Sexual abuse is one of the most traumatic experiences anyone can go through. The effects, physical and psychological, are adverse and could hang on the victim’s shoulder for the rest of their life. Due to the stigmatization of the experience, most victims will not come forward or get the help they need.
Untreated sexual abuse trauma leads to lifelong psychological effects, affecting the quality of your life forever. It might not be easy to seek help or talk about your experience, but the benefits of doing it set you free from that heinous act.
You can decide to sue the person who did that to you or the institution that allowed it to happen. An experienced assault lawyer will help you get the compensation you deserve. The following are common psychological effects of untreated sexual abuse.
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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD is a mental health condition that affects someone after a traumatic experience. Survivors of sexual assault are likely to experience PTSD through symptoms like flashbacks of the event and sometimes nightmares. They might also have trouble sleeping and concentrating. Other common symptoms of PTSD after a sexual assault are feelings of fear, anger, guilt, hopelessness, or shame.
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Major Depressive Episodes
Depression is characterized by feelings of extreme sadness, worthlessness, loss of interest in anything, weight loss or gain, trouble sleeping, restlessness, and suicidal thoughts. When someone goes through sexual abuse and does not get treatment for it, there is a high chance that they will continuously have depressive episodes throughout their life.
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Substance and Alcohol Abuse
After a sexual assault, most people are likely to turn to drugs and alcohol to escape their thoughts. If you have a drug problem after experiencing sexual abuse, you should see a doctor and an assault lawyer to help straighten your life before self-destructing.
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Eating Disorders
Some people overeat while others stop eating. Food is also an escape for someone trying to run away from a traumatic experience like sexual abuse. All these eating disorders are treatable, but you need to get help for the trauma first and hold the people responsible accountable. An assault lawyer will help you overcome that by building a case for you and getting you the help you need.
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Having Personality Disorders
A sexual abuse experience will affect how you interact with other people. You could be extremely antisocial or highly irritable as a result. Getting help with the trauma and contacting an assault lawyer to help you file a case against the people responsible will help you start your recovery journey.
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Relationship Difficulties
Once you have gone through sexual abuse, trusting anyone becomes very hard. You sabotage any relationship you get into because you do not feel safe around anyone. You could fix some of that by talking to a psychiatrist and an assault lawyer to sue the perpetrators.
Conclusion
Don’t suffer in silence. Call a sexual assault lawyer and get justice for your pain and suffering. An excellent assault lawyer will see you through a compensation claim against the people that ruined your life and kickstart your healing journey.