ARE YOU SUPPRESSING OR REPRESSING YOUR SEXUAL ASSAULT OR OTHER TRAUMA?
It’s perfectly logical, given the horrific nature of your experience.
Wouldn’t you want to blank it out, or stuff it down, just to survive?
I did.
So if that’s your deal too, I understand.
I didn’t know the difference between suppressing and repressing at first.
So I found out.
Suppression = conscious efforts or activity
Repression = unconscious processes beneath awareness
Then I had to ask myself:
What would it look like if I were doing either of these to manage my symptoms and pain?
5 SYMPTOMS OF SUPPRESSION
Substance Abuse
Using alcohol or drugs to numb emotion, escape reality, or push pain out of awareness.
Overworking & Excessive Activity
Filling every moment with tasks or motion to avoid stillness, thought, or emotional contact.
Distraction Techniques
TV, streaming, internet scrolling, video games—anything that keeps you outwardly focused.
Avoidance Behavior
Avoiding people, places, or situations that might trigger memories of the incident.
Perfectionism & Control
Trying to control every detail of your world or striving for impossible standards—often to create a false sense of safety or avoid inner chaos.
5 SYMPTOMS OF REPRESSION
Memory Gaps
This is a big one. Difficulty recalling specific events or entire time periods—especially those involving distress or trauma.
Dreams & Nightmares
Repressed material often surfaces in unsettling dreams, repeating symbols, or night terrors.
Unexplained Emotional Reactions
Sudden outbursts, panic, or deep sadness that doesn’t quite match the current moment.
Psychosomatic Symptoms
Chronic physical pain, illness, or fatigue with no clear medical explanation.
Difficulty with Introspection
Struggling to identify feelings, or distancing from inner reflection altogether.
Do you recognize yourself in any of these?
From personal experience, I know:
The longer suppression or repression continues, the more life tends to unravel.
Mentally, emotionally, physically, financially—every area starts to feel it.
You didn’t ask for this experience.
You didn’t ask for the wreckage it created.
But there is a way out.
And it doesn’t take a lifetime.
Healing came for me the moment I stopped holding it in and got onto the right path.
You don’t heal by suppressing.
You don’t heal by repressing.
You heal by releasing.
When you're ready to release what never belonged to you in the first place, I’m here.
Quietly. Precisely. In full respect of your experience.—