I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse.

[sigmasix]

30. childhood assault repeats itself

Adult survivors of childhood sexual assualt can end up with serious trust issues. It took me years of counseling and working on my own reaction formation caused by the rapes- but I feel like I am finally deserving of love and respect. My wife has been so important to my recovery; she taught me about true love and insists that I am deserving of it- even though I was the subject of years of rape and emotional abuse at the hands of my half sister- I am still deserving of love and being defended. My wife is my knight in shining armor- She came along at a time in my life when I was ready to just give-up fighting for a normal, loving relationship based upon mutual respect and true love. She was able to see through the self-destructive behaviors and dysfunctional emotional hang-ups to a man that was and is a good husband, father and friend. We never let a day go by without showing our love for each other. I am in awe of her abilities as a nurse, a mother, a daughter and my life partner. When I think of how fortunate I am to have her, it makes me want to be a better person. I just wish that every person recovering from childhood sexual abuse had someone in their life like Misses Sigmasix. Recovery is not a cure- it's the ability to continue functioning, even though we are survivors.