Thank you for the gift of healing β€οΈβ€πŸ©ΉΝβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ 
Courageous Survivors

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Supporting survivors!

December 2023
 

Founder’s Message

So much gratitude

What a wonderful year it has been for Courageous Survivors. We have grown with 3 new board members who share our passion for supporting survivors.

We began an amazing collaboration with Ruth Place, a group program helping survivors get to more healing and happiness in life.

Our Evening of Hope Gala 2023 on September 28th surpassed all of our fundraising goals and it warmed my heart to see a mix of community, survivors, advocates, and more come together to support survivors.

My heart is filled with love and gratitude for every one of you and I sincerely thank you for being here and for caring about survivors.

Click here to submit your suggestions and ideas for this newsletter.
 

Evening of Hope 2023

Please enjoy the photos and videos from our Evening of Hope Gala on September 28th. There were inspirational videos, speakers, and a special song by Brad, Cody and Alli Simpson performed especially for our gala.

Thank you to all who attended and all who worked so very hard to make it happen.

Click here to see the photos and videos
 

My actions are my only true belongings

Thich Nhat Hanh
 

Holidays and Trauma (Repeat of Dec 2022 Article)

This time of year comes with a lot of pressure for everyone. Add trauma to the already felt pressure of social events, spending, holiday ads showing picture perfect families, and you have a recipe for old unhealthy coping strategies to come calling with a vengeance.

For me, and I am sure many others, the holidays carry difficult trauma anniversaries. During the holidays, visitors abound, schedules are hectic, parents might be overwhelmed, and in the wrong situation, abusers take advantage. In fact, rates of child sexual abuse often increase around the holidays.

New Years Eve was a day that my life was changed forever, and is a very difficult trauma anniversary. As a child, I wasn’t able to show my overwhelming emotions - it was far too dangerous. Instead I disconnected from myself, from what was happening. I did not know about boundaries and I definitely didn’t think that I had any ability to say β€œno”.

For survivors with a history of sexual trauma, it’s not just the usual holiday stress that is hard, but there is also the challenge of navigating the old memories that come alive by people, places, smells, sounds, etc. that our body remembers.

Not to mention the other tough parts: the first holidays without people or pets that are no longer in our lives; the aches of life not being the way you wished it were; grief for a happy childhood that will never happen; SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder); and others.

You get it. Holidays can be tough.

The most important thing to know is that you are not alone. Mental health is a beast this time of year. There is a holiday mad rush to do, do, do and then a screeching halt. This comes at a price to those already hurting.

There are things that can help, and these are a few that have helped me.

Make a plan ahead of time.

Write it down. Make a list of how you will respond to invitations that you do not want to accept. Boundaries can be tough, so having some potential responses BEFORE you need them can help you in the moment. A few examples:

  • β€œThank you for the offer. I am not feeling up to much people contact.”

  • β€œI am working on some new traditions this year and won’t be able to attend.”

  • β€œNo thank you.”

  • β€œNo”

Make a list of names and phone numbers of people in your support group that you can call if needed. Include your friends, therapist, and safest people. Have a crisis line on speed dial. It is important to have back-up in case someone isn’t available. Your therapist may be extra busy this time of year, or be taking personal time for themselves. I learned very early on in trauma recovery not to put all my eggs in one basket.

Let your safe friends and family know ahead of time. An example of what to say to them might be something like: "Would you mind if I reach out to you if I need a supportive talk, or a visit. I am trying to be proactive.”

Engage in the things you enjoy most as often as possible.

Acknowledge how hard it is to be present and then do something that always offers you relief. Watch your favorite movies. Eat your favorite meals. Sit in your favorite spot, and listen to your favorite song. Find new movies, meals, and songs. When being present is too much, distract yourself. The goal is for you to get through the holidays safely. Distractions are not always bad. 

A few other suggestions:

Be aware of topics in conversations that tend to trigger you and do not engage. Take a breath and say to yourself "I do not owe this time to anyone." Kindly say "I don’t have the capacity to speak on that at this time" or walk away.

Make a list of how you have made progress since last year. What are you most proud of that you handled differently?

Reach out, connect, reach out, connect! It has always worked for me regardless of how scared I am of it!

Please click on the link below for a downloadable trauma anniversary plan to help with this. Make it your own. I wish you all the peace, happiness and love not only during the holidays, but always.

Trauma Anniversary Plan

Janet Bentley, Founder, Courageous Survivors
 

A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life.

Christopher Germer, PhD
 
 

Our purpose is

supporting adult survivors of sexual trauma on their path to happiness

which will enable us to achieve our vision of

empowering every adult survivor of sexual trauma

and to meet our goals of

connecting survivors with others who understand
providing helpful resources
offering effective support groups

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Courageous Survivors, Inc., PO Box 29012, SCOTTSDALE, AZ, 85255, United States

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