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Traumatised.org - not insane, nor to blame!

Society that blames the victim I believe our attitudes to adult abuse survivors are medieval, archaic and inhuman.  It seems as though a current climate of “ducking stool” mentality is rapidly eroding all the progress feminism, anthropology and sociology has made over the last 30 years.  Amazingly abuse specific knowledge is not mandatory for mental health professionals (Despite the fact well over 50% of long term users of mental health services are victims of abuse!).  Many “professionals” claim they understand the issues however the gulf in understanding is enormous, and the only adequate training is given by overstretched charities.  It is a failing, which kills!  (Some people resort to suicide or alcoholism etc)   Yet the problems are complex and extend beyond just issues of ward organisation and access to psychotherapy.   Psychiatry   The mental health system re-abuses and re-traumatises childhood trauma survivors by a)    Failing to see how the needs of child abuse survivors differ from other mental health patients b)    Inadvertently reproducing situations of powerlessness and lack of dignity replicating the original abuse c)    Failing to recognise Dissociation and complex PTSD type II as valid conditions.   And in so doing provides a smoke screen for society, by “erasing” individuals affected by abuse through damaging mental health labels, contributing to societal Stockholm syndrome and ultimately aiding society in denying the scale of the long term consequences of child abuse.   When treatment fails, rather than questioning the levels of training or appropriateness of certain therapies there is a tendency to blame the victim. A person who has been abused repeatedly is sometimes mistaken as someone who has a “weak character.” Because of their chronic victimization, in the past, survivors have been misdiagnosed by mental-health providers as having Borderline, Dependent, or Masochistic Personality Disorder. When survivors are faulted for the symptoms they experience as a result of victimization, they are being unjustly blamed.  Researchers hope that a new diagnosis of Complex PTSD II will prevent clinicians, the public, and those who suffer from trauma from mistakenly blaming survivors for their symptoms.   I have discussed media reponses to abuse with survivors.  The consensus was that we are encouraged to “just get over it”.  They said this created an added burden of shame and stigma to people who had long term damage, which was incredibly damaging to the survivor movement.      The NCPCC have the Green FULL STOP logo.  But for many survivors there is no FULL STOP – the damage is longstanding.  There seems to be an enormous reluctance to face up to the long term effects of abuse – which if anything should highlight the importance of prevention.     I feel so passionately that all this needs exposing.  This stuff very rarely hits the media because the people it affects are some of the most vulnerable in society, yet have the least credibility due to the “mad” label.  Furthermore, many victims of the system believe that they don’t deserve any better (due to low self esteem) and so it goes unchallenged!  Also as is probably evident some of the issues are highly complex.

This site aims to expose the way the mental health system fails and re-traumatises adult survivors of severe childhood trauma and abuse.    www.traumatised.org The sad fact is that the current mental health system fails and re-traumtises many victims of severe childhood trauma and abuse.  Rather than being helped many are ignored and thier lives are blighted by contact with mental health services. Problems exist such as Putting male convicted sex offenders in the same ward and sometimes the next bed as female victims of sexual violence. Wards being smeared with excrement (hardly a place for battered wives etc to regain a sense of self worth or human decency) Frequent misdiagnosis due to very poor training on abuse issues Because of such poor training “professionals” assume some survivors are beyond help and are incurable.  The system then witholds any appropriate pyschotherapy and effectively gives up on such patients. ….the list goes on! This site will look at some of the issues  survivors face!

We support the view that no victim of abuse - however distressed - should be given up upon as "incurable". This site calls for a reform of the mental health system and offers survivors a space to share their own stories.  The Author : I myself am a survivor of severe childhood trauma and abuse.  I am also a survivor of the pyschiatric system.  If anyone would like to reproduce or quote any of my writing I would ask them to seek my permission first!  E-mail me at traumablogger@hotmail.com  Many Thanks.Comments and Feedback always gratefully received!  LINKS A “high profile nutcase” Anna’s Re-traumatisation Chart http://www.borderlineuk.co.uk/ Pyschiatry - a nihilistic discipline Psychiatric Survivors’ Guide http://www.alice-miller.com/index_en.php http://www.freewebs.com/bruiseduk/ Prevent abuse now Psychiatric Survivor Testimonials and Embodiment: Sexual Abuse Statistics System survivors - Is there anything we can do? The National Association for People Abused in Childhood The trauma Pages Trauma and Abuse Group Treating adult survivors of severe childhood abuse and neglect: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger: true or false? A Psychiatric Survivor’s Book List MY ESSAY: (Copyright 2007)   If anyone would like to reproduce or quote any of my writing I would ask them to seek my permission first!  E-mail me at traumablogger@hotmail.com  Many Thanks Who does the structure serve? History Objective Diagnosis or subjective opinion?  Psychiatrically injured not inherently flawed JustfollowingOrders The state  Isolation  Received Wisdom Advances Physical Health REFERENCES & things I would like to quote   Women, Madness and Medicine: Denise Russell Toxic Psychiatry: Peter Breggin The Divided Self: R D Laing Why do people get ill?: Darian Leader Thou shalt not be aware: Alice Miller Madness and Civilisation: Michel Foucault History of Madness: Michel Foucault The Castle: Franz Kafka The Trial: Franz Kafka …also Baudrillard….anything on postmodernism ….. Hegemony and victims internalising discourse (ANTONIO GRAMSCI) ARTICLES http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/67247 Psychologists Suffer Head-in-the-Sand Disorder: A Critical Review of Electrosensitivity Research