In a perfect world, we would spend our days minding our own business, in comfort, without anyone harassing us. The sad truth, however, is that 81% of women and 43% of men experienced some sort of harassment at some point. The even sadder truth is that it takes just one of these bad moments to close yourself off.
Without taking proper care of yourself, you may end up not recovering from this situation. This may affect you physically or psychologically, leading to heightened anxiety, hypervigilance, or even headaches and gastrointestinal issues. To make sure you recover from these traumatic situations, here are some steps for you to take care of yourself.
- Acknowledge Your Feelings
Sometimes, we tend to ignore our feelings on this matter and pretend like it never happened. Some people even resort to harmful coping mechanisms such as alcohol to numb the distress and pain. However, the best way to cope with these types of situations is to acknowledge your feelings.
Let yourself cry and feel angry about what happened. Despite what you may think, crying can be good for you. It releases endorphins and oxytocin, which are your “feel good” hormones. It helps ease both your emotional and physical pain, giving you that sentiment of well-being.
- Write Your Story
Writing has the potential of being therapeutic, so you may want to pick up your writing tools. It doesn’t matter if you are writing on a laptop or the classic pen and paper. What’s important is that you write your story.
Take 15 minutes a day and write about your harassment story. Write your feelings on that matter, and then reflect on them as you do. You will feel angry or upset as you write, but this will eventually pass. The more you write about it, the more you should be able to let go.
- Talk to a Professional
Many people do not opt for professional help for various reasons. They may feel embarrassed, or they may think the situation is not “bad enough” to require professional help. However, this can help you get back to your old self much faster.
There is only so much that crying or writing in a journal can do. Sometimes, despite your best efforts to let go, you still find yourself inching away from social situations. Anyone is someone who can potentially harass you, simply because they are getting too close. To prevent this from affecting your life, you may want to employ the help of a professional.
- Get Your Justice
Sometimes, the best way to close an unpleasant chapter in your life is to get actual closure. That can’t happen if the person that made your life a living hell is still roaming about, unpunished. The best method of self-care is to ensure that, even if you are no longer there to experience harassment, that person still gets what they deserve.
Clarksville, for instance, has very strict harassment laws. Therefore, to make sure someone gets their appropriate punishment, you need to look into good Clarksville sexual harassment lawyers. If they find themselves having to pay for their conduct, they will think twice before harassing someone again.
- Join a Community Support Group
Sometimes, the best way to get past a certain trauma is to reach out to people that went through the same thing. Only survivors can teach you the best ways to get past a traumatic moment. They accept you without judging, mainly because they went through the same thing themselves.
Simply talking to them can be therapeutic. They went through the same thing as you, so you know that you are not alone in this. If they found ways to recover and cope with this, then so can you.
- Practice Self-Care
We know, the methods above are also a type of self-care. However, in this case, we mean that you need to pamper and take care of yourself. Make sure that you are sleeping enough, and eat the kinds of food that make you feel healthy. Start your day with some meditation and end it with a nice bath.
At this point, it is a good idea to create a routine. By knowing what works for you, you should be able to eventually let go of your negative feelings. Spend the day with a good book, or go out dancing with your friends. Do the things that usually make you happy.
The Bottom Line
Recovering from the trauma of sexual harassment may be difficult, especially if it was a bad case. However, if negative feelings linger after the situation is over, you need to learn how to take care of yourself. Hopefully, our tips helped you create a self-care plan.
