What Is Sexual Abuse?

Find a therapist to heal from sexual abuse

Limiting exposure to the news is a healthy boundary.

Grounding and emotional release can help calm trauma activation.

Survivors do not owe anyone their story or advocacy.

Recently, a friend reached out and said, “I’ve been thinking about you. With all the awfulness coming out, I hope you’re taking care of yourself.”

Her check-in stayed with me. It’s what inspired me to write this for anyone quietly struggling as new information about the Epstein files continues to surface.

Each time these stories reappear, I feel it in my body before my mind can make sense of it. My breathing slows. My chest tightens. My stomach drops. My nervous system recognizes something long before words arrive. For survivors of childhood sexual abuse, trafficking, exploitation, or organized abuse, these headlines don’t land as “news.” They land as recognition.

For those living with dissociative identity disorder (DID), this activation may show up even more intensely through emotional flooding, shutdown, dissociation, body memories, or increased internal communication or conflict. Parts of the system may react differently or hold different pieces of the impact.

I write this not only as a psychologist who has spent decades working with trauma but as someone who lives with DID myself. I know what it’s like to watch powerful people remain protected while survivors carry the weight. I know the anger, grief, exhaustion, and familiar ache that comes from realizing again and again that justice is not guaranteed.

If the Epstein files have stirred something in you or within your DID system, there is nothing wrong with you. Your reaction makes sense. Below are practical ways to care for yourself when trauma is activated, whether you live with DID or identify as a survivor without a dissociative diagnosis.

What You Can Do When You Feel Triggered

1. Name what’s happening. You are not “too sensitive.” You are not being dramatic. Your body and possibly parts of you are responding to reminders of past trauma. You might say:

This is a trauma response. A part of me is reacting, and that makes sense.

This is a trauma response.

A part of me is reacting, and that makes sense.

Naming what’s happening reduces shame and helps bring awareness rather than fear.

2. Limit news exposure when needed. You do not have to read every article or watch every update. You are allowed to mute, unfollow, or step away, especially if different parts of you are becoming overwhelmed or activated. Ask yourself (or your system):

Is this helping right now? Or is it increasing distress?

Is this helping right now? Or is it increasing distress?

What Is Sexual Abuse?

Find a therapist to heal from sexual abuse

Protecting your nervous system or your parts is not avoidance. It’s self/selves care.

3. Expect different emotional responses. You may notice:

Anger, sadness, or fear

Body sensations without clear emotion

Internal conflict or shifts between parts

All of this would be considered a normal reaction to psychological trauma and reactivation.Instead of ignoring your emotions, try:

Writing, drawing, or art

Letting your emotions come without judgment

Checking in internally with parts: “What do we need right now?”

As one of my former therapists used to say, “You have to feel it to heal it.” Feelings need space and movement, and a former mentor of mine modeled using art as a way to expressively release pain and anger, particularly the use of collage art.

4. Gently ground in the present. When trauma is activated, it can feel as if the past is happening all over again. Grounding can help orient the body and your parts to the here and now:

Name five things you can see.

Feel your feet on the floor.

Hold something cold or warm.

Practice slow, steady breathing.

Remind yourself: “We are safe right now” (if this is true for you).

You don’t need to regulate yourself instantly. Even small moments of grounding can help reduce overwhelm.

5. Don’t turn anger against yourself or your parts. It makes sense to feel furious when people in power are not held accountable. Anger does not make you bad, broken, or dangerous. It is what we choose to do with our feelings of anger that makes all the difference. Do your best to not take them out on yourselves or others. What causes harm is when anger turns inward:

I should be over this. Why am I still affected? Something must be wrong with me or my system.

I should be over this.

Why am I still affected?

Something must be wrong with me or my system.

Nothing is wrong with you. Your nervous system and your parts developed to survive. They are doing what they learned to do.

6. You do not owe anyone your story. You do not have to educate others, defend survivors, share your experiences, or speak publicly. This applies to every survivor and every system. Advocacy can be meaningful, but only if it’s chosen by you and feels safe for you. You are allowed to rest. As Brene Brown often reminds us, we share our stories with those who have earned the right to hear them.

7. Reach out for support. If you can, consider:

Texting a trusted person to say you’re having a hard day

Scheduling a therapy/coaching/preferred modality of healing session

Letting someone sit with you

Allowing support without explanation

Many survivors and many DID systems are struggling quietly right now. You are not alone.

Stories in the news like this can reopen grief, anger, and old wounds, and they can also remind us of something important: We survived.

You are here. You have awareness, choice, and tools you may not have had before. Even when things feel chaotic or heavy, healing is still unfolding part by part, moment by moment.

Be gentle with yourself and your DID system.

Protect your heart, but try not to close it.

Take breaks when you need them; I cannot emphasize this one enough.

As survivors and advocates have shared in other contexts, Elizabeth Smart has said, “I see myself as a survivor, I made it out the other side,” and Simone Biles has shown that prioritizing mental health is an act of strength. Caring for yourself right now, whether individually or as a system, is not selfish; it is resilience.

Brown, B. (2012). The Power of Vulnerability [Audiobook]. Sounds True.

Ruhl, L. (2018). Breaking the Ruhls: A Memoir. Central Recovery Press.

van der Kolk, B. (2015). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin Books.

© Psychology Today