We See You, We Hear You, We Believe You: How to Emotionally Recover After Harassment
By: Yasmine Dawood
Dear friend,
This letter is for all of you who are struggling with emotional healing after any kind or form of harassment. Firstly, I would like to apologize for what you’ve been through. I would also like to remind you that fortunately, it is far gone now. You’re okay now, you’re safe, and most importantly, you’re not alone. We are all here with you; all your loved ones, and even people who aren’t that close to you, but still feel and support you. Maybe we weren’t with you when you experienced such a thing, and sadly you may have felt weak, I understand. But let me tell you something. The ones who intentionally hurt people, are definitely the weak ones here. They are the ones who do not have any kind of control over their instincts. They are the ones who are not fortunate enough to be humane, like you. You’re strong. You survived this, and you’re trying to recover now by reading this.
The first step to heal, my friend, is to accept what happened, accept that it was a hiccup on the road, but not the end of it. You’re still alive, you’re still capable of flipping the whole situation upside down. You’re a hero. Our hero. So let’s stop rejecting what happened, because the more you do, the more it poisons and harms you. Let’s start accepting it instead in order to move forward, in order to heal, because that’s the least you deserve.
Also, I really hope you start talking about it, because accumulating feelings and holding onto something like this and carrying it on your shoulders alone, is definitely not what you deserve. As much as I hope that you’re all reading this, as much as I don’t want you to stay behind the screen reading about how to heal without actually talking about it. Express your emotions, express because you’re a human being, a beautifully heroic one.
Another thing to be sure of is that you did nothing wrong. The most important part is, never blame yourself for what happened. It’s never your responsibility to control other human beings’ actions. Stop finding excuses and make yourself responsible for it. I know that in this situation, their actions had a great impact on you, so you may be wondering if you were a part of why it happened. The answer is NO. It’s their responsibility and they need to face the consequences of their own doings, not yours. It was their choice to try to take away your freedom of choice, but here you are, free like a bird now. Actually, it was never taken. They failed, you survived, and you’re moving forward like a champion.
I also hope you’re proud of yourself, like we all are. We’ll always support you. We will support your decisions. We will let you decide your own healing pace, and stand next to you.
We see you, we hear you, and we believe you.
