Restoration from Sexual Assault is Attainable…Look at my Life

It\’s been 9,862 days since my sexual assault occured 27 years ago today.  Over the decades, I have been tormented by fear, anxiety, and loss of trust in the world.  I have wept, grieved, and experienced one of the most horrific things a woman can endure.

But today, I stand here a stronger woman.  The man who sodomized me did not destroy me. The man who robbed me did not steal my pursuit of happiness.  The man who fled from that hotel room didn\’t have within him what I had.  I had resilence. Determination. God\’s grace. The love of family.

I came out the victor.

But how about all the other women who get harrassed, assaulted, raped?  Will they recover?  Will they have the belief to not give up hope of restoration?

Restoration came to me from many different places.  In honor of 27 years, I\’ll give you 27 of the most important things that helped me.

1. God
2. Counseling from a Psychologist
3. Counseling from a Psychiatrist
4. Yoga
5. Meditation
6. Beth Moore Bible Study
7. Community Bible Study
8. Writing my memoir
9. Public speaking
10. Being a mentor to other survivors
11. Jesus Calling by Sarah Young
12. The Anxiety Disease by David Sheehan, MD
13. My family
14. Writing a blog
15. Writing in a journal
16. Speaking at sexual assault conferences
17. Reading about post traumatic stress disorder
18. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
19. Learning to say no
20. Recognizing when exhaustion can turn into depression
21. Self care
22. Rest
23. Anti depressants
24. Learning about anxiety and depression and how they are cousins and often travel together
25. Learning how to combat the evil cousins
26. Finding my voice
27. Using my voice to share there is hope