RAINN has launched Redefining Resilience, a new series for child sexual abuse survivors. Once you subscribe, RAINN will send you a text each week for eight weeks to alert you to new materials.

“Redefining Resilience will help survivors understand trauma, move past shame, disclose to loved ones, manage memories, and form trusting intimate relationships,” says Raven Jenerson, RAINN’s interim clinical director. “We designed this series for survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA) to explore what healing and resiliency means to them as an individual. It is our goal to empower all survivors with knowledge and tools, to redefine and reclaim what their unique healing journey looks and feels like following trauma.”

Each week, RAINN will text you a link to a new article.

• Week 1—Trauma Reactions and Symptoms. Explore the reactions of trauma, how it can manifest through symptoms, and how your body reacts as if the trauma is happening again.
• Week 2—Understanding and Healing from Shame. Explore where shame comes from and how your brain is forced to make extreme judgments after experiencing trauma.
• Week 3—Disclosing CSA. There is often a time when you consider telling a trusted family member, friend, or the authorities that the abuse took place. Whether you choose to disclose immediately, months or even years later, this process is personal and it is up to you to decide what makes you feel most comfortable.
• Week 4—Managing Upsetting Memories. When you have experienced trauma, you might feel overwhelmed by upsetting memories from time to time. Learning to manage them begins with understanding what is causing (or “triggering”) them.
• Week 5—Approaches to Healing. Dig deep into what healing means and how you can develop healthy coping mechanisms. Approaching healing with small steps and decisions can help make this process feel more attainable. Throughout your healing process, remember to be gentle and compassionate with yourself.
• Week 6—Creating and Maintaining Trust in Relationships. Building trust in relationships after experiencing child sexual abuse begins with feeling safe.
• Week 7—Forming Intimate Relationships. Experiencing child sexual abuse and moving forward with relationships later in life can be hard to navigate. Because you experienced abuse when you were a child, you may be grappling with feelings of isolation and betrayal, making it harder to trust your gut feelings and those around you. For this reason, it can feel overwhelming to entertain the idea of romantic relationships.
• Week 8—Wrapping Up with Resiliency. This final week, we invite you to create your own resilience plan. Resilience is the ability to recover and show early and effective adaptation following a traumatic event.

As you navigate the series, you may experience a number of different emotions. It is important to check in with yourself while engaging and to have a self-care plan in place. If you need help creating a self-care plan, we have tips here or you can connect with the National Sexual Assault Hotline. at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or online.rainn.org.

Subscribe today to Redefining Resilience.