EFTA00038303.pdf

Type

pdf

Source set

data-set-8

Original source

Extracted text

4 Stages of Emotions and Treatment After Sexual Trauma 
April 18, 2018 • Contributed by Camila Williams, PhD 
There may be many emotions to sort through after experiencing sexual trauma. These emotions are 
typically painful, so it is natural to want to avoid them. The problem is, these emotions don't tend to 
go away—they fester until you allow the time and space to work through them. 
A common cycle of emotions after surviving sexual trauma is: (1) guilt and shame, (2) blame and 
anger, (3) grieving/mourning, and (4) fear and anxiety. This cycle by no means captures everyone's 
experience after a trauma but is a general outline of common reactions. Let's consider them in more 
depth. 
I. (,t IL I k\D'NII k Nil 
There can be a lot of secrecy surrounding sexual trauma. Victims who come forward are often made 
to feel like they did something wrong. Some are advised to keep their experience quiet. People often 
blame the victim by outlining things they "should" or "should nor have done. 
Survivors of sexual trauma may internalize these messages and feel guilt and shame. They may 
replay in their minds the things they could have done to prevent or escape the trauma, even if they 
couldn't have done anything differently. They may feel guilty for having not stopped the abuse and 
ashamed for having been a victim of it. 
Learning to challenge these messages is one of the first hurdles of trauma treatment. Treatment at 
this stage focuses on self-compassion, understanding, and most importantly: accepting that sexual 
trauma is never the victim's fault. 
EFTA00038303


2. BI 
NIL .\NI) \\Fait 
Along with guilt and shame come blame and anger. Many times, survivors of sexual trauma will 
blame themselves for what happened and will direct anger at themselves. They beat themselves up 
with critical, hurtful, and mean thoughts and comments. Some may even engage in self-harming 
behaviors such as cutting as a coping strategy. 
A goal at this stage of treatment is to separate resp…

Open in the interactive archive →