Quote Originally Posted by dvlngl View Post
I have never been abused but I know a friend who was. I have a question: What do you say to someone who has been abused beside listening to them and saying "I'm sorry?" I am good at listening but I get stuck at words. I want to work in the ER as a nurse and I know I will get patients who have just been through it. I am not good at words and I don't just want to say "I'm sorry" or nothing at all when they are telling you what happened to them.
Well, I don't really expect much of a response when I tell people what has happened to me. I realize there isn't much to say. The main reason why I tell people things that have happened to me is that I believe if people can understand what I've been through, they have a better chance at understanding me, since we are all molded by our pasts to some degree. Another reason is to fight loneliness...not necessarily within myself, but in others. I don't know who will read what I wrote or if it will matter much. But I know that when I was a child I felt so lonely. I remember thinking to myself, "If someone out there only knew what was happening to me, they would come to my rescue. But they look at this nice neighborhood at this nice house; they see the occupation of my dad and see him at church. And I have to put on a show in public so I don't get it worse at home than I normally would. So who will notice, and who will come? Who will take the time to read in between the lines on my face to see what's beneath this half-assed, crooked smile? Nobody. I'm utterly alone. Nobody will notice. Nobody will care. Nobody will come" And you know what? I was 100% right. Nobody came. So I just want people to understand me and to know that even though nobody may come, there are many other isolated victims all over the world in places you and I would never even think to suspect. And I hope that somehow that might fight off feelings of desolation, which is one of the cruelest emotions on earth.