Directing your rage squarely at your abuser, and those who didn't protect you, is pivotal to healing.

When children are sexually abused, their natural sexual capacity is stolen.

Sexual arousal became linked to feelings of shame, disgust, pain, and humiliation.  Pleasure became tainted as well.

Do you find you need to control everything about sex to feel safe?

"If you enter into healing, be prepared to lose everything. Healing is a ravaging force to which nothing seems sacred or inviolate. As my original pain releases itself into healing, it rips to shreds the structures and foundations I built in weakness and ignorance. Ironically and unjustly, only I can pay the price of having lived a lie."

"Until I worked out the sexual abuse, I felt I would never know if I was really choosing this life (religious) out of health."

There are certain major decisions we make not really knowing what we're getting into.

Total obsession with sexual abuse is more likely if you forgotten your abuse.

Allow yourself to obsess-Don't make things worse by hating yourself for being where you are.

Get out of abusive situations- If you're currently in a situation where you're being abused, get out of it.

Remember to breathe – stay as connected to your body as you can.

"I knew that the process of becoming holy, of knowing God, was very slow."

"My own inner strength gave me hope. I just won't quit. "

"Music. Spirituals have really helped me. "

"At least I knew why was weird."

Recovering occluded memories is not like remembering with the conscious mind.

Memories are stored in our bodies.

"Look at yourself! Look at yourself! Tell me you're making it up! And she knew she was telling the truth.

Often people become very uncomfortable (nauseated, dizzy, unable to concentrate, emotional) when they hear another survivor's story.

Addictions can effectively block any recollection of the abuse, but once you stop, the memories often surface.

Sexual arousal may also accompany your memories, and this may horrify you, but arousal is a natural response to sexual stimulation.

"Having to experience the feelings is one of the roughest parts of remembering"

"The memories I get now are like fine-tuning more details, more textures"

"The battle of believing it happened is not one I have to fight each time another piece falls into place"

"I don't want to go insane. I want to be out in the world."