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survivor issues
what are the effects of sexual abuse?
The long term effects of child sexual abuse can be so pervasive that it is
sometimes hard to pin-point exactly how the abuse affects an adult. It
permeates everything: a person's sense of self, intimate relationships,
sexuality, parenting, a person's working life, even their sanity. The
following list gives a more detailed indication of the long term
consequences of child sexual abuse:
- low self-esteem
- emotional reactions - guilt, anger and rage, sadness and grief,
complete absence of emotional reactions
- depression
- anxiety problems - generalised anxiety, panic attacks, specific
fears and phobias, pronounced startle response
- isolation and alienation
- bad reaction to medical procedures - hospital admissions,
gynaecological procedures, dental procedures
- physical complaints
- sleep disturbance
- eating disorders - compulsive eating and obesity, bulemia, anorexia
- dissociative problems - perceptual disturbances, flashbacks,
nightmares, bad dreams, out of body experiences
- problems with trust
- victim behaviour
- further assault/re-victimisation
- general fear of men/women
- interpersonal difficulties - in relationships with nem/women
- sexual problems - impaired sexual arousal, difficulties with
orgasm, lack of sexual motivation, lack of sexual satisfaction, guilt
during sexual contact, vaginismus, pain during intercourse
- problems with touch
- parenting problems
- abuse of self - self-mutilation and injury, suicide attempts
- substance abuse - alcohol, drugs, tranquillisers
- compulsive and obsessional problems
- under achievement in education and occupation
- difficulty in sustaining positive experiences
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survivor issues