Trust me The landrover’s not gonna go over the bank We’ll be fine Bullshit
Trust me I’m just gonna go to town today I’ll see you tomorrow when you come out with the kids Bullshit
Trust me I’m your friend I’ll have your back Bullshit
Trust me…
Trust me…
Trust me…
When I hear those words… My stomach churns I’m feeling sick My heads pounding I’m crying inside I’m breathing deep Trying to contain my fears My whole body is fighting Trying to release my fears
Trust me… It’s not that I don’t trust you It’s that I can no longer trust myself to trust
We are all asked at some point in our lives to write a CV or a resume It is actually a really tough call for many of us Some of us who have dedicated our lives to our families who have not ‘worked’ outside our homes for decades Some of us don’t feel comfortable blowing our own trumpets selling ourselves isn’t easy in this society of diminishment to embolden ourselves is not something we are comfortable with
But try writing your life CV Wow! Thats another story Where do I begin What do I write What do I hide What can I say
There are some things that are on my life CV that I unfortunately can’t do anything about Things that have damaged me Things that have caused me trauma Things that hold me back Things that silence me Things that make me angry Things that scar me Responses I have made Behaviours I have inflicted Words uttered in haste Words delivering pain Those things are there and only I can choose how I use them
I heard a great quote from Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl who went through far, far more than I could ever imagine but his words resound loudly
Everything in life can be taken from you except one thing The freedom to respond to the situation you are in This is what determines the quality of the life we live, not our circumstances
I am learning to control my reactive emotive responses Those damn ptsd reactions… Trying not to respond to a situation immediately When I do it is often with unthought out reaction A reaction coming from my ptsd or my anxiety or my child self
I am trying to stop and breath and allow time Time to think Time to try and view the situation from the otherside Time to diffuse
I am learning how to rewrite my CV I cannot erase the pages already written The past of damages I have lived and damaging I have caused Those pages have already been delivered & read Burning my copy doesn’t erase the copies received I cannot cancel that history But I can begin writing new pages
The pages ahead are still clear and clean My pencil is sharpened I am aware and on guard I know there will be blots on the pages From inadvertant reactives I unleash But I can choose React or retaliate or Respond
Whatever I choose will predicate the outcome It is my choice
Living with the results of trauma is something many of us do Many more of us than you can imagine Trauma response is very individual No one can relive your trauma No one can tell you how you ought to respond No one can tell you what you feel Or how you should feel No one has the right to make you feel guilty No one has the right to tell you to forgive
There are recognised symptoms that cover the wide variety of PTSD’s Not all will apply to you Or to him Or her They are a generic guide for diagnosis The base though is that they are/can be your bodies response to trauma inflicted on you that you could not control The wounds are very often externally indiscernible But the responses are embarrassingly visible And can often be emotionally, physically and socially crippling
For me personally I can identify with most of the above symptoms and at least half of those would be affecting me on a daily basis
Trauma changes our basic brain functionings Thats a fact No argument
One of my sorrowful questions has often been What/who would I have been if I hadn’t endured 10 years of childhood sexual abuse? Who would that little girl have become? What would her life have been like? Would she have been a better mother, a better wife? Would she have had more confidence in herself? Would her experience of sex and relationships have been more healthy?
I know I am the person I am today because of my abuse I don’t want the abuse to define me But in an intrinsic way it has I had no choice in that But I do have a choice now I have a choice to do the best I can with who I am now I will not let my abuser win this I am inherently stronger because I have had to be I had to fight from such a young age to hang on to my identity
Childhood incest inflicts such massive confusion on a child Love Loyalty Respect Trust All things that should be an integral part of a safe normal parent/child relationship Are confused by Manipulation Secrets Emotional bullying Passive agressiveness Powerlessness Conflicted loyalty Guilt, blame & shame Betrayal
When you finally escape you don’t know how to experience real love You are so used to your body being used as a ‘love tool’ That you unwittingly continue that toxic behaviour
According to research the younger the age the abuse begins, the frequency of the abuse, plus the longer the duration, effects the intensity of trauma response. The average length of incest abuse is 4 years – when I read this today it blew my mind, I am crying as I type, I feel sick to my stomach as the reality & roots of my constant fight is hitting me…
My recollections are that I was around the age of 7-8 yrs old, the frequency was almost daily, and I wasn’t able to escape my abuser until I was 18 years old. 10 years of almost daily incestuous abuse…
No wonder I struggle to support my inner child It is a constant Daily Overwhelming fight To separate my adult self from my child self To not be her anymore I just want to grow strong enough to build a healthier relationship between us.
“Being unable to tell your story is a living death, and sometimes a literal one.” Rebecca Solnit
For the past 10 years I have been learning how to be the adult to my broken child The child who endured traumas no child should ever have to The child whose trust was broken over and over The child who was continually silenced The child who lived a double life In constant trauma In fear of many fears
The adult in me continues to live that double life Because the silencing continues No matter how strong this adult becomes The fear And the hurt And the betrayals The repercussions of all the damage of all the traumas Keep reappearing when least expected When vulnerabilities are low When circumstances allow the cracks to widen So the strengths gained are cruelly eroded
No matter how hard I try The voices of the non understanding ones The antagonists continuing the victimisation of the perpetrators Keep penetrating the mind of the unheard child
‘keep clear of her, she’s a total fruitloop, making allegations’ Seriously? And they were there? No they weren’t there And they are still not there The ones she needed The ones she thought she could trust The ones she should’ve been able to trust Were not there Are still not here
Protecting my inner child is exhausting It is a constant daily Her story deserves to be heard She deserves to live And I will fight to my death to allow her to live
Your inner child needs to trust you as the adult in their lives. An adult who can watch over, protect, witness, honor, guide, lead, and love you. This relationship between adult you and little you in one of the most sacred ones there is. Vienna Pharaon
Thankfully this adult has been blessed With a circle of support and love That surpasses blood That holds me when when my anguished child breaks For this I am truly grateful
When my words stop flowing They begin piling up within
Silencing begins slowly One small trigger That stops a word That stops a sentence And before I know it My words have become dammed
Before I realise The metaphoric hand is across my mouth Again… My words are held captive Racing round and round Within my brain Out of control Unable to find escape Tormenting Damning Shaming Me Again…
When my words stop flowing They begin piling up within Like unread books Stacked randomly Teetering With constrained Vulnerability On an unstable shelf
Until The shelf fails The books fall Pages scatter The metaphoric is torn away Allowing my words escape Liberated Flooding forth Demanding coherance Gaining volume Reclaiming power And my healing process Continues Again…
masks we all wear that disguise the pain of the feelings the pain of being the pain of the lie – not good enough
such sadness we unwittingly embrace until we stumble upon someone or something who gives us permission confidence freedom to find the strength within to remove the masks to reveal our vulnerabilities to reveal the us
then we find the real, the ability to really love ourselves and each other
My brain has been all over the place during this tumultuous period of our lives There have been so so many triggers I have really been struggling to process them all My emotional state has been highly disturbed and at a very low ebb
Modern technology has been both a curse and a blessing The curse of information overload what to believe what to not who to believe who to not
I have learnt to use Zoom which has been such a blessing as the one certainty each week has been my hour with my therapist It is the 9am appointment that I have to get out of bed and show up for She has helped me unravel my trauma brain amongst all of this confusion The first week was so bad I was drowning in isolation I did not cope with being locked in with being controlled with being silenced with living in fear
Unraveling… Taking it back… Processing…
As a child I was mind controlled I was silenced by fear I was isolated by fear and I was locked in by the knowledge that if I spoke up I would destroy so much By keeping silent I was protecting everyone else but also protecting myself I found strength enough to hold the abuse But I wasn’t strong enough to endure the consequences of breaking silence
My brain was fighting, struggling with being taken back down that dark trauma rabbit hole I was drowning
Once I was able to process and identify I spoke up Voiced my fears And I was heard My friends and family heard my cry for help And through video coffee dates and phone calls And walks in the sunshine & lots of supportive cuddles from my love I have made it through thus far
“My life is so blessed with some of the most amazing people. Thank you for being part of my journey.” – Unknown
I never recognised depression or anxiety within myself for many many years My perceived strength didn’t allow me the grace to recognise or acknowledge them I was too strong I had to be strong to survive Along the way there were times When I cracked just a little bit But not enough for me to acknowledge the causes or the effects It took me a very long time to completely break But in breaking I then began learning about myself Learning that my strength was what protected me Helped me endure Helped me cope through all the traumas But even the strongest things become brittle over time And brittle breaks
And despite all the therapy over the past 8 years all the self learning all of the self care I am allowing myself Yes – I still have to negotiate in my head that I need and deserve to love myself enough to care about myself that I deserve to put me first I still break But each time it is a less substantial break
I give so much of myself I still put myself last I still struggle to stand up and speak out for me I am so good at standing for others speaking up for others advocating for others But I am total shit about advocating for myself
And that is classic victim mentality Damnit!
On the home front here in New Zealand Sexual abuse victims are able to access therapy via ACC sensitive claims Part of this involves undergoing psychological assessments to ascertain authenticity and then ongoing treatment / well-being plans Some fight this process They perceive a stigma attached with mental health diagnosis I don’t have an issue with it If my legs were broken or paralysed I would accept help So if my inner being is damaged I also need to accept help
Since I broke eight years ago I have undergone two assessments I got to a place where I was so broken I needed to accept help No matter where it came from And no matter what strings they attached I was initially diagnosed with PTSD that’s an easy one yeah, well not so easy really It’s actually a bloody nightmare to live with but I’ve managed to wrap my head around that over the past 8 years and I’ve been learning to understand myself within it But during my recent assessment there was an added diagnosis Recurrant Depressive Disorder Great! Another official stamp I so hate being put into boxes But officialdom decrees that to fund my ongoing healthcare I have to tick boxes So anyways… Combine these two along with the constant sleep disorder that delights in being part of the party And the results are at times not pretty
Several weeks ago the tears began The sleeplessness revved up I was breaking Life was attacking me from so many quarters It is like I have 69 different people demanding from me all at the same time But each of those 69 do not realise that there are 68 others It is like a relentless attack on my brain My nervous system goes into hypervigilance I become incredibly anxious My sleep becomes fitful exhaustion, migraines, physical pain, irritibilty, all increase I become hyper alert, hyper aroused, anxious, fearful, And the tears just wont stop
I know that living with me is hard but Living with my self is nigh impossible
I am becoming more aware now though And trying to be more proactive when I feel myself breaking Recently I just had to shut down I allowed myself to Take time Pull back Unload Accept help Increase self care And, the biggest hurdle of all Ask for help Sometimes talking with my therapist is not quite enough to get through these patches This time I have started taking natural ‘meds’ Personally I struggle with taking medication I have fought it for years But now, after a consultation, I am taking 5htp, B6 plus some extra strength multi vitamins They seem to be helping I am feeling changes A few days in and I realised I was smiling again
I am also making a resolved choice to pull myself out of this current hole I’m not out of it yet But I sure as hell am a heap better than I was several weeks ago
And I sure as hell am so grateful for my BFF’s who carry me through these dark days in their own special ways
and to my incredibly supportive fiancé who holds the umbrella during my storms, he not only encourages me to go lion buying – he goes with me 🙂
Recent events in Aotearoa / New Zealand stunned our nation – again A young English backpacker was murdered here just before Christmas. We were devastated – again
Standing amongst the Nelson crowd All of us mourning this young woman Each one of us there for different reasons but for the same reason Sadness Grief Anger This should not happen This should not keep on happening Not here Not anywhere
People were speaking out against violence against women across the nation Naming and remembering the women killed by the hands of another person here in Aotearoa Giving these women back their mana Not mentioning the names of their murderers We will not give them that power Statistics say at least 13 women and 10 men will lose their lives to domestic abuse every year here in Aotearoa 14 women this past year Countless women over the decades….
Yes, we have to stand up and speak out and stop this violence
But my inner heart was screaming… It is not just about women It is about inhumanity towards fellow humans It is about respect – or lack of it It is about responsibility towards each other It is about Love
Since this heinous violent act was committed we have seen many more here in NZ So much tūkino So much whakarekereke Too much whakarekereke ā-whare Violence against our wāhine Violence against our tamariki
We need Aroha Where is our respect? Where is our kindness? Where is our love?
In memory of these young visitors who did not receive the Manaakitanga they deserved in our land Grace Millane, 22 Kayo Matsuzawa, 29 Birgit Bauer, 28 Karen Aim, 27 Dagmar Pytlickova, 31 Margery Hopegood, 32 Jae Hyeon Kim, 25 Urban Hoglin, 23 Heidi Paakkonen, 21 Monica Cantwell, 24
My first dragon became a part of my life when I was around 7-8 years old. His name was Trauma. His effect on my life was insidious He grew stealthily through the years Feeding on each new traumatic situation I encountered And there have been many Some great and some small But each a delicious feeding ground for a hungry dragon The effects of his presence were not easily perceived. But eventually This dragon became so huge He was overpowering me He was possessing me And he multiplied as time passed. His brother arrived His name was Grief They were joined by another brother, Fear That dragon invited his much bigger brother Anxiety along for the party.
These dragons gained entry into the very core of my being during crucial times of my life I am in constant war with them. Mostly I am able to contain them Keep them relatively small By carefully avoiding situations that allow them to roar.
Seven years ago they all escaped and attacked me brutally. With Help, Care and ongoing Guidance I herded them back into their cages. I have spent time healing from the wounds And learning how to live again Learning how to live with them Taming them each time they dared to begin to roar again.
Over recent months though there have been several times when they have grown too big and they have escaped and overpowered me.
One time… A few months ago I was put into a situation where I was forced to confront them all. I agreed to go back to the farm. It had been 3 years since I left I never thought I would ever go back I never wanted to go back But I promised my children to take them I also offered to take my New Love to introduce him to my past.
As the time approached The dragons grew bigger and bigger I tried as hard as I could to keep them contained I couldn’t back out I had to go I had promised Fear grew bigger He fed and fed – the road – the unknown at the other end – the grief of loss He employed Anxiety to join his feast They both attacked aggressively.
I made all sorts of contingency plans I tried to talk my way through it I tried to back out of it I did what I always do I got busy I tried to be in control I told my Love that I had to drive the last 50 miles that I couldn’t handle being a passenger on ‘that road’.
On the day we all packed up and left My Love drove, and kept driving… He drove carefully, and was sensitive to my needs Trust and Courage held me every kilometre of the way. But they were not yet strong enough.
Anxiety was gnawing on my stomach He fed on Fear And grew bigger & bigger Eventually we stopped at ‘the place’ The place where I lost my first love. Grief began edging his way out of his box We carried on for another 15 minutes until we were back at the farm We stopped at the gate.
At that point Grief clambered out from the depths where I had been keeping him hidden & controlled for so long A huge mountainous dragon He refused to be contained any longer He overcame me with such visceral sobbing from the depths of my core I was completely overcome I cried & cried But I was held by Love and Care and Compassion and Understanding and together they diminished my dragons back to their lair They overcame. Love continues to support me And as he does Trust and Courage are growing stronger.
It’s a daily fight to keep these dragons under control. But I’m learning to tame them more skilfully each time they escape.
