Disclosing Abuse: How to Choose the Right Person to Tell
What Are Adverse Childhood Experiences?
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Many victims of childhood abuse do not tell anyone about the trauma they experienced.
Abuse victims may be afraid of not being believed, of being judged, or of the person viewing them differently.
Choosing the right person or people to tell can bring compassion, kindness, and support.
Even though child abuse is being talked about more than ever before, many victims of childhood abuse do not tell anyone about the trauma they experienced, especially those who were sexually abused. In a previous post, I outlined the reasons why former victims are reluctant to disclose abuse. All these fears and concerns about sharing your trauma are very real and should be honored. But what you will discover is that if you choose the right person or people to tell, you are more than likely to receive compassion, kindness, and support. The following suggestions will help you to choose the safest, most caring person to tell.
Tell someone who you know cares about you. It can be very frightening to think of telling someone else about the abuse you experienced as a child. You may be afraid of being judged or of not being believed, especially if the abuse was extreme or unusual. You may feel concerned that the person you tell will never see you in the same way as they did before. After all, you don’t want........
