Repressed and silent suffering: consequences of childhood sexual abuse for women’s health and well‐being

Abstract

Research results indicate that psychological trauma in childhood caused by child sexual abuse can have serious and widespread consequences for health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine the consequences of childhood sexual abuse for women's health and well-being. The research methodology was phenomenology. Seven women with a history of childhood sexual abuse were interviewed twice with 1-6 months interval. For all the women, the abuse started when they were between 4 and 5. All of them were repeatedly violated and traumatized ever since then and were even still being victimized at the time of the interviews. The main result of the study is that time does not heal all wounds. All the women described great repressed and silent suffering in all aspects of life, and the abuse is still seriously affecting them and their loved ones. As children, they had learning problems, experienced bullying and had unexplained physical symptoms. In adulthood, they have been suffering multiple physical and psychological symptoms: five of them have fibromyalgia; all of them have been suffering chronic and widespread pain; they have all been dealing with depression and difficulty with close connections, and they all have trouble trusting others. Because they were kids, they have been using the health service to a great extent but without adequate help. It is important for health professionals to know the symptoms and consequences of childhood sexual abuse to be able to respond to adult survivors in a supportive and caring way. More effective therapeutic measures have to be developed to decrease their suffering.

Improving the career resilience of a survivor of sexual abuse

“…These undiagnosed physical symptoms indicated possible vulnerability to psychosomatic illnesses, which supports the results of a study conducted by Sigurdardottir and Halldorsdottir (2013). Their sample of seven women were victims of sexual abuse who all displayed various degrees of symptoms that could be linked to psychological trauma.…”

Depresión adulta y experiencias infantiles adversas: evidencia de un subtipo depresivo complejo en consultantes de la atención primaria en Chile

“…Sin embargo, la adversidad biográfica no es indagada en el contexto de la consulta en los servicios de salud 10 , y, según van der Kolk 11 , las devastadoras consecuencias de los EIA sobre la salud adulta aún no están incorporadas en los sistemas diagnósticos vigentes ni en las guías clínico-terapéuticas.…”

Depresión y trauma temprano: hacia una caracterización clínica de perfiles de consulta en un servicio de salud secundario

“…Las biografías traumáticas no son indagadas cuando los sujetos consultan por problemas de salud 46 . La pesquisa activa y rutinaria de los EAI permite que el motivo de consulta actual, que habitualmente se centra en el aquí y el ahora, no favorezca la negación o disociación del pasado traumático.…”

“…Sugerimos en este sentido aplicar un screening de experiencias traumáticas tempranas, como la escala de Marshall, utilizada en nuestros estudios 42,45 , o indagar los ítems contemplados en el ACES 26,27 . La exploración de los EAI en la entrevista inicial pudiese constituir para algunos pacientes la oportunidad de poder referir, por primera y única vez, a un interlocutor válido aquellas vivencias traumáticas silenciadas por vergüenza o temor a ser rechazados 46 . Por lo tanto, postulamos además que la exploración activa de los EAI no sólo permite a los pacientes identificar mejor sus dificultades actuales y su motivo de consulta, sino para alguno de ellos constituir en sí una intervención terapéutica.…”