By: Wade Harris. Suspect you were sexually abused as a child? You are far from alone. In fact definitions of child sexual abuse have recently been updated.
It can be an older sibling or another child who abuses you. It is now recognised that sexual abuse does not even have to involve physicality to be extraordinarily damaging to a child and the future adult they will become. Sexual abuse can can be any situation where a child is exploited for the sexual pleasure of another. Again, such examples can both result in the same long-term symptoms as other forms of sexual abuse.
Victims of sexual abuse often do not remember the experience. A wiped out memory for certain parts of your childhood can be an indicator trauma of some form took place. And we carry this coping mechanism into adulthood. Sexual abuse can cause long-term issues in your behaviours, relationships, and sex life, as well as in the ways you treat yourself. It can even effect your physical wellbeing.
This can look like:. Healthy relationships tend to be very challenging if you experienced sexual abuse as a child. Do you experience some of the following? Sexual abuse as a child can also really affect the way you approach sex. Do you recognise yourself in the following? By: Rie H. The trauma of sexual abuse leads to many other psychological issues. Do you feel you might also suffer from some of the following? And finally, sexual abuse is linked to the manifestation of certain personality disorders , in particular borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder.
The connection is so high that some psychologists debate if these disorders exist at all or are really just manifestations of trauma, with some calling to rebrand BPD as complex trauma. If you do suspect you were sexually abused as a child, you might find yourself suddenly experiencing overwhelming waves of anger and fury.
