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The healing process
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, 'On Death and Dying' (1981) described the five stages of the grieving process. They were adapted by Mic Hunter, 'Abused Boys, the Neglected Victims of Sexual Abuse' (1991) into the five stages of recovery:
Denial: nothing happened
Bargaining: something happened, but…
Anger: something bad happened, and I don’t like it
Sadness: something happened, and it cost me a lot
Acceptance/possible forgiveness: something happened, and I have healed from it
Anyone who has suffered major loss in life will experience the same set of reactions. Childhood trauma causes enormous loss not only for the child but also for the adult survivor. These reactions do not always occur in a set order or over a specific time frame. Throughout these stages, survivors of childhood trauma will usually experience confusion, shock, horror, chaos, feeling out of control and a fear that they are going crazy. Resistance and absolute terror often go hand in hand with the minimalising and repression of traumatic events, which survivors often practice. Realising and accepting this process is normal and helps you to persevere and believe that you can, and will, get through it.


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