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For me, healing meant to be at peace in my body. Being at peace being sexual with myself and others. Feeling beautiful even on days when I didn't particularly look like an IG Baddie, but knowing that I still am worthy of love and respect. I met some amazing people along my healing journey who remind me of this on the daily. There are always going to be days where you feel shit, but the important thing is knowing that you got this. (As cliché as it sounds lol) I like to think if me from all those years ago saw me now, they'd be either in disbelief or proud of how far I've made it from that point. I'm out with friends almost every weekend, I'm seeing the world, and just enjoying life and sex again. I feel sure of myself and I hope I can be the same person who was there for me when I shared my story, and met me with kindness and love.

You can use this to be your motivator. You can use this rock bottom to show how far you can really push yourself and go. You can take back your life. Journaling changed my life and so did therapy. Three years after it has happened and I can honestly say if I could take back what happened I wouldn’t because I learned just how strong I am. Spirituality helped me a lot to feel clean again and I used it to get me where I am today. There is hope I promise.

Healing for me is to view myself with compassion and put the shame onto them instead of continuing to carry it.

Healing, to me, is a constantly evolving. It started with accepting what had happened to me. I hope that one day I will confide in someone about my experience and truly heal from it.

Healing means letting myself feel that anger, knowing that I don’t even have to forgive myself because there is nothing I should be sorry for. It’s not linear, it takes time and it also takes support and I don’t have to do it alone. There is still so much internalised misogyny I have to unlearn and that’s part of it too.

Healing to me means overcoming victim mentality and stepping into my power. It means letting go and forgiving so that I can be free. It means helping others to find their power and see the light within themselves. It means being grateful for the challenges that I have overcome and have made me stronger. Healing means surrendering to a higher power.

Learning to love my own body again

Healing is allowing yourself to be seen and known and loved, even when you are carrying all you have been through and everything that has made you feel broken. Healing is realising you don’t need to be ‘healed’ to be loved, by yourself or anyone else. Healing is knowing you are perfect and worthy just because you exist. Healing is finding home in your body again. Healing is being your own safe space.

My definition of healing is time alone. After nearly 4 years, I lost the definition of myself. Time alone, allowing myself to do whatever I wasn't permitted to by my previous partner was freeing.

It will get better, it will get easier to live and actually be conscious of the life you have and the life you could have. At the start it can be difficult, you may feel alone but truly you aren’t. You may feel failed, and together we can push through that and change it into a positive in helping others speak up, requesting more changes and penalties and raising awareness

I want to be able to walk down the street of my hometown alone again. Maybe in numbermore years it's something I could be able to do.

At first it was hard to do anything. I stopped seeing friends, I stopped eating healthy, I stopped going to the gym. I was late for work every day because I could hardly get out of bed. Now I’m going to the gym regularly, keeping up with all my friends, and doing well in work. I’ve been attending therapy with the intention of balancing healing with maintaining my real life responsibilities. I’ve found comfort in talking to my friends. One day I hope to be able to let romance into my life. Ive noticed that I need time to build trust so I know now that when I do start dating again he will have to be patient and kind.

You are still here despite everything. You are the strongest, most resilient person. Keep going, the pain may never go away, but it will fade with time, I promise you that.

It gets easier to process with time. It never goes away but it does get smaller in my mind.

Healing is acceptance, healing is patience with yourself, healing is self compassion.

Healing is been strong in yourself and believing every day that you did not do anything wrong. It was all on the Perpetrator. I have healed and so can anyone. I will never forget. It does leave pivotal marks and edelible scars but you have to live your life and be happy every day and know that you are a Survivor.

It does get better. It doesn’t mean it will happen again. There is still love and joy in the world, even after it all. It just might take time to see it.

What happened was not your fault. You deserve to be speak and be heard.

Healing is acceptance and ownership. I am a SA survivor and will always be.

I'm 9 weeks on from my assault and in the early stages of wedding planning. I'll never forget what happened me but I hope in time the good out weighs the bad.