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Male Sexual Abuse Survivors – Shattering the Silence

30m · Real Life Resilience · 22 Aug 22:14

Childhood sexual abuse leaves a lifelong scar. It is difficult for male survivors of sexual abuse to discuss the matter in public because of social stigma. So much so that many survivors keep on denying the reality. Cecil Murphey, speaker, blogger and author of books like ‘More than Surviving: Courageous Meditations for Men Hurting from Childhood Abuse’, helps survivors of male sexual abuse accept reality, share their pain with compassionate listeners, and believe in the fact that they are not alone in their suffering.

Male Sexual Abuse Survivors Shatter the Silence

I interviewed Cec Murphey who explained how writing helped him come to terms with his own past sexual abuse. Through his blogs, articles and books, he opens up about his own struggles. His blogs and books also include real life stories of survivors of male sexual abuse.

Cec helps other survivors to share their trauma with compassionate readers. He wants them to accept reality, find help and move on. Survivors of sexual abuse, particularly men, find it more difficult to talk about their harrowing experiences. They have to overcome shame and break social taboos. Hence, many of them keep denying the facts and choose to suffer alone.

Through his writings, Cec drives the fact that there are many survivors of male sexual abuse and if you’re one of them, you’re not alone. You can send emails to Cec and he will definitely send replies. You can also leave your comments on his blog site. If you prefer to keep your identity hidden, you can do so as well.

Stacy’s Journal

Welcome to Stacy’s Journal! In this segment, I let you peek into my journal as I share my thoughts on a topic or resilience resource.

As I interviewed Cec, I couldn’t help but think, what would I have done if I remembered such abuse? What would you have done? Would you tell anyone or would you hide it and let it eat through you day-in-day-out.  Cec actually experienced a mental breakdown and his memories started to haunt him. He couldn’t help it.

Mustering his resilience, Cec decided to stand up against his fears. He did research, he investigated, and ultimately  he helped himself, and he’s helped thousands of other abuse victims. I believe that this is the greatest achievement a person can aspire to. The ability to counter personal fears and use them as a lesson for your life. Perhaps take a moment to just peek at your own fears. You don’t have to delve head first into them right now, but acknowledging that they’re there is the first step. Then you can ultimately turn to face them, and conquer them.

That’s all we have for today. Last episode, Antoinette Martin shared her thoughts on Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and hugging everyone you know – so if you have had cancer affect your family, you might want to go back and have a listen. Next week, we’ll interview Luiza Coscia who engineers out of the box solutions for out of the box children.

I love interacting with our listeners on social media. We’re on Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube, and just about anywhere you can hold a great virtual conversation. Plus, I answer all my emails personally, so feel free to email me: stacy{at}stacybrookman{dot}com.

 

The episode Male Sexual Abuse Survivors – Shattering the Silence from the podcast Real Life Resilience has a duration of 30:24. It was first published 22 Aug 22:14. The cover art and the content belong to their respective owners.

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Welcome to Stacy’s Journal! In this segment, I let you peek into my journal as I share my thoughts on a topic or resilience resource.

Jennifer mentioned that she wanted to be a voice, or a champion, for those who feel like they can’t express themselves or speak up about abuse. She herself was afraid of the repercussions from her family. Victims are the ones who remain silent. I would like to encourage anyone who has been a victim, whether it’s from abuse, or some other life event, to start writing it down. Writing helps you get it out of your head, find words for what’s happened to you, and helps you gain power over those thoughts and that event rather than letting it have power over you. You never have to share it with anyone at all. It’s incredibly healthy and even life-changing to write about those tough times. It can be personal, just for you.  Just start with 10 minutes a day in a journal and see where that takes you.

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