Dear Survivor You Have Been An Amazing Fighter Through All Of This

Healing doesn’t happen over a day, but it begins the moment we try not to push away the negative thoughts, rather analyze the past events and take all possible lessons from them.

Dear fighter,

If you are here reading this post, if you have survived the difficulties life threw at you, you are a fighter.

I won’t ask you to stay positive, or simply let it go. Trying to bury the past is not the right way to heal.

What happened was not your fault

I would instead ask you to contemplate the events of the past until you are convinced that it was never your fault. I would ask you to accept those incidents as nightmares of your life rather than making efforts to erase them. The truth is the more you try to erase them, the more they will trouble you. It will make you frustrated, and the frustration will manifest into anger or some form of depression.

There might be people around to blame and shame you, but you must know that self-blaming would only be followed by self-harm. I have been in this place once, and the path to healing began only when I stopped the self-blaming.

Healing doesn’t happen over a day, but it begins the moment we try not to push away the negative thoughts, rather analyze the past events and take all possible lessons from them. Everything in moderation is good, likewise, a little dwelling on the past would actually help. So it’s ok to cry, it’s ok to feel low, it’s ok to feel desperate and it’s ok to feel the pain. For it is this pain that will show you your true strength and courage.

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You have survived hell, but here you are now

I know how it feels to be abused by those who are supposed to protect us. But, I am not a counselor or a therapist. So if none of my words make any sense to you, or even if they make sense but you feel there is nothing you can do about it, then please let someone intervene. Your emotional health gets affected the most. Don’t shy from seeking professional help.

When you have survived hell, you are strong enough to defeat the inner demons too.

With that, I sign-off with lots of love, strength, hope, and a reminder that you have a lot of fight left in you.

A survivor of gender based trauma is affected in ways that go deep, and their worldview can get permanently damaged. It can be really crippling in their day to day life – whether in the personal or public sphere, and sending some comfort their way can help.

We at Women’s Web are collaborating with the Saahas App for Survivors of Gender Violence to reach out to women who need to be heard, and healing, as survivors of gender based violence. Letters to the survivor from our authors will be published on Women’s Web in the coming 10 days, and also on the Saahas website, in a series called “Dear Survivor”.

If you would like to participate, please upload your letter on your Women’s Web dashboard, and if chosen, it will be published.

Image source: shutterstock 

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