An energy healing strategy for victims of sexual assault/Sexual trauma

Introduction 

This world is full of evil activities. These acts tend to inflict a lot of pain to many people around the world. One of them is sexual trauma. This can be defined as any sexual act that is imposed on another person without their consent. It can be a one-time event or an ongoing experience. This act does not necessarily have to be physically violent. Examples of sexual trauma and abuse include; sexual assault, stalking, rape, sex harassment, childhood sexual abuse, incest, street harassment, online sexual harassment and sexual violence in relationships.

Sexual trauma involves both coercion and physical force. Women and children are the ones who are mostly vulnerable to this act more than the male gender. This act tends to have emotional, physical, mental and economic effects to those affected.

How does sexual trauma manifest?

To those who are affected by this act, tend to have various manifestations that lay a clue or are evident that a case of sexual abuse occurred. They may be categorized into psychological changes, physical health problems and unhealthy behaviors. It is worth noting that different people react differently to sexual assault. Some of the manifestations of sexual trauma include the following;

Having sexual dysfunction-those affected by sexual abuse may have a lot of difficulties in consensual and loving sexual acts and contacts. By having sexual touch, a crisis response is triggered causing feelings of panic and danger.

Having multiple triggers and anxiety-any exposure to sights, sounds and smells connected to the traumatic memory will trigger a reaction of crisis. An example would be smelling perfume that was used by the assailant could cause extreme anxiety or a panicking reaction. If the victim was while climbing the stairs, he or she would find it difficult to use stairs next time. During these instances, most people are not aware what is happening to them and this can be very troubling. It`s like they are going crazy. But, some of these reactions tend to be absolutely normal.

Having fatigue and insomnia-some people will suffer from severe sleeping disturbances whereas others will tend to sleep a lot. That is why having nightmares and dreams will be a common symptom for them. Also, the inability to sleep well among the victims of the trauma will lead to extreme fatigue.

Being unable to concentrate-this can be termed as a biochemical reaction to trauma. This response is triggered by hormones such as glucocortoids which may cause damage to the logic memory functions of the brain and also to the language of the person. This will make the memories to be disjointed and the chronological organization of events will be so hard. That’s why we should note that traumatic stress will always make it difficult for an individual to focus, concentrate, think in a logical or systematic way. This can also result in a decrease in ability to perform at school and also at work.

Having disturbances when eating-it is generally known that blood will be diverted from our major organs and then be channeled to our extremities when our bodies are in crisis reaction mode. By doing so, our bodies are either prepared for fight or flight. This tends to interfere with the digestive system. In that case, traumatic stress may trigger heartburn, ulcers, weight loss or in other cases overeating as an attempt of self-nurturing.

Engaging in substance abuse-those who suffer from sexual traumatic stress will have a tendency of self medication. So, by attempting to relax, sleep or stopping reliving the experience, some of the victims are likely to turn to drugs, alcohol, painkillers and other numbing substances.

Becoming hyper-vigilant-sexual trauma is also manifested by inability to relax or feel safe. The victims will often display extreme sensitivity to any perceived danger or threats. That is why showing signs of defensiveness and anger is quite common. They will always have the fear of vulnerability and also difficulty in trusting others.

Having physical illnesses-sex trauma also manifests itself when victims frequently complain about stomach-aches, headaches, neck and back pains.

Sexual trauma and loss

Sexual traumatic experiences always come packed with loss and grief. The loss that is experienced may be so numerous at times. These losses will always have a permanent impact to those affected whether you like it or not. These things cannot be replaced anymore or returned to the former state. Some of them include;

Victim`s safety is lost-even if the perpetrator is arrested, most victims will always be living with a feeling of un safety. They are always thinking that a bad thing is going to happen to them.

Innocence is lost-those affected will always have a different view of themselves, others and the world at large. This especially happens to young children.

Loss of trust-those affected by sexual trauma will always find it difficult to trust people very easily. This is very common especially to those who had previously suffered from rape cases. For them, the inability to trust other people will affect them in such a way that they will always find it difficult in establishing and maintaining intimate bonds and relationships.

Loss of finance-this is due to medical bills incurred when the victim is being treated. This is because many of them have to seek for professional help.

Loss of good relationships-family members, spouses and friends will always victimize those who have experienced this.

Loss of virginity-those who were virgins prior to the assault will find this loss quite troubling and thus affecting their personal identity and also spiritual cleanliness.

Does energy healing (Reiki) really work?

Reiki can be described as an energy healing modality that is used in helping the body, mind and spirit to heal itself. It does not replace conventional way of medicine in western countries but compliments it.

The second degree of Reiki will give access to three powerful energies that will help in the treatment of victims with sex trauma. They include;

1: Power symbol which cleanses, amplifies other symbols and giving protection.

2: Mental or emotional symbol that is beneficial with all types of mental issues.

3: Distance symbol that will let you connect to any person, place, item and situation at any time. This can be in the past, present or future. By doing this, you can also connect to other aspects of yourself.

How sexual trauma heals?

The healing process will always look different for each and every person. This doesn’t mean that we can`t afford some guidelines that victims will find it beneficial in their healing process and strategy. The following guideline may be very useful:

Acknowledging that the trauma happened-the first thing that is so crucial when you’ve been sexually abused is to accept the fact that you were assaulted. Distancing and denial will be very common for those who have survived this incident. This is very normal and easily understood. In this case, it would be better for you to accept that fact, no matter how painful it is and move on.

Avoid blaming yourself-having suffered sexual trauma, you would be well advised not to lay blame on yourself. This will only make things worse.

Being aware of the potential impacts-sexual trauma is so bad in the sense that you will not only deal with the act itself, but also deal with the ongoing effects. This type of trauma will always affect the relationship to yourself, your body, relationship with others not to mention your sex life. Many will not be prepared for this. So, it is important to know and get a sense of what is happening in your life and then take steps in addressing the issue.

Identifying your triggers-it would be prudent to create a trigger list because sexually abused survivors tend to be triggered by certain things such as actions and words. By doing so, you will know how to handle them.

Coming up and setting your goals-as a sexually abused survivor, you should come up with goals that will be so beneficial to you.

Taking good care of yourself-this is not the case with sexually abused survivors. Many of them are always displaying signs of giving up. They show depression, anxiety and low self esteem. This is very unhealthy for you. Just ignore the negative thoughts and impulses that may be going through your mind and have a new plan for taking care of yourself.

Getting support-this is the last and very crucial step. Everybody in this world needs support from family and friends. This is because some things cannot be solved by one person. Talk to people and heed their advices.

History of Breast augmentation

The number of women receiving breast augmentation has skyrocketed in the 21st century. It is estimated that in United States only, the number of women receiving breast enlargement has varied greatly to something to do with 3 million women.  There are countless reasons why individuals approach a plastic surgeon for breast enlargement. Some of them think that breast augmentation may help them enhance their physical appearance. 

However, there are several other situations where women take breast augmentation procedures for whole different reasons. Some of them say that they choose it to correct the size of their breast especially in cases that their breasts are not equal in size. Others have wanted to reduce their size of breast after a pregnancy. 

With breast augmentation becoming this prevalent, do people have enough information about the same? Do they even know where the whole idea of plastic surgery came from? I bet there are very few women that can relate. For this reason, we have chosen to give you a brief history of breast augmentation. 

So what is breast augmentation? 

Breast augmentation is the act of changing the size of the breast or even reshaping them to restore a desirable size or shape of person’s breast. It has been used for a long time to correct congenital defects and other deformities of the chest. The same plastic surgery procedure has been used for a long time to enlarge the breasts. 

Are there any resultant complications of breast augmentation surgery? 

Although technology has advanced to reduce instances of risk during the surgery and when recovering, there are some complications that someone can encounter and deal with. They include discomfort, pain, skin changes, rupture, fluid collection around the breast and infection. 

What is the history of breast Augmentation? 

Breast augmentation has been used since the 19th century to alter the size and the shape of breast. The first attempt was in the late 1880s when surgeon Vincenz Czerny used the patient’s autologous adipose tissue to effect the earliest successful breast augmentation. He had removed a tumor from a women breast and so wanted to counter the effects by performing a surgery to correct the size and the shape of the breast. 

There were earlier unsuccessful attempts to alter the shape and size of the woman breast. In 1889, Robert Gersuny wanted to see whether he can change this using paraffin injection but the results turned disastrous. 

Early in the 20th century, surgeons started using other substances such as implant fillers which included glass balls, ivory, ox cartilage and many others to perform breast augmentation. The main contributors to breast augmentation in the 20th century were Morton I. Berson in 1945 and Jacques Maliniac in 1950. The two tried to alter the volume of a breast by rotating the patient’s chest wall tissue. Later in the years, surgeons started using synthetic fillers which included silicone injections. These injections were administered to 50,000 women who developed silicone granulomas and breast hardening. 

What followed later was the development of silicone breast prosthesis by American Plastic surgeons Thomas Cronin and Frank Gerow. The first silicone breast prosthesis was filled with silicone gel. 

In 1962, the first augmentation mammoplasty was successfully performed using Cronin-Gerow implant. By 1964, there was already an introduction of saline breast implant which was regarded as a medical device. 

The whole idea of breast augmentation has been hotly debated in many countries.  For this reason, FDA and many other organizations have factored in the needs to regulate the field. In the 21st century, big breast have become a norm and many women wants to alter the way their boobs looks like. 

Although FDA and many other organizations have come in to help in such situations, there are more advanced ways of doing this in 21st century. We have equally seen less breast augmentation failures which is very promising. The doctors have also tried to make sure there are less risks of breast augmentation. 

In 21st century, there are many improvements for faster recovery. The surgical procedures have also improved with time and so many women have started to trust the operations. This is actually what is increasing the demand in 21st century. 

Breast augmentation doesn’t only refer to implants alone. In 21st century, we have witnessed additional ways of making this a reality. Scientists have introduced better methods of fat transfer which works the same. This means it helps women get the same results without any implants. So plastic surgery and specifically breast augmentation has come from far.