I would also like to thank you for being so brave and telling us about what happened to you because I can relate to some of the things that you experienced and it’s reassuring to know that someone else has had the same thoughts and reactions that I have although obviously I wouldn’t wish it on anyone and I hope that you are doing okay and have some support

Hi @drowningnotwaving. Thank you for the welcome It means a lot. Hope you’re having a nice weekend

Hi, I’m new here. I’m currently having counselling to help me to understand what happened to me in the past and I am finding it helpful. I’m hoping to find some support from others who have unfortunately been in similar situations and may have some of the same thoughts, feelings and experiences as me.