The Question
When a person is raped or sexually abused they often go into shock. They may not even be aware they are in shock. When asked afterwards about the events, many such traumatized individuals speak of being in a dreamlike state and having'out of body'experiences. How is it then that these individuals can even function afterwards? As validation of such behavior, I wish to speak from my own personal experiences, whereby you can draw your own conclusions.
Validation - An Example of Going Into Shock
At last, he left me there in the yard—exposed, counting, and crying. "One, two, three, four, five, six…"
I counted to fifty, and as I was doing so, my weeping became more intense. Instinctively, I had put my hands back over my eyes as soon as he ordered me to be quiet. His warning had frightened me further, as if that were possible. I was laying flat on my back, almost utterly naked, and counting. But the only thought going through my mind at that moment was the all-encompassing terror for my sister.Was he out there now, looking for her? Oh my God! Help her! Save her!I had to get dressed as fast as I could to warn her. I counted as quickly as possible, so I could leave. I had at last reached the end,"…forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty!"
Jumping up, I began the search for my clothes, all the while crying. To my surprise, they were not resting right next to me. By a large cluster of Pampas grass to my left, I found my red shorts and underwear. My panties were halfway inside my shorts. My absent tennis shoe seemed to have disappeared. I had to look hard for it and was close to abandoning the search, when I noticed it wedged in the bottom leaves of the Pampas grass he had been inspecting when the whole incident began.
I quickly started to put on my clothes. My shorts and panties were much like a lid from a sardine can, peeled back with a key. I had to unroll them in order to dress again. I was bawling by that point and shaking so hard that it was difficult to stand and dress. I felt faint, and nearly fell over as I slipped on my tennis shoe without even bothering to untie it.
For a moment, I was so disoriented I did not even realize that I was already wearing my blouse, and I began to search for it. All I could see was my exposed chest. It finally dawned on me that I was wearing the shredded piece of fabric, with the buttons torn off. I had no other choice but to hold the front closed with my hands.
As I staggered back out onto Hawthorne Street, the sun was just starting to rise. Before I moved any further, I surveyed the area to see if my attacker was anywhere in sight. I concluded he was gone and took off running in the direction of Bowser Street.
"Mary, are you there? Help! I need you! Mary, where are you?"There was no answer.
In a split second, my mind went wild.Oh no! He has her!
I was not even thinking rationally. I lost control of my faculties. I immediately raced in the direction of Lemmon Avenue, in the hopes that I would stumble onto Mary. Maybe he did not get her. I prayed,PLEASE GOD, SAVE MY SISTER FROM THAT MAN!
As I reached Lemmon Avenue, I saw that she was not in sight. I knew that if that man had not taken her, she surely would have made it to this point already. After all, the sun was almost completely up. I was all alone, standing on the corner of Hawthorne and Lemmon Avenues, bawling and screaming her name at the top of my lungs.
I turned and headed in the direction of our house, thinking I needed to get back home; it was only a couple of blocks away. Running down the middle of Lemmon Avenue, screaming for Mary, I held my blouse tight about my chest, sobbing buckets. I was completely unaware of my surroundings. With every step I took, I became more hysterical.
"Mary! Mary! Oh my God, where are you? Help! Help me, somebody!"
Unexpectedly, a police cruiser pulled up beside me and abruptly stopped. As the policeman rolled down his window, I immediately froze on the spot. I was unaware of the few passing cars, slowing to gawk.
"What is going on here? Are you OK?"
The officer's voice sounded dreamlike. I was in shock. For the next several hours, I responded to every question in a trancelike state. I answered, but from where the answers came, only God knew.
The Spirit Within Directs You
As can be seen from the above account, after being a rape victim I was totally disoriented. However, I somehow managed to try to protect my sister and race home to safety. How was I able to do this?
Most of you would agree that each of us is not only made up of a physical body, but also a spiritual soul. The physical body can die, but the spirit lives on forever. The job of the mind is to protect the body at all costs.
Most of us do not pay much attention to the spirit of God that resides within us, but instead focus on the rumblings of our mind. However, whenever you someone or something traumatizes you, the physical body is severely distressed and may not function properly. Nevertheless, the spirit is always present and takes control when the mind and body shuts down. Therefore,you always have spiritual direction.So, even though you do not know what direction you are going, the spirit knows and guides you back to safety.
Copyright Statement:
This article was written by Cindy L. Herb and may be reproduced on any related website provided the text is not changed in any form and this copyright statement is displayed unedited in its entirety at the foot of the article and you use the exact same HTML code to ensure a clickable link back to the author's site. Further articles are also available. Contact the author for more information. Copyright 2010 Cindy L. Herb, . All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
