...

(((Obi)))
I'm so sorry that you are feeling like that, don't know what to say

Please take care for yourself!

Pero

After reading through this thread there is not much I can say on the so-called "victim mentality." While I know it is important for me to take responsibility for myself as I take up the mantle of my recovery I also think it is essential for society/supporters to understand its difficulties, setbacks, and objectives. When all is said and done the accusation or label of "victim mentality" is just another variation of the counter-productive nonsense perpetuated by people who are afraid of facing the truth. And the truth is that CSA is a major public health crisis whose survivors all too often end up enduring a lifetime with limited or no support despite crippling handicaps imposed upon them by their trauma. I swear sometimes I feel as if we are living in the Middle Ages of mental health care.

In any case Still I want to thank you for and congratulate you upon your work in helping so many people. I am sorry you have lost so much during your journey of recovery I really am. I hope you can feel some measure of vindication in knowing you are a part of the vanguard effort against child sex abuse. You deserved better treatment just as we all do. Too many people judge success and happiness in terms of financial gain and material possessions. While I agree food, water, and shelter are prerequisites to these two goals once obtained (in excess or the bear minimum) life becomes about relationships and the search for personal meaning through them. We need love, trust, friendship, and other fruits of social living that are severely damaged at the stem by our abusive childhood. We need help and support from others in order to mend ourselves and bloom into the person we want to become. Tragically, our stems are ignored and the flower of our individuality held in contempt for not having petals as bright as those around us. Everyday, society reminds survivors that we enjoy the same soil, water, and sunshine as they do rather than accepting the fact that we were stepped on as buds and are in dire need of a splint to survive and thrive once more.