3 Things You Need To Know About Healing From Sexual Abuse

If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual abuse it is important to get the help that you need. There are few people who can recover from the trauma and effects of sexual abuse without professional counseling. Here are some things that you should know.

1. Sexual Abuse Victims Can Have Halted Emotional Maturity

If the sexual abuse happens when the person is a child, it can affect their ability to mature in a healthy way. It is as if their childhood was taken from them in effect. In some cases the individual will seem to grow up faster and act like an adult even though they are just a child. While in other cases, it will be as if the person never really grew up. As an adult they will be concerned with safety, have fears of being left alone, have very little emotional security and so forth.

This is why in counseling many therapists and counselors will help the person to mature in a healthy way. They will confront the trauma and learn to work through it in a timeline that works for them. You cannot simply speed up the process because you want it done faster. In some cases the individual will just have to develop emotionally until they are at the same emotional age as their physical age.

2. The Person Will Have Triggers

It is important to recognize that anyone who has dealt with trauma will have triggers. These triggers can be random or they can be very predictable. For instance, there might be certain places, smells, or people who will trigger an emotional response. The response can be a panic attack, anger, fear or just a general acting out. It is even normal for people who were sexually abused as children to act out sexually as adults. This is why it is important to make sure that the abuse is addressed so that the person can deal with it, rather than let it dictate their life.

3. Safety Is Important For Trauma Victims

Whether it is yourself, or someone that you love, who is healing from sexual abuse, it is important to recognize how important it is to feel safe. It is not wrong to create a safe environment for yourself. It is important that you take steps to remove people from your life who might be a threat, and to put up healthy boundaries. This will help you heal.

Contact a company like The A Treatment Center for more information on anxiety treatments. 

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