Highlights
With mechanisms for addressing abuse still severely limited, here are 5 ways for victim-survivors to proceed with their personal recovery.
Overview
With mechanisms for addressing abuse still severely limited, here are 5 ways for victim-survivors to proceed with their personal recovery.
The COVID-19 pandemic halted or hindered the effective implementation of various mechanisms for preventing and dealing with abuse. Because of this, victim-survivors tend to suffer from a feeling of helplessness, especially if they belong to societies that stigmatize the recognition of abuse. Here are 5 ways for victim-survivors to contribute to their personal recovery:
1. Acknowledge the effects of abuse
The impacts are different for everyone, but can be characterized by either an excess or lack of sleep, food, flashbacks, panic and anxiety attacks, and feelings of self-hate and low self-esteem.
2. Understand the need for healing
Healing has to be intentional and exploratory, because it is an everyday choice that manifests differently for everyone. Healing often takes a unique balance of self-service, relationship-building, relief, and release.
3. Take care of your physical body
Mental and physical health are intertwined. Exercising, eating, drinking, and sleeping the right way can work wonders for their overall health, or at least physically prepare them to start on their mental recovery.
4. Channel your creativity
Creating is a mode of expression that allows them to process trauma and form a strong connection with their identity, thoughts, feelings, and memories. Creations can be shared with the world or saved as a reminder that they can overcome trauma.
5. Seek professional help
Professional help, whether medical practitioner, legal counsel, or others, could get and keep you on the path to compassion and justice. Finding and accepting assistance shows that you are making progress.
These do not follow any particular sequence, because healing is non-linear and can be found in other ways as well. What's essential to remember is that recovery from abuse is a journey that takes both individual exertion and societal-systemic support.
