Body Issues

For years, I lived "in my head", totally disconnected from my body. Many survivors will be able to relate to this, and most of us, especially those of us who were sexually abused, have issues with their body, seeing it variously as the enemy, the cause of their childhood pain, a reminder, a betrayal, or simply the place where the abuse happened.

There are a number of body-related issues connected to our childhood experience. Some of us coped with abuse by building a defence of fat that we hoped would keep our abusers from us. Others develop eating disorders. Some survivors find that only self-inflicted pain makes them feel better.

Then there are psychosomatic conditions - even if we refuse to recognise our issues, our bodies don't keep quiet. Many survivors suffer from unexplained back pain, frequent headaches, insomnia, respiratory, gastric or skin problems.