Isolation of catastrophic experiences. Dissociation may function to seal off overwhelming trauma into a compartmentalized area of conscious until the person is better able to integrate it into mainstream consciousness. The function of dissociation is particularly common in survivors of combat, political torture, or natural or transportation disasters.

~ Marlene Steinberg

Marlene Steinberg Amnesia Catastrophe Combat Complex Trauma Concentration Camp Survivor Concentration Camps Consciousness Dissociated Dissociation Dissociative Memory Political Prisoners Psychology Soldiers Survivor Torture Trauma Trauma Survivors

Recovery unfolds in three stages. The central task of the first stage is the establishment of safety. The central task of the second stage is remembrance and mourning. The central focus of the third stage is reconnection with ordinary life.

~ Judith Lewis Herman

Judith Lewis Herman Child Sexual Abuse Complex Ptsd Complex Trauma Grieving Healing Healing Process Loss Ptsd Rape Recovery Safety Sexual Abuse Trauma

Recovery can take place only within then context of relationships, it cannot occur in isolation.

~ Judith Lewis Herman

Judith Lewis Herman Child Sexual Abuse Complex Ptsd Complex Trauma Healing Healthy Relationships Isolation Ptsd Rape Recovery Relationships Sexual Abuse Trauma

Recovery can take place only within then context of relationships; it cannot occur in isolation. In her renewed connection with other people, the survivor re-creates the psychological facilities that were damaged or deformed by the traumatic experience. These faculties include the basic operations of trust, autonomy, initiative, competence, identity, and intimacy.Just as these capabilities are formed in relationships with other people, they must be reformed in such relationships.The first principle of recovery is empowerment of the survivor. She must be the author and arbiter of her own recovery. Others may offer advice, support, assistance, affection, and care, but not cure.Many benevolent and well-intentioned attempts to assist the survivor founder because this basic principle of empowerment is not observed. No intervention that takes power away from the survivor can possibly foster her recovery, no matter how much it appears to be in her immediate best interest.

~ Judith Lewis Herman

Judith Lewis Herman Abuse Child Sexual Abuse Complex Ptsd Complex Trauma Healing Healthy Relationships Isolation Ptsd Rape Recovery Relationships Sexual Abuse Survivor Trauma

The happy family is a myth for many.

~ Carolyn Spring

Carolyn Spring Abusive Father Abusive Father S Abusive Mother Abusive Parents Child Abuse Child Abuse Survivors Childhood Abuse Complex Ptsd Complex Trauma Disorganized Attachment Dysfunctional Families Dysfunctional Family Happy Families Happy Family Neglect Perfect Childhood

One of the reasons a survivor finds it so difficult to see herself as a victim is that she has been blamed repeatedly for the abuse: If you weren't such a whore, this wouldn't have to happen. Each time she is used and trashed, she becomes further convinced of her innate badness. She sees herself participating in forbidden sexual activity and may often get some sense of gratification from it even if she doesn't want to (it is, after all, a form of touch, and our bodies respond without the consent of our wills). This is seen as further proof that the abuse is her fault and well deserved. In her mind, she has become responsible for the actions of her abusers. She believes she is not a victim; she is a loathsome, despicable, worthless human being—if indeed she even qualifies as human. When the abuse has been sadistic in nature...these beliefs are futher entrenched.

~ Diane Mandt Langberg

Diane Mandt Langberg Abuse Survivors Child Abuse Child Sexual Abuse Child Sexual Abuse Survivor Child Sexual Abuse Survivors Complex Ptsd Complex Trauma Dehumanization Incest No Longer Human Self Blame Victim Blaming