Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content

“My Life My Voice” for iPhone

Journal about your moods anytime to reduce stress, clarify thought, and solve problems.

Close Download on the App Store
Your Life Your Voice

Connect with us

Search
Hotline Discusion Abuse:I Feel Guilty :QuestionAnswerUse SHIFT+ENTER to open the menu (new window).Open MenuOpen Menu
Edited: 8/5/2011 10:31 AM by
I Feel Guilty
I'm having feelings of guilt. I've recently been thinking about telling my parents about a past sexual assault by my uncle. It is especially hard to think about because of my dad. It was his brother.
 
I have a good relationship with my father, and I feel guilty that I can't let him into my life. I would feel guilty by making him feel pain over this.
Edited: 8/5/2011 10:32 AM by
I'm sorry you went through such a horrible situation :-(.  No one deserves to have to deal with that ever.

Very often people who have experienced a sexual assault go through a period of time where they blame themselves for what happened.  They think "if only I had done this... it will be my fault if I tell because it will hurt this person... oh I can't tell because the person that did it has a family..." 
 
The list goes on and on.  The bottom line though is that victims of sexual assault take the whole thing on themselves and the shame they feel actually puts other people in danger. Stop taking this guilt on.  You didn't ask to be sexually assaulted! 

Imagine if you lived on an island where there was one poisonous snake and all the other snakes were safe.  Then your family came to visit and you refused to tell them that this one snake was poisonous and it bit your sister or your mom or your own daughter someday. If people don't know that this man is dangerous, he will continue to poison people that you care about.

Do this for yourself and do this for the people you love!  We're with you the whole way and you can call us and we will help you talk to anyone about it (at any time).

Boys Town Counselor PW
User Agreement |  Boys Town National Hotline |  Contact Us