Anger and Sexual Abuse (4)

Posted on June 5, 2008 by Beth McHugh

In Anger and Sexual Abuse (3), we looked at how 35-year-old Jenna had been sexually abused by her stepfather as a child and was now taking out her rage at this injustice on the world at large. She had just lost her job as a lawyer and had come for counseling. Jenna had never told her mother of the abuse as she was too frightened to do so as a child and now as an adult, she didn’t see the point in raking up old wounds. Yet Jenna was in enormous pain. She couldn’t maintain long-term relationships due to her … Continue reading →

Mental Health Week in Review: May 19-26

Posted on May 28, 2008 by Beth McHugh

This week we spent time looking at the anger that accompanies incidents of sexual abuse. In Anger and Sexual Abuse (1), we looked at how the twin themes of guilt and anger join together to keep a victim of sexual abuse caught in a horrific internal limbo of pain. Guilt and anger can co-exist inside the mind and body of a sexual abuse victim, but once the guilt is released, often through therapy, then anger and rage really come to the fore. Yet even then it may take two different forms, internalized anger and externalized anger. The latter may be … Continue reading →