The effects of child sexual abuse often last into adulthood. Sometimes the effects of the trauma are so difficult for the adult victim/survivor that it interferes with their current relationships. Some of the lasting effects of child sexual abuse are:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sexual dysfunction
Vulnerability to subsequent abuse and exploitation Promiscuity
Prostitution Discomfort in intimate relationships
Isolation Marital problems
Depression Drug or alcohol abuse
Suicide Eating disorder
Source: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2005)
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When you are a survivor of any form of sexual abuse, whether it is incest, molestation, marital rape, clergy sexual assault, date rape, or prostitution there are many aftereffects. These may manifest in your life in any combination of ways. Think of these behaviors as a constellation of symptoms that until now you might not have been aware of. Eventually, these symptoms create a full-blown syndrome, or disease. This is most commonly referred to: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
We believe that some, if not all of these behaviors served to distract you from your pain regarding the sexual abuse you endured. Together we will work to uncover, discover, and discard the symptoms that no longer serve or empower us.
There are nearly 100 possible aftereffects that might be related to your personal history as a survivor. We recommend that you use the checklists and create an inventory of the symptoms that apply to you. This is a personal journey, we are on a spiritual path, and there is no right or wrong way to approach this process. Remember, your recovery journey is just that—YOURS! Recovery is a path; it is a journey, and not a destination.
After you check off the aftereffects that pertain to you, go back and create an inventory of each item. Write about how each symptom has affected your life.
1. Problems with setting boundaries around who you are___
2. It is difficult for you to know what you are feeling___
3. No belief in one’s own basic human rights; as if we have grown so accustomed to abuse that it seems normal to us___
4. Difficulty in claiming our own Voice, our God-given right to protect and defend our own best interests___
5. Issues with space such as feeling suddenly claustrophobic, or nervous when someone gets too close___
6. Easily startled, or flinching when someone attempts to touch or move towards us___
7. Taking dangerous high-risks without concern for consequences___
8. Fear of losing control__
9. If you were not abused as badly as others, you may experience “survivor guilt"___
10. You at times feel guilty for pleasurable emotions such as happiness, as if you somehow do not deserve it___
11. Desire to change one’s name (to disassociate from the perpetrator or to take control through self-labeling)___
12. Stealing (adults); stealing and starting fires (children)___
13. Fear of being along in the dark, of sleeping alone, nightmares, night terrors, especially of pursuit, threat, entrapment___
14. Swallowing and gagging sensitivity___
15. Alienation from the body. Not at home in body___
16. A feeling that our bodies do not belong to us so we do not listen to body signals___
17. A failure to take care of our health and/or personal hygiene (lack of self-care)___
18. Poor body image ____
19. Wearing a lot of clothing to avoid sexual attention___
20. Eating disorders, (excessive over-eating, or dieting, anorexia, bulimia)___
21. Drug or alcohol abuse ____
22. Compulsive shopping and debiting; inability to spend or save money appropriately___
23. Sex and love addictions_____
24. Obsessive/compulsive behaviors that serve to medicate our personal pain ___
25. Self-destructiveness; self-mutilation or self-abuse (Cutting, burning, pulling hair out, banging head against wall)____
26. Phobias___
27. Need to be invisible; perfect, or perfectly bad___
28. Multiple personality disorder___
29. Suicidal thoughts, attempts, obsession ____
30. Passive suicide (no real will to live)___
31. Depression (sometimes paralyzing)___
32. Difficulty with recognizing, owning or expressing anger___
33. Rageaholism (constant uncontrolled anger)___
34. Splitting (depersonalization) going into shock, shutdown in crisis, numbing___
35. Feeling watched___
36. Trust issues: inability to trust, or trusting indiscriminately___
37. High risk taking, or inability to take risks___
38. Boundary issues; control, power, fear of losing control___
39. Guilt, shame, self-blame, low self-esteem, feeling worthless___
40. Blocking out some period of early years (especially 1-12) or a specific person or place__
41. Feeling of carrying an awful secret. Both a desire to tell this secret, and a concurrent fear of the secret being revealed; certainty that no one will listen; fear of not being believed; being generally secretive___
42. Self-labeling that is a result of feeling marked (Everyone knows I’m not a virgin, “I’m no-good,” “A whore” or, “I’m a slut, a piece of trash, dirty, worthless…” ____
43. Feeling crazy; feeling different___
44. Believing that everyone’s existence is valid; however, we are a phony___
45. Creating a fantasy world, relationships, or identities___
46. Denial: no awareness at all; repression of memories, pretending, minimizing, having dreams or memories (maybe it’s my imagination)___
47. Strong, deep negative reactions to a person, place, or event, sensory flashes (a light, a place, a physical feeling) without a sense of their meaning___
48. Being aware of, or remembering the surroundings where abuse occurred, but not the actual event___
49. Having body memories of the assault___
50. Flashbacks___
51. Panic Attacks___
52. Isolation from society, from your friends___
