OUR LETTERS 2 SELF: SURVIVORS HELPING SURVIVORS SURVIVE: MALE SEXUAL ABUSE
WELCOME TO OUR LETTERS 2 SELF, A WEBSITE DESIGNED TO ASSIST SURVIVORS OF MALE SEXUAL ABUSE, THEIR FAMILIES AND LOVED ONES THROUGH THE JOURNEYS OF OTHER SURVIVORS. 1 IN 6 MEN WILL BE SEXUALLY ABUSED BY THE TIME THEY ARE 18 YEARS OLD. WHICH MEANS THIS EPIDEMIC IS EFFECTING NEARLY 28,000,000 MEN IN THE UNITED STATES. THE TRUE TRAGEDY IN ALL OF THIS IS THAT SO MANY ABUSERS GO UNPUNISHED BECAUSE WE LACK A VOICE. NOT ANYMORE.
OUR LETTERS 2 SELF CAME TO BE THROUGH MY OWN EXPLORATION OF MY ABUSE AND THE AFTERMATH OF IT. MY NAME IS CHRIS AND I AM A SURVIVOR OF SEXUAL ABUSE. MY ABUSE OCCURRED FOR APPROXIMATELY 5 YEARS OF MY CHILDHOOD. I DID NOT SPEAK ABOUT MY ABUSE FOR DECADES AND WHEN I FINALLY DID, THERE WAS A WEIGHT LIFTED OFF MY SHOULDERS, BUT IT WOULD BE 9 MORE YEARS BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO START CONFRONTING IT. I, LIKE SO MANY OF US, FELT LIKE THERE WAS NO HELP FOR ME AND NO WHERE TO TURN. I STRUGGLED FOR A VERY LONG TIME AND IT WASN’T UNTIL JANUARY 2016 BEFORE I FINALLY RECEIVED HELP. I WAS AFFORD A VERY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTENDED A WORLD RENOWNED CLINIC FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS TO FINALLY FOCUS ON MY ISSUES AND PAIN THAT INEVITABLY BECOME PART OF OUR LIVES. I CAME HOME AND STRUGGLED TO FIND THERAPISTS AND GROUPS. I EVENTUALLY GOT LUCKY IN FINDING THE RESOURCES I NEEDED TO CONTINUE THROUGH MY JOURNEY, BUT I CONTINUE TO LACK THE ABILITY TO CONNECT WITH MORE SURVIVORS. HENCE, OUR LETTERS 2 SELF.
I WAS CHALLENGED A NUMBER OF TIMES IN THERAPY TO WRITE LETTERS, BUT I NEVER FELT IT. HOWEVER, ONE NIGHT AFTER MY GROUP, DURING MY HOUR AND A HALF DRIVE HOME, MY LETTER HIT ME. AFTER WRITING AND TWEEKING IT, I WAS KINDA IMPRESSED BY WHAT I HAD CREATED AND THE FEEDBACK. THEN IT DAWNED ON ME, USE THE LETTER, TO CONNECT WITH OTHERS AND THAT’S HOW THIS WAS ALL CREATED. SO, NOW I CHALLENGE YOU, IN ANY FORM, TO SHARE YOUR JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW SURVIVORS. BE CREATIVE. I PROMISE YOU THAT YOUR STORY IS FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU THINK. BUT REMEMBER, THIS IS A PLACE FOR HEALING AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUGGLES OF SURVIVING SEXUAL ABUSE. BE POSITIVE AND SUPPORTIVE AND KNOW THAT EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN UNIQUE PATH, SO DON’T PUSH PEOPLE TOO HARD. AND ONE OTHER IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE, THIS IS NOT A SITE TO CREATE A FOUNDATION FOR YOUR POLITICAL AND SOCIAL STANCES. THERE ARE A LOT OF ISSUES IN THIS WORLD, BUT HERE WE NEED TO FOCUS ON HELPING SURVIVE AND ELIMINATE SEXUAL ABUSE.
LET’S STAND UP AS ONE, UNIFIED, AND RID THIS WORLD OF THE EPIDEMIC WE KNOW AS SEXUAL ABUSE.
DON’T EVER FORGET, YOU ARE NOT ALONE, WE DO CARE DEEPLY FOR YOU!
CHRIS
