Becoming Katie Butterfly

"To my abuser: The time has come to say goodbye. I have held onto the pain and hurt for far too long now. I've let the memories of what you did to me so long ago take a toll on my mental, physical and sexual health. But, now it's time to let it go and move forward. You see, I was such an ugly caterpillar for so long after what happened and I finally started to come out of my dark cocoon and get my wings. But, something is holding me back from truly becoming that Butterfly. It's me! Holding onto the ugly past and giving you the power I swore I'd never do again. And I refuse to live in the past anymore. What happened to me was horrible and should never have happened, but it did and there is nothing I can do to change it. All I can do now take the lessons and apply it to my life now and say "goodbye past, hello lovely present and future." -BecomingKatieButterfly

So, I have been reading self help books on PTSD and I found this in a book I was reading today and I think it could help others as well, so I decided to type it up and blog about it. It is in the book "The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook" by Glenn R. Schiraldi Ph.D Let's all strive to be thrivers!! Katie Victim Helpless Out of Control Angry Hoping to be rescued Perception of lacking choices Self-pity Passive Payoff (secondary gains) persuade person to remain in victim role Identity as a victim In pain, numb, defeated Avoidance of feelings “I’m still in the trauma” Controlled by memories Controlled by depression, anxiety, hatred, bitterness, revenge, physical complaints Has not learned from the experience, likely to repeat trauma, victimization, shame, self-dislike Self destructive behaviors. Hiding Feeling Fragile, vulnerable, defenseless Sense of no future, preoccup...