Something to Say

After quietly contemplating these past couple of months, I have decided that it’s time. Time to share. Time to read what others wish to share. It is time to find each other. To truly know that we are not alone in this.

The Beginning

It started with a blog. I was finally able to write it all out- the basics, the essential parts of my past. I was given a way to present them so that they were succinct and easy to understand. A way that helped me connect to those around me. A way that finally enabled me to connect my self in the present to my self in the past.

And in the end, it’s still all about connection.

Moving Toward Something Bigger

Within minutes of writing the first of these blog entries, I was flooded with thoughts. They seemed to appear out of thin air. And this thing that can only be described as Divine Inspiration has completely taken over every free moment in my life since. The feeling is indescribable. And I could not possibly feel more blessed and happy for having received this gift.

I will be reaching out. In the next few weeks, I will be reaching out to anyone- everyone. We have suffered in silence for too long. We deserve a way to share what has happened to us. To provide inspiration for those who have yet to begin their growth past the pain. We need an outlet. And I’ve got it.

Creating a Path

It’s actually pretty simple. I’ve read it a million different places. The thing most essential to healing emotional pain, is to be able to express it and have it heard by others. No argument, only validation and complete acceptance. So that is what I will provide.

There are several websites currently up and running that offer forums for people to discuss the abuse they’ve endured. Visitors are encouraged to post freely, as long as they are not attacking someone else on the site. The idea is to find a sort of online support system. And it’s anonymous- which is extremely attractive to a person recovering to this specific brand of trauma. But what these sites don’t address is the fact that simply divulging details of the abuse can be very harmful to someone who is not emotionally ready to be triggered. Trauma is a tricky thing to deal with. A certain sensitivity is needed. Boundaries should be firmly in place. These sites, while well intentioned, have become toxic environments filled with self-destructive patterns of behavior that effectively re-victimize the unsuspecting reader.

But what if there was a site you could visit and read stories of growth beyond the abuse? What if you could see the paths others have taken before you? What if the focus was taken off of the actual abuse, and placed where it should be? The survival and the journey past it.

Most importantly, this will be a site parents can feel comfortable with their children visiting. It will be very carefully monitored. There will be a submission process, not an open forum. Triggering details of abuse will be completely excluded because, while it is important for an individual’s growth to share them, posting these details in plain view of anyone who may stumble across them is potentially harmful to others who have been victimized. And in the end, the point is not what happened to you. The point is that you have found it within you to grow beyond the abuse and find who you truly are again.

Say Something

If as you are reading this you want to become a part of it, please let me know. I will need a piece of your story. In fact, I will need several pieces.

There are so many of us. So many. And so often we meet and never know that this has happened to each other. Imagine when you first started your journey. Whether it was facing memories for the first time, or finally acknowledging that they were there. We all began somewhere. Lost and confused about who we were and what we were capable of accomplishing. Imagine if you’d had a place like this to go. To see for the first time that not only had it happened to others, but that it wasn’t the end of the world.

I feel like this will be an important step. It’s not the ultimate answer. It’s not the great big solution. But it will definitely play a part. And I feel incredibly excited to see that happen.