Into the Light – Help for flashbacks

Core issues of abuse: betrayal

Deceiving people is the worst part of relationships – everyone has a story about how they were betrayed. However, betrayal as a child has huge implications on the relationships that the child will have as an adult. Sexual abuse and particularly incest is often the betrayal by an intimate person. read more

Core issues of abuse: shame

For some people the mere discussion of shame is in itself shameful. If you talk about shame in your own life it is likely to bring up lots of undealt with shame in other people’s lives, and so people usually will not want to discuss shame on any level. read more

Core issues of abuse: powerlessness

Think of a station or an airport. When a train or plane is unexpectedly cancelled it often produces extreme reactions in the passengers – why is this? It is because they are powerless in their situation and they know it! There is absolutely nothing they can do. They have no other way of getting to their destination, they are in the hands of others and they have no control over their current predicament. They are powerless. read more

Core issues of abuse: anger

Anger gets a bad press but in fact anger is a feeling just like any other feeling – but the difference with anger is that it holds far more connotations than other feelings because it has the power to affect those around you in dramatic ways. It is an intense feeling and can have frightening proportions – it can be destructive and feel destructive in us. read more

Core issues of abuse: forgiveness

For many people the idea of forgiving someone who has abused them and devastated their life is totally unacceptable – even repulsive. Why forgive someone who has deliberately caused you untold amounts of pain and suffering? Surely forgiving means you will loose even more power to your abuser? read more