Tag Archives: alcohol abuse

August 9, 2026 · 1:00 am

Valor and PTSD

Tattered American flag at scene of devastation following F-5 tornado in Oklahoma, Image released by US Armed Forces (ID DF-SD-00-03241), Author Sgt Bill Kimble, (Public Domain)

Valor, noun – strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness : personal bravery

Valor may be an old fashioned word these days.  It is something quiet.  Something internal.

Society applauds courage – a much prized quality that involves action in the face of danger, action despite fear.  We picture it on the battlefield, flags waving and bullets flying.  Civic associations award medals for it, as well they should.

But there are all kinds of battlefields.  Many of us carry our battlefields inside.  They are no less perilous, no less grimy, no less bloody for that.   Only the blood, the sweat, and the tears are our own.

We carry scars from the battles fought and lost, many when we were grossly outmatched as children.  All our failures remain present with us; they haunt us like ghosts.  Our victories vanish like soap bubbles.  Yet we continue to look death in the face almost daily, and persevere to survive another day [1][2][3].

This is life with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  The wounds inflicted on us – whether from childhood abuse and neglect, or domestic violence – were undeserved.  The guilt for them is not ours, but we carry the shame regardless.

The demons we wrestle – anxiety, depression, self-doubt, self-loathing – rarely sleep.

At times, we seek to numb the pain.  The anesthetics we use for this vary – drugs, alcohol, razor blades, food, sex, work.  But they provide little relief.  We simply harm ourselves further.

What we fail to recognize is the sheer valor required to endure in the face of such an unrelenting onslaught.  There is no better word for the strength of mind and spirit required to remain steadfast and carry on.

Medals or no, we deserve to hold our heads up.

—

[1] Psychiatry Advisor, “Trauma and Suicide”, https://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/factsheets/trauma-and-suicide/.

[2] PTSD UK, “Suicide amongst people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”, https://www.ptsduk.org/suicide-amongst-people-with-ptsd/.

[3] US Dept. of Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD, “The Relationship Between PTSD and Suicide”, https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/cooccurring/suicide_ptsd.asp.

A New Mexico court has ordered Meta (the parent of Instagram and Facebook) to pay $567 million for harming children. The social media giant must eliminate push notifications at night and during school hours, reduce time limits on its apps to no more than 90 hours/month, and put AI chatbox safeguards in place for users under 18 y.o.

For more information, see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-07/meta-ordered-to-pay-us567-million-in-new-mexico-/107008246.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT: https://alawyersprayers.com

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Filed under Child Abuse, Child Molestation, domestic abuse, domestic violence, Emotional Abuse, Neglect, Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Violence Against Women

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January 25, 2026 · 1:00 am

Children Molesting Children

Minneapolis SlutWalk Protesting Stigmatization of Victims of Sexual Assault (2011), Author Alan from Minneapolis, (CC Attribution 2.0 Generic)

A North Carolina couple are suing the Wake Forest Magnet Elementary School where they say their 6 y.o. son was sexually assaulted multiple times by a classmate, even after the abuse was reported to a teacher and the school’s principal [1].

We do not hear of the tragedy of child-on-child sexual abuse often.  But children do at times molest other children [2].

Force, Threats, and Trickery

Child-on-child sexual abuse is to be distinguished from the normal, anatomical curiosity of children.  It may involve physical force, threats, or trickery.  The victim may actually “cooperate” – not comprehending, by reason of his or her tender years, the nature of what is being done.

Child-on-child sexual abuse can, in fact, take place between siblings.  The victims of this type of incest may develop a distorted recollection of the violation (picturing, themselves, as the initiator or the sex acts as consensual, as a means of psychological self-protection).

Causes

A.  Sexual Abuse

Young children who engage in sexual abuse may, themselves, have been sexually abused [3A].

B.  Exposure to Sexual Activity 

They may repeatedly have witnessed the sexual activity of adults at an early age, and be attempting to imitate their elders [3B].  They may, for instance, live with adults (or teens) who act out sexually after drinking or taking drugs.  They may even live in a household where sexual services are bartered for rent or sold outright. 

C.  Exposure to Pornography

They may simply have been exposed to pornography, or confused and overwhelmed by the amount of sexual imagery on TV, in movies and videos, in video games, and on the internet [3C]. Continue reading →

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October 22, 2023 · 1:00 am

Relapse

File:EB1911 Greek Art - Foot-race - Panathenaic Vase.jpg

Foot-race at the Panathenaea (c. 800 BC – 480 BC), reverse of an ancient Greek vase, Source Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.), (PD)

Despite decades of counseling, abuse victims may struggle with the scars of their trauma for a lifetime.  This is a discouraging truth whether applicable to alcohol or drug abuse, eating disorders, cutting, or other self-destructive behaviors stemming from the abuse.

When we do relapse the shame returns full force.  But the conclusions we draw from our relapse are important.

Not Worthless or Hopeless

That we have relapsed does not mean that we are worthless and our situation hopeless.  It simply means that we are human beings who have been deeply wounded.

Survival Skills

Nor does relapse mean that the survival skills we struggled to acquire have been proven useless.  We have simply set them aside, in favor of more familiar and more damaging behaviors [1]. Continue reading →

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Filed under Child Abuse, Child Molestation, Christianity, domestic abuse, domestic violence, Emotional Abuse, Neglect, Physical Abuse, Religion, Sexual Abuse

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