Sexual Abuse And Anxiety

Sexual abuse leaves many scars, creating feelings of guilt, anger, and fear that haunt survivors throughout their lives. These traumatic experiences can be detrimental to the victims’ sense of their own sexuality. Numerous individuals who have been abused have trouble pursuing adult relationships and engaging in sex as an adult. The abuse can color a person 's sexuality, preventing the survivor from pursuing a healthy sex life with a caring partner.  Sexual abuse is defined as unwanted sexual activity, with perpetrators using force, making threats or taking advantage of victims not able to give consent (Corcoran & Walsh, 2006). An immediate reaction to individuals who have been sexually abused include shock, fear or disbelief. Long-term symptoms include anxiety, fear or post-traumatic stress disorder (Corcoran & Walsh, 2006).

The effects of childhood sexual abuse carry on with the children forever. To what extent and to what effect does abuse have on children during adulthood? What are the main issues that adults have been abused suffer from in adulthood? Do they have more of a physical issue with preforming with their partner in the bedroom or do they have more of a mental block due to their trauma? The world had been asking these questions for far too long and we need answers on how helping the children of our world. The questions that have been stated have been answered through the two articles that will be summarized below.

When one thinks of a young child one thinks of joy, innocence, and being carefree. Too often than not though that innocence is taken from a young child through sexual abuse. Studies have shown over and over again that a child who has been sexually abused carries those scars with them into adulthood, many times affecting adult relationships.                           When a person thinks of a child molester they see in their minds the dirty old man image. This is not the case in most abuse cases. Usually the child knows the person that is going to harm them. The offender is usually someone that the child and his or

The article that I read was on long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse. The article covers many symptoms that survivors experience as a result of the abuse. Survivors are faced with trust issues, self-blame, and shame. Most of the sexual abuse is performed by someone the child trusts and loves. The effects are many and some that are abused even regress the abuse. Taking that first step to counseling or therapy is the start of the healing process.

Abused children live in constant fear of physical harm from a person who is supposed to care for and protect them. They may feel guilt at loving the abuser or blame themselves for causing the violence.Victims of child abuse may feel that they are bad and deserve the abuse. They usually have poor self-esteem. In addition to physical injuries that may be the result of abuse, child victims may develop eating disorders or sleep disturbances, including nightmares. They may develop speech disorders or developmental lags in their motor skills. Many child victims demonstrate some form of self-destructive behavior. They may develop physical illness such as asthma, ulcers, allergies, or recurring headaches. Also, they often experience irrational and persistent fears or hatreds and demonstrate either passive or aggressive behavioral

Physical: Sexual abuse is the involvement of vulnerable adults that are involved in sexual activities, they were force to take part in. Such as rape or other sexual activities. This may take place in health and social care setting such as care homes, residential homes and the service users own home. Short terms effects may be short term but still have a lasting effect on the individual’s health and well-being, such as sexual transmitted infections for example medication can be taken to get rid of the infection but also can have lasting long terms effect on the individuals which can leave them with irreversible illness such as HIV which will be with them for life. They may

While child sexual abuse survivors may show symptoms of PTSD as well as symptoms that may include anxiety, low self esteem, difficulty setting safe limits with others and relationship problems. Survivors may have bad dreams. They may act out aspects of the abuse in their play. They might show other fears and worries. Young children may lose skills they once learned and act younger than they are. For example, an abused child might start wetting the bed or sucking his or her thumb. Some sexual abuse survivors show out-of-place sexual behaviors that are not expected in a child. Sexual abuse can be very confusing

Child sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year, but the number of unreported instances is far greater, because the children are afraid to tell anyone what has happened (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry). Childhood sexual abuse is a traumatic experience affecting the lives of not only the victim, but those close to the victim as well. Many think there is only one person truly traumatized, but in fact, everyone involved is affected. The victim has to deal with their experience the rest of their lives. They may be more at risk for other mental issues as well, including depression. The family involved has to deal with its pain, often causing hardship and discord within the family. This is especially true

In the case of sexual abuse, the child may feel he is betraying the person who abused him, by reporting the abuse, since oftentimes the abuser is someone he trusts and loves. The child may also feel powerless, untrusting, may react outwardly with anger, exhibit sexualized behaviors, be withdrawn from friends and family, or develop eating disorders. Anxiety disorders and PTSD, along with suicidal ideation may be present as well.

Some children are left to be watched by another family member or a friend of the family and get sexually abused by them. Sometimes children are forced to have sexual activities going on with an adult without the parents knowledge. That leaves the child to think that their parents really do not care for them. Children get scared when sexual abuse happens. Some will not tell, because they think they will get in trouble. Sexual abuse can hurt the child's as they get older in life.

Sexual abuse is a prevalent crime that can have numerous short and long term effects on a victim. It describes as any form sexual activity that is accomplished by force or threat where consent is not given. This includes rape, molestation, incest, and other similar forms of non-consensual sexual contact. The effects of sexual abuse are not the same for every victim, victims may feel varied responses and emotions that can depend on own situations. The act of abuse may had happened a long time ago or be more recent.

Two of the consequences of sexual abuse that interest me the most is posttraumatic stress disorder and repressed memory. PTSD is known as an anxiety disorder that occurs in response to experiencing extreme stress (McCoy & Keen, 2014). The rates of PTSD vary among the type of sexual abuse that has occurred (McCoy & Keen, 2014). Victims of sexual abuse usually have to deal with PTSD. They have flashbacks of the terrible indicants, could happen randomly or be triggered by anything. Since the triggers could happen any time, it could prevent the person from prevent the person from being able to move on, which could stop them from living a successful and happy life. Another consequence of sexual abuse is repressed memory. Repressed memory is when the brain forces unacceptable thoughts, desires or memories into the unconscious (McCoy & Keen, 2014). This is done so the brain can protect itself. It takes a lot of energy for the brain to hide these memories and they can reappear caused by a trigger (McCoy & Keen, 2014). It makes

This also pertains to the children who see the abuse happening to one of their parents. The person being abused might experience fear, depression, shame, anger, suicidal thoughts, use of drugs or alcohol to block the pain of being abused. A person who is being abused might also experience having an injury or death from the hands of their abuser.

Lev-Wiesal (2014) in her research discovered that if the abuse occurred at a younger age and at more sensitive time of childhood development they were more likely to develop dissociative disorders than if the abuse occurred at an older age they would be more prone to develop depression and anxiety disorders. I found similar results in my studies where the majority of the participants experienced their sexual abuse below the age of 10.

Child sex abuse results in the most extreme trauma similar to the massive trauma of concentration camp survivors. Most have obsessive-compulsive behaviors and intrusive memories which they try to self-medicate for by drug use. They are trying to self-medicate their PTSD symptoms and the sad thing is once they are off drugs then they are dealing with the extremely painful PTSD symptoms and life does NOT SUDDENLY BECOME