New Here

[bewildered]

Hello all I am new here. I was refered here from a friend that I talk to through emails. I have posted a couple of messages but have not told my story yet. I find it hard to go into detail about it as it can be long and confusing and of course painful. There are also things that I have never shared with anyone. So I am hoping by coming here I shall be finally able to let go of all of the demons in my life so to speak. Move on with life and stop fighting all the time and for once just live my life.

Edited July 15, 2008 by bewildered

[sisterinsurvival]

Hi,

My name is Lynn, and I am a member of the New Member Support Team. I just wanted to take the time to say welcome to After Silence.

I hope that you find comfort and support here. I know that I have found the strength to face another day many times through the words and presence of those dear ones who make this site a true "community." I am glad that you have joined with us and look forward to getting to know you. If you need anything or have questions about the boards or how something works, please send me a personal message. I will gladly help in any way possible...also if you need someone to listen, let me know.

Take care,

Your Sister in Survival,

Lynn

[bewildered]

Thank you Lynn. I hope that i shall be able to find some answers to some questions and help to over come things. It is always hard especially when you are new. but as time goes on i shall feel more comfortable and be able to post my story. For now i shall just read messages and post to them. Then later on when I get up the courage to I shall post my story. Being able to talk to people that have been through a similar sort of thing to me makes it easier. I find that therapists just do not seem to understand as they have not been through any of it.

Thank you again

[probably]

Hello and welcome to AS

[angelic]

[sisterinsurvival]

Thank you Lynn. I hope that i shall be able to find some answers to some questions and help to over come things. It is always hard especially when you are new. but as time goes on i shall feel more comfortable and be able to post my story. For now i shall just read messages and post to them. Then later on when I get up the courage to I shall post my story. Being able to talk to people that have been through a similar sort of thing to me makes it easier. I find that therapists just do not seem to understand as they have not been through any of it.

Thank you again

Hi bewildered,

I agree with you that people just do not understand. I shared with my pastor about what I have endured, and while it helps him understand some of the issues I have, I sometimes catch him staring at me. Needless to say, it is unnerving. I don't know exactly what he is thinking when I happen to notice that he has been watching me, but it makes me uncomfortable. My husband is on staff with him in the church, and being the associate pastor's wife is sometimes more than I can handle, and when the stares are placed on top of that it truly is bothersome.

I have shared with others as well, and I honestly have only found one other person that has been accepting of what I divulged, and I feel the only reason for that is that she was stalked by a former boyfriend.

I am blessed in that my counselor does seem to get it most of the time. He endured a severe trauma as a boy as he faced the suicide of his dad, and while the experience is quite different from what we have gone through, it was still traumatic. He has practiced many years now and worked with many survivors, but there are still times that I have to explain certain things to him, and he still has his "aha" moments when he gains a deeper insight into me or how the abuse ties in to the problems I still face as I live life on a daily basis.

Take your time in sharing here. There is no rush for any of it. Healing comes at its own pace, and I do not believe that there is anything that can be done to hasten it. I have been working diligently for three years now, and there is still plenty to work on.

Glad you are with us!

Take care,

Edited July 16, 2008 by sisterinsurvival

[Graice]

Hi Bewildered

Welcome to AS...Im glad you found us and are here with us...I hope we can be of support as you find your voice and feelings and begin to release whats inside of you

hugs

graice

[sparkle]

bewildered

[butterflyinreverse]

Welcome to AS. I'm sorry for what brought you here, but I hope you find it to be a safe and supportive environment.

[kimbees324]

Bewildered,

I'm sorry that you have a reason to be here but I'm glad that you have found your way here to AS. This is a really difficult thing to work through and I know at least for me, it took me awhile before I posted anything about myself. I looked around for quite awhile and got a sense of what this online community was all about. I think that if you give yourself time, you will feel better about posting some or all of your story. Don't feel any pressure to do so until you are ready. You don't have to do anything you aren't comfortable with. Just know that you are surrounded by a lot of wonderful people that will support you and encourage you when you need it. Take good care of yourself.

[angel123]

hun..... welcome to AS..

Angel x

[silenced42long]

Hi and Welcome to AS!

[Guest SaraElizabeth]

Hello and welcome