How did you cope?

Question

I’ve been sexually assaulted many times and it’s effected me in ways I can’t explain how I feel. 
i am depressed and having nightmares most nights. I need to know if this has happened to anyone and if so how do u cope with it?

Answer

First of all, I’m so sorry that this has happened to you. No one should ever have to deal with a sexual assault, let alone multiple ones. You deserve better. Please know that it is not your fault and you are stronger than what happened to you.
My first recommendation would be to contact a health care professional. They’ll be able to provide you with the support and resources you need. If not, at least consider reaching out to an anonymous online support website such as RAINN. The big thing is just finding support from someone who is trained to help other people through this sort of stuff. If you don’t want to reach out to a professional just yet, try talking to someone you trust. If you want, you can PM me. Just talk to someone. 
As for coping mechanisms in the meantime, I’m not sure if any of these will be helpful to you, but these are some of the things that helped me. I found the biggest thing that helped was journaling because I tend to get inside my own head and keep returning to thoughts over and over again until I get them out of my head. By journaling, I was able to get those thoughts and memories of my assault out of my head and onto paper. It didn’t make them go away, but it helped me to break the thought cycles and get out of my head. I also found it useful for piecing together what actually happened and reconciling the idea that someone I loved and trusted could hurt me like that. Like I said, I’m not sure if it will help for you, but I’d recommend you give it a try and see if it works. As for the nightmares, I’d try to focus on other things before bed and make my room a sanctuary. I’ve always found that if I watch a movie or TV show, or read something right before bed, it influences my dreams. So I started finding and saving online clips of my favourite scenes from movies and TV shows and watch one each night before I went to sleep. As I was drifting off, I’d mentally keep playing that scene in my head. It didn’t work at first, but eventually I found that I could have some control over my nightmares in this way. Another thing, while I never actually tried this, you could look into lucid dreaming and see if TBA is something you can do. It’s a dreaming technique that takes a while to master, but it allows you to manipulate your dreams to some extent. Also, like I said, make your bedroom your sanctuary, and appeal to all five senses. This will help you relax before bed, which might help to mitigate the nightmares a bit. Maybe place something on your nightstand that smells nice, get a really soft blanket or a stuffed animal to cuddle. Depending on whether you find light or dark more relaxing, maximize the darkness in your room, or find a cute nightlight. Find a white noise app and play nature sounds when you’re falling asleep or put together a nighttime playlist. Maybe drink something soothing before bed too. Just make your room somewhere you feel safe and comforted, and can focus on your own wellbeing rather than your assault. Finally, be patient with yourself. The healing process is going to take time, and it will be a struggle, but you can get through this, I believe in you!

How did you cope?

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