traumatizing yourself???

Questions and discussion about sexual or other abuse or assault, and support and help for survivors.
Forum rules
This area of the boards is expressly for support and help for those who are currently in or have survived abuse or assault. It is also for those seeking information or discussion about abuse or assault. Please make every effort in this space to be supportive and sensitive. Posts in this area may or do describe abuse or assault explicitly.

This area of the boards is also not an area where those who are themselves abusing anyone or who have abused or assaulted someone may post about doing that or seek support. We are not qualified to provide that kind of help, and that also would make a space like this feel profoundly unsafe for those who are being or who have been abused. If you have both been abused and are abusing, we can only discuss harm done to you: we cannot discuss you yourself doing harm to others. If you are someone engaging in abuse who would like help, you can start by seeking out a mental healthcare provider.
anomalocaris
not a newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu May 02, 2024 11:12 am
Age: 16
Awesomeness Quotient: i love bugs & spiders :3
Primary language: english
Pronouns: they/them
Sexual identity: lesbian
Location: united states

traumatizing yourself???

Unread post by anomalocaris »

when i was younger, like 3-8 years old maybe, i used to get super hyper focused on sexual things and pregnancy. i didn’t really understand it of course, but i would roleplay being in really dangerous sexual situations by myself. i didn’t think much of it at the time, but looking back on it, it was really weird and probably dangerous (i would put items like rubber duckies in my pants and do a bunch of other weird things that would result in pain. on purpose).

when i was around 12, it started shifting into more realistic sexual fantasies as i got more education on sexuality and stuff, but i still feel a really uncomfortable nostalgia when i think about rape. now, i’m diagnosed with PTSD and a handful of other things. i know it’s possible that i was actually being abused and i just don’t remember, but is it possible that i sexually assaulted myself?? is that a thing that can happen??
Heather
scarleteen founder & director
Posts: 9552
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 11:43 am
Age: 54
Awesomeness Quotient: I have been a sex educator for over 25 years!
Primary language: english
Pronouns: they/them
Sexual identity: queery-queer-queer
Location: Chicago

Re: traumatizing yourself???

Unread post by Heather »

So, we can't sexually assault ourselves, because sexual assault, by definition, is only something one person can do to another. But we can do sexual things to ourselves that we don't feel good about -- at the time or after -- or that may or can be self-harm or part of it, for sure.

That PTSD: did the person giving you a diagnosis give you any information about where they thought that might have come from?
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic