After weeks of thinking… I have finally made my decision.
To finally create this topic!
ahem Uh… Damn, what was I gonna say? Umm… Hi… Eh… Oh! Got it!
Now, this topic is deeply personal to me. It’s something that I’ve thought about for a while, something that most people do not discuss often.
A general question: After the events that have happened to me recently and in the past, is there a connection between sex crimes and mental illness? Not only me, but others? I… Uh, wanna know.
It’s incredibly, massively triggering for a lot of people.
But yes, there is a connection. I’ve done months of study on this subject, having worked briefly as a personal trainer and self-defense instructor for people who have gone through similar experiences. It’s a subject you need to approach with grace and caution because one wrong move can be devastating.
Most of the mental illnesses you’ll find rearing their head from experiences like these are PTSD, depression, anxiety and others like those. Sometimes dissasociation can be triggered and you can find people with things like DID
I think you worded the post with the grace necessary, by the way
Thank you for the information. I always thought my depression was caused by stress and my home life, but nope. A while back, my therapist told me it was because of the event.
And the recent event caused me to relapse as well.
Yeah, there are a number of things that can cause depression. Mine just kinda. Sprang up, actually. My old therapist didn’t really have an explanation for a lot of my mental illnesses really, it’s such a mixture of so many different things.
And no need to worry. Handling this kinda thing with care is kinda common sense? But it does need to be talked about, so we can represent the victims properly and have their voices be heard better.
Yeah. Most victims of, say like me, assault feel shame and guilt. I still feel guilty. And most of the time, the perpetrator(s), do they feel bad or feel the same way as their victims? Not really. Because the system is built in a way to make the victims, no matter what sex, color or religion, feel guilty. We have to change that, stop the “maybe if you didn’t wear this that wouldn’t have happened to you”, and the “you asked for it”. Change people’s minds. We should not have to feel ashamed for using our voice or even fists to stop a predator, nor should it be blamed on our behaviour or clothing. We did not ask for it, and we didn’t expect it. Stop making us feel bad for something that was out of our control.
If I could make speeches in public without anxiety, I would. This topic and these crimes are why I want to be a lawyer. Perhaps a prosecutor or defence attorney.
I once read a psych book about this topic, I would say the name of the book but in all honesty, I don’t remember the title. Im going to try and answer your question as best as I can base on what I know about the topic – but im not a professional in this field and im probably not the best person to answer this either.
There can be a connection between sex crimes and mental illness, the victim of a sex crime could possibly end up having mental and developmental disorders because of it. And in some cases, the sexual predator may have a mental illness themselves that cause them to believe what they are doing is okay. (not that, that is an excuse for that sort of behavior) A semi-interesting thing to know is that a sexual predator with a mental illness their illness usually only plays a small part in their actions.
The most common disorder that’s diagnosed in sexual predators is schizophrenia, DID, or bipolar disorder.
Now victims of sexual assault can often end up with both short-term and long-term mental illness. Many people have flashbacks of their assault, feel shameful, isolated, shocked, confused, and extremely guilty. A lot of people who have suffered from sexual assault end up with an increased risk of developing, Depression, PTSD, Eating Disorders, Anxiety, and sometimes even Substance Use(Abuse) Disorders (most commonly because the substance numbs them from their pain or feelings of shame for a short period of time).
Now in general although it’s a sad thing to hear, there is no way to really completely get over sexual abuse or assault. The memory might end up hurting a little less over time – but its effects on your life are permanent and can sometimes change the way a person feels around people.
That took forever to type because my grandparents’ internet kept cutting out. And then my laptop decided to die on me.
