How Sexual Assault Affects Your Mental Well-Being

It is common for victims of sexual assault to feel that they no longer have control over their bodies. Recovering victims frequently experience emotions of shame and panic. Many people believe they are at fault for the attack.

Survivors of sexual abuse may suffer from mental health issues due to the trauma and unpleasant emotions they have experienced. Those who have been sexually abused may suffer from mental health issues.

Assisting victims immediately following a sexual attack can be life-saving, and an examination by a doctor in a hospital is another option for survivors. Even better Sexual Abuse Therapy can significantly help those who have been sexually assaulted in the past for a long time.

What is Sexual Assault or Abuse

Sex abuse is defined as any non-consensual sexual interaction. Most professionals in the field of sexual abuse agree that the abuse is not a one-way street. There’s a tendency to use it to exert control over others.

An umbrella word, “sexual abuse,” is used to include a variety of offenses like:

Rape: This is sexual contact without consent. Circumstances of rape include forcing sex on someone who doesn’t want it or is too young to consent is rape. 

Child molestation: This is any sexual activity with a minor. Most molested youngsters are too inexperienced to understand how things work and may be unable to resist. In certain circumstances, abusers utilize the child’s cooperation as “proof” nobody was hurt.

Incest: Incest refers to sex between relatives who are too connected to marry. While consenting individuals can engage in incestuous sexual intercourse, this is hardly common.

How Sexual Assault Affects a Person’s Well-Being

Sexual abuse survivors may have mental health issues due to trauma and destructive emotions. You may experience:

Depression

It might be tough to deal with losing one’s bodily autonomy, and it can evoke a sense of helplessness or despair in the viewer. It may also diminish one’s self-esteem. Depression Retreat can be moderate and transient or severe and pervasive.

Anxiety

Also, the inability to control one’s body can be a significant source of anxiety. Victims may be afraid that it may happen again. Panic attacks can occur in some people. Agoraphobia is the fear of leaving one’s home that some people develop. 

Survivors can develop a lifelong terror of the perpetrators. Some people are afraid of tall, fair-haired males with blue eyes since they were raped by one of such individuals.

Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

People who have been sexually assaulted may have vivid memories of their ordeal. Disruption from flashbacks can sometimes lead survivors to lose control of their surroundings. In addition, a person may suffer from a condition known as complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD).

Attachment issues

It may be difficult for survivors to form meaningful relationships with others. Children who have been abused are particularly susceptible, and children who have been abused may struggle to form healthy ties as adults.

Sexual assault often results in long-term emotional or mental health problems for those who survive it. If you struggle with your mental health, you aren’t necessarily “weak” or “broken.” We can provide you with the appropriate Sexual Abuse Therapy to help you regain control over your life.