Carnival April 2009: Coping with Crisis

Welcome to the April 2009 edition of recovery from childhood sexual abuse. This edition was dedicated to exploring how survivors of sexual abuse cope with crisis. After I did a google blog search and a technorati search myself, I was surprised how little 'hands on' information is available about crisis management. As always, a special THANK YOU to all readers for their contributions. I trust you will have an interesting read and I am looking forward reading your feedback if you have any!

Survivors Going To The Hospital posted at Multiple Voices. saying 'I have been asked by a few readers to comment on how to increase safety for these moments when you have to go to hospital. I will share some of my thoughts and experiences in a moment. However, I believe that there are so many capable survivors out there. I would love to hear from you all what you do to make a hospital visit safe for you and your system.'

Crisis in DID Treatment posted at Multiple Voices. saying 'Loneliness and the sense of isolation is a pervasive theme DID clients struggle with during all stages of recovery. When reaching out for therapy it refers to feeling alone, being scared of people, and being surrounded by a lack of understanding. Other people may even be perceived as toxic and dangerous.'

Kellevision: The Body Remembers posted at Kellevision, saying, "The body remembers abuse it experienced even when the mind suppresses it."

Raising A Highly Sensitive Child posted at Concerning Kids, although this post is not exactly about the impact of sexual abuse, it's included here because these handy parenting tips my be very useful for survivors of abuse as well. "Shy, sensitive children are usually very afraid of taking risks and trying out new things. Give them encouragement and slowly nudge them into making choices for themselves, always assuring them of your support. Similarly, if you need to punish them, a highly public yelling is only making matters worse with them. Try quieter, gentler ways of pointing out their mistakes".

50 Treatment Issues for Dissociative Identity Disorder « Discussing Dissociation posted at Discussing Dissociation, saying, "Thank you for including my blog article that relates to the recovery issues for those that were severely abused in childhood." The reader might find the list of 'Issues' a bit overwhelming, but be assured, often working on one issue might cover another issue at the same time.

Rape and Sexual Abuse Survivors - Dancing In The Darkness posted at Dancing in the darkness. saying Many survivors of sexual abuse have flashbacks. These flashbacks are a reliving of the original abuse. This can happen visually in images one remembers of the abuse, or they can happen without any visual image. The abuse can be re-experienced with sounds, smells, feelings, or other such bodily memories.

What to do if you are raped | Pandora's Project posted at Pandora's Project. saying saying "Get to a safe place. The first and most important thing for you to do is to get away from the perpetrator and to a safe place. Whether this is to your home, a friend's home, a police station or a hospital, make sure you are not in any danger anymore. This can be very difficult if you are living with your perpetrator, such as a spouse or a relative (in which case, you might want to tell someone you trust and develop a safety plan before you leave the situation)." check out the other tips as well!

15 tips for victims on how to deal with sexual assault, abuse and harassment in the West posted at SoundVision.com. saying 'Victims of sexual assault, abuse and harassment often prefer to keep their victimization hidden, fearing blame. But if you are a victim, this is a danger to yourself and to others too, who may become the next victims of the sexual harasser and/or abuser. Here are some things you can do to break the wall of silence and start the healing:' read on ..

I'm a sexual abuse survivor: how do I get okay being intimate again? | Scarleteen posted at Scarleteen. saying 'I'm 15 years old and was sexually abused for two years in the past. How do I get over my intimacy issues? The last boyfriend I had, anytime we were physically intimate, my chest would get really tight, I'd often start to shake, and I'd go into this blank zone where I'd just stare at the ceiling and my body would be completely unresponsive. It was really scary. '

Crisis Intervention posted at Woman Abuse Prevention. saing 'a person in crisis, at that particular time, is unable to rely on her familiar coping mechanisms and is faced with an acute sense of disequilibrium and disorientation. Experiencing strong and conflicting emotions, tensions and anxiety, she may enter a stage where her thinking becomes illogical, confused and fragmented. '

Coping Strategies posted at Members Tripod. saying 'Many survivors find it difficult to cope during flashbacks, or times of great stress. It can help to be able to "ground" yourself (knowing where you are, who you are, when it is, and that you're safe right now). Listed below is a compilation of coping strategies from members of the SADM list that many survivors have found useful in helping to ground themselves, feel safer, calm down, and be able to deal with survivor issues, as well as every day events.'

” What To Do When You Are Triggered" by Finding Your Marbles - A Mental Health Survival Guide posted at Finding Your Marbles. saying For me, one of the toughest things about recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety has been learning how to manage triggers. If you’ve got PTSD or you have panic attacks, you know what I mean by triggers; those little things that, once your “anxiety brain” gets hold of them, send you into a downward spiral of fear, panic, and sometimes, even depression.'

That concludes this edition. Has this inspired you to write about the topic of CRISIS management? I hope so. The next edition of the blog carnival is due in the first week on June. The topic for that edition will be 'SELF HARM'. I know, its a really difficult topic for survivors. However, I hope you'll be able to share you blog posts or those you have found useful with the readers of this carnival. Please, submit your blog article to the next edition of recovery from childhood sexual abuse using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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