Showing posts with label abuse awareness child abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abuse awareness child abuse. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Harvest Life Gracefully- Exclusive Videos - Former Child Star Todd Bridges - Oprah.com

Harvest Life Gracefully- Watch these clips about Todd Bridges, interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, about his struggles, after being sexual abused as a child and then not being believed by his father.


Exclusive Videos - Former Child Star Todd Bridges - Oprah.com

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Harvest Life Gracefully "Be a Voice"

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Harvest Life Gracefully by understanding child abuse

Another good article I found about child abuse. This article describe me to a tee.

The Girl, The Box, and The Effects of Child Abuse
By Evinda Lepins



She was one of the fortunate ones in this vicious cycle of child abuse, for shame keeps most victims silent while the perpetrator goes unpunished, thus leaving the abused entangled within the circle of long-term effects. With the cause of her child abuse removed, she was free to go, leaving with an imaginary box that contained hundreds of pieces representative of the effects that accompany child abuse and child sexual abuse (CSA). She couldn't put the past behind her until the effects no longer lived so deep within her. The voice of truth had beckoned her some time ago, giving her the tools to unlock the closed box and sort through the pieces. Because the effects were buried so deep within her, the process was a long and arduous one, complicated by the fact that there are many residual pieces attached to the larger ones. As the pieces were put together, the color came, adding depth and contrast, ridding her of the shame she carried within that had clothed her, which had hidden from her, her sense of self-worth because of surviving instead of relating This in turn closed her eyes to the non-development of her observing ego that inhibited her ability to see herself accurately, and what was exposed was the almost innate desire to control her surroundings due to a lack of ability to trust.

"Shame is a major companion to most victims who were sexually abused as children," caught the girl's eye as she was reading the article. Memories of dealing with her own shame surfaced as she read on, and the Girl remembered one of the first things that her counselor had taught her about, which was duality in thought. She remembered years of blaming and judging herself as a child, believing that she actually held enough power to go back and change what had happened to her, as though she could have stopped him, the one who had molested her. She was beginning to understand that this was definitely a cognitive distortion. For years she denied her feelings of helplessness, powerlessness and most of all her anger. The Girl had learned that shame and its residual effects are actually a continuum; on one side were the societal boundaries that are there to protect the abused; and on the other was shame, the extreme negative end point of the continuum.

In addition to the suppressed feelings of helplessness, powerlessness and an almost combustible amount of anger just waiting to be released, another of the residual effects of shame is the way that it had crippled her, preventing her from establishing personal boundaries, both physical and emotional. For years, the Girl had existed with the sense that her needs were unimportant compared to the needs of others, which cycled to an unawareness of what her needs actually were, and so she existed without her own personal boundaries.

This taught the Girl to survive, not relate, and because of her survival instincts, she had no sense of self. The Girl survived by avoiding pain, criticism at all costs, constantly striving to please and win others over, which created a false sense of purpose. The Girl's purpose was to love and be loved, and to belong, but this actually led to a false sense of connecting with others, and that in turn affected her sense of her own value for she found her value in doing and not being, all of which are at the core of everyone's need. She had a sense of everyone else's self, their needs, thereby becoming a people-pleaser, whatever the cost, and taking away from the time necessary to nurture her own needs, her own self.

Now the Girl could see how this had set her up for failure, because unconsciously she expected others to be aware of her needs, and when they couldn't fulfill her needs, she moved on to the next person, the next relationship, trying desperately to fill the hole within her. Little did she realize that continuing to form these relationships was setting her up for the cross-generational cycle.

There are the residual effects from child abuse and CSA. If only she would have picked up this piece sooner to avoid the perpetuation of the residual pieces, effects such as depression, sexual promiscuity and thoughts of suicide, anxiety, further damaging her self-image and increasing her shame, decreasing the ability to climb out of the box of effects.

The next piece that filled in a large gap was the effect the abuse had on her development of her observing ego -- observing ego is the part of us that watches what we do and say in some objective manner -whereby her sense of reality differed from actuality. The Girl was not capable of realizing how she came across to others, nor was she aware of her defensive attitudes and how her actions pushed people away. She continued to perpetuate the cycle by trying to prove herself invaluable in the lives of those she entwined, the motive being self-gratification under the guise of nurturing, and projecting her unfulfilled needs until she moved on in her mode of survival with her undeveloped observing ego, running further and further from her true self and her ability to see herself accurately or the emotional effect her behavior - words, attitudes, and actions - had on others. Her sense of self-awareness was comprised of emotions and sensitivities but was blocked because of the amount of pain endured by others' behaviors; therefore, she could not see others' pain that she herself caused. Hence, the residual effect of the victim-perpetrator cycle comes into the puzzle.

All notion of not being like the perpetrator is almost an oxymoron for a victim of child abuse, for the abuse itself is an emotional paradigm, i.e., the abuse is an emotionally infused effect, and creates an emotionally-prompted reaction because any perception of harm or risk, or loss of control prompts the action.

Finally, the last piece, the last effect entwined with many other pieces that gave clarity as they came together in the puzzle, was the almost innate tendency to control her surroundings, including the people in her life, due to a lack of trusting. Some behaviors of control are actually residual effects such as self-medicating, which more often than not leads to addiction, obsessive-compulsive behaviors in one, some, or all areas of functioning in life, and eating disorders, be it anorexia or bulimia, also a form of control. The Girl remembered many instances of her world being out of control and feeling the need to have control of something, and how that had led her to purging after eating. That had gone on for years until another type of behavior took its place.

The Girl sat there, reminiscing about all the men in and out of her life and how her urgency to control had been the genesis and the end of each of those relationships. Her eyes welled over as she was reminded of the way she tried to manipulate not only the men in her life, but her son as well by trying to manipulate his choices under the guise of parenting him as best she could, unbeknownst to her, creating a similar experience for the person she was caring for, becoming like the one she had come from.

This cycle has perpetuated since the beginning of time. Goodrick and Kohlenberger, commentators for the NIV Bible, concur that sin, as defined in the Bible, denotes not just a wrong, an iniquity or an offense one commits, but an infliction put upon by another. In other words, child abuse, the wrong, reaps effects caused by the wrongdoing of another, which in turn, causes more effects.

Child abuse is a process rather than a linear cause-and-effect phenomenon. It goes without saying that there follows a longer process in becoming whole; that is, the longer the abuse, the more pieces there are to the puzzle.

The Girl sat there with the almost-empty box, feeling a sense of peace that comes with understanding, for the picture that the puzzle had created was her life, coming together one effect at a time, and it was only by understanding that she could dare to break the cycle of the effect of the effects. The pieces, as they had come together, had rid her of the shame and her mode of just surviving, had helped to develop her observing ego, freeing her from her need to control. All of the pieces brought with them color that gave contrast, enabling her to understand, in more depth, how the effects of child abuse had affected her life.

Yes, there were still pieces to take from the box that would complete the puzzle of her life, but only the passage of time would reveal how and where those pieces fit in.

Evinda Lepins has firsthand knowledge and experience in unpacking the junk in her own trunk. Her heart is to help others unpack their junk and arrive at their "Destination Joyful." She uses her writing and public speaking as ways to help others accomplish this. To find out more about Evinda and "The Men In & Out of Her Life," the first of the "Destination? Joyful!" trilogy, please visit her at http://www.chicklitpower.com/.



Now lets go out and harvest life gracefully and put a stop to child abuse.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Harvest Life Gracefully- by having a Good Read: A helpful article to harvest life gracefully about regrets of the past:

I always like to surf the net for articles on self-improvement and to my discorvery,  I ran across this article about regretting the past and how to use regrets as an advantage to harvest life gracefully. I thought this article was very fitting in regards to examining your life without judgements as I had posted the last time.

I will be back soon to post more about my childhood.

The article is posted just below by Kristin Hutchings and she offers a free confidence video at this address
http://www.self-confidence-matters.com/

Do you believe that "everything happens for a reason"? That some things are simply meant to be and you can't do anything to change them? Well, perhaps you do and perhaps you don't but one thing is for sure: you have all experienced regret at some point in your lives. Regrets for something we did as well as for the things we didn't do. Regrets exist regardless of whether or not we believe in fate or a divine law that governs everything in life. Is it also very likely that you see regrets in a negative light and that regret is something you shouldn't feel - it's an uncomfortable emotion, full of longing and disappointment. However, you can turn your regrets to your advantage and harness them to power your success.
Your sense of regret can be used as a sign that you need to re-evaluate your life. This is very important as it is re-evaluation that gives us the opportunity to grow and improve as people. Regret for past events is often a waste of time as the past is gone, never to return. If your regret of a past action or misdeed still haunts you, you need to make amends as soon as possible and move on. It is often the regret of the things we didn't do that plays on our minds the most. The missed opportunities and offers because fear held us back. It is this regret that you need to use to spur you on to action.
Regret should not be seen as a negative emotion. If you are an ambitious person - whether you crave wealth or personal happiness - you can use regret in a positive way. Its greatest gift is the knowledge and awareness it provides. Regrets can spur you on to be a better person, they can help you define what your goals are, what you really want from life. Regrets can provide you with invaluable self-evaluation. Of course, it is not very pleasant to focus on our sense of failing or disappointment but you cannot move forward unless you do so. By embracing your regret and staring it fully in the face you can acknowledge to yourself what you want in life, where you want to be in one year, five years or ten years from now. It can help you look clearly and honestly at yourself and your ambitions.
Using regret positively will aid your ambition and we all know that we need ambition to be able to succeed in our goals. Analyse your regrets dispassionately, without any sense of self-pity or self-blame. Admitting your regrets aloud is very cathartic - it is guaranteed you will feel lighter, more accepting of yourself. It will also give you the insight into what went wrong previously and why you have regrets in the first place. Did you shy away from the job promotion because you felt scared and lacking in experience? Did you believe that you didn't have what it takes to do the job properly? Your next step beyond that regret is to work on acquiring "what it takes" - boosting your confidence, increasing your experience and believing that, most of all, you deserve to succeed.
By facing your regrets you are placing yourself in the position to constructively do something about them rather than allow the feelings of disappointment to eat away at you for years to come. So, admit your regrets and face them. Then, work out what you can do to learn from the regrets. Put what you have learnt into action and lastly, believe that you are worthy of success, that your potential is limitless. Tell yourself you are capable of fulfilling your goals. Too often our regrets exist because we believe we are not good enough, or deserving. In every step of your path to success, believe that you deserve the success.
Do not allow yourself to go through life harbouring many regrets that you fail to act upon. Live your life fully, learning and evaluating every day and strive to make your life the success it deserves to be.
Negative thinking patterns are often at the root of a lack of self confidence and the belief we are not good enough. To break this pattern visit http://www.self-confidence-matters.com/ and claim your complimentary confidence videos - today.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kristin_Hutchings


What do you say? “ HARVEST LIFE GRACEFULLY!”

Monday, February 1, 2010

Harvest Life Gracefully- INTRODUCTION

I am an adult survivor of childhood sexual and emotional abuse, to harvest life gracefully had been a slow, long and challenging process. Coping with the belief that I was always counted out as a person, caused me to have no self-worth, dignity, or respect for myself. With having no support system during my childhood, I did not develop skills and tools to make positive choices for my life. The effects of the abuse caused me to choose risky and unhealthy behaviors. It was only until I became sicken by my life from the consequences of poor choices was when I became determine and develop a strong desire to become the best I can be, is when I sought out for help and discovered how to harvest life gracefully and with a purpose.

The purpose of this blog is to bring more awareness to abuse, to take you on my personal journey and share with you my discovery, of how I learned to harvest life gracefully and found my purpose in life. If I can save at least one child from losing their innocence, help one person to harvest life gracefully and find their purpose in life would be a blessing from heaven.

First, before I start blogging about my journey, I think it is important to know a little something about abuse. I feel we need to understand and try to relate to how the effects of abuse can affect a person. Although, I believe that one can not completely understand and relate what a abuse victim must be feeling or what they are going though, as each victim may feel the effect of abuse and express it in different ways.

There are four types of abuse and they are:

1.physical -hitting, kicking, punching
2.sexual -unwanted sexual touch and or sexual intercourse
3.emotional -verbal abuse, insults, degrading remarks, criticism
4.neglect -depriving food, shelter, clothing, health needs


Some of the effects of abuse, which I know from personal experience, is devastating and can be debilitating to the one who has suffer the abuse. This can make it difficult but not impossible to harvest life gracefully. Listed below are some of the general effects:

  • speech problems
  • eating disorders
  • self-destructive behaviors
  • developmental lags
  • substance abuse
  • depression and anxiety
  • aggression and bully behaviors
  • preoccupation with sex, promiscuous behaviors and prostitution
  • criminal behaviors
  • suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts
  • truancy or failing in school
  • paranoid behaviors
  • inability to control emotions, over reacting
  • relationship problems, co-dependent, or problems with intimacy
  • obsessions
  • run away
  • questioning religious or spiritual beliefs
  • insecurity, safety
  • inability to trust others
  • sleep disorders
  • low-self worth
I am expressing again, even through the effects of abuse seem overwhelming to the one who has suffer the abuse or even to the supporting person of the abuse victim, it is possible to harvest life gracefully and find the purpose of your life. Yes! Yes! Yes! It is possible and we can do it, “YES WE CAN!” successfully!
So what do you say? “ HARVEST LIFE GRACEFULLY!”

Coming soon: In my-upcoming blogs I will share with you tips on how to harvest life, a video about healing from sexual abuse, as well as my story. Check back often to see what is new on my blog.
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