SmellyAnn! I’ll be emailing her right now and letting her know her tote will be in the mail!

Thank you to ALL who played! Please check out the rest of my site if you are a survivor!!

Taking Back Control is participating in our first-ever Bloggy Giveaway Carnival! This will help other survivors find our site full of resources and support as well as give away a great prize to participants! This time, we are giving away an Earth Friendly Tote from our Cafe Press Store! Not only is this tote a beauty, it’s also great for hauling home your groceries, thus helping to save the environment. Today (4/22) is Earth Day after all! Do your part & win a great prize!

Just leave your name and a valid email in the comments section! EXTRA ENTRY if you mention that you are a survivor (be honest), that you know a survivor, or a tip that could help women stay safe in this scary world.ÂÂ

Also, besure to check out our TBC site and join our message board if you are a survivor of any kind of violence! Our message board is safe and secure and requires registration to view the boards!

I am participating in the Angela Shelton “Report It Now” Campaign in my hometown. On that day, people around the world are encouraged to Report their assault(s) anonymously, so that there is a record of just how many of us are affected by sexual assault/child abuse, whether we’re reported it to the police or not. You don’t have to attend a rally to participate; you can simply fill out the anonymous form and Report IT Now!

If you are interested in attending a rally in your area, go here. The Springfield, OH event has moved to Columbus, OH! If you are interested in this event and would like more information, please contact event organizer, Joanna Doane.

The Columbus, OH Location:
Columbus, OH information (12 Noon rally):
NEW Location of Report IT Rally:
Franklin County Court House
373 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43215

Report It Now! April 29 - Angela Shelton

Angela Shelton & Angela Rose (of PAVE) have joined together to make “Report It Now!” on Angela Shelton Day, April 29.

WEBSITE
BLOG

Each year, as February 15th rolls around, I begin my cycle of reaction: Nightmares. Flashbacks. Anxiety. Irritability. Hypervigilance. Anorexic tendencies. Picking at my skin. Crying easily. Constant frustration. Driving recklessly. It’s all so familiar, yet there’s little that I can do to stop the array of reactions from worming their way into my functioning life. As February 15 approaches, I long to be Proactive. “This year,” I tell myself, “will be ifferent. I will gain control of myself in only positive ways.” Then, as if right on schedule, my post traumatic stress symptoms march inward to the beat of yearly repetition. Once again, Proaction has become Reaction.

If you are a survivor of any type of traumatic event, whether it be a natural disaster, a sexual attack, a violent relationship, even the loss of a loved one, you and I are kindreds. We may have different symptomology, but we are inherently the same. We must fight every year to try and win the epic battle we lost on that fateful date that binds us to it forever.

Over the years, I’ve discovered some small but significant ways to lessen my reaction to my anniversary date, and I’d like to share them with you, in hopes that one or more of them might work for you. I’m not a psychologist or a doctor or a person with any professional qualifications. I am simply a survivor, and in this case, I believe that’s enough.

Try 1 or more of the following ideas to help you get through the preceding weeks up through the inevitable day of the anniversary:

1. Find a trusted friend and tell them how you’re feeling. Tell a doctor, a friend, a counselor, a neighbor. DO NOT let youself go through this alone.

2. Find positive coping techniques that work for you and use them when you are in distress.
For example:
a. Wrap up in a comfortable blanket; put on soft pajamas
b. Light a candle and drink some hot tea
c. Carry a smooth rock in your pocket. When you’re feeling upset, reach in and feel it’s strength.
d. If you feel yourself mentally “leaving the room” try naming the objects around you (ie. lamp, vase)
e. Carry a small notebook everywhere you go. Write down those negative, scared feelings.

3. Make sure you are eating at least 3 times a day and are getting enough rest. When we are emotionally upset by a traumatic event, our body’s resistance wears down. It’s a lot easier to catch illnesses that way.

4. Plan to do something positive for yourself on your anniversary date.
For Example:
a. Get a new haircut
b. Get a massage or a facial
c. Take yourself shopping
d. Stay home with a friend and watch comedies
e. Have a friend “kidnap” you for the day and keep you busy with fun activities

5. Write yourself or your anniversary date a letter. I promise this helps. I’ve included my own below as an example.

“Dear February 15th,

I can feel you looming. I can feel you in my bones. You’re a part of me now. You have been for 7 years.
I used to be terrified of you. I used to cry and bawl and shake and fear you. The terror would start months before you were even in sight. I consciously knew you were coming and I waited for the worst.

I used to be angry with you. I was pissed that you even existed. I was mad that you had such an effect on me and my life. I subconsciously knew you were coming for months ahead of time, and was very conscious of you beginning January 1st. With fists clenched, I waited for you.
Now, I vaguely think of you on and off. It started in mid-January. With less than a week to go, I just feel sad. I’m not even sad in the sense that something so horrible happened to me. I’m more in mourning for the innocent girl I used to be. I’m sorry that she ever had to feel such a loss of control and the feeling of having her safe world disintegrate before her eyes.

It’s not your fault that you exist, just like it wasn’t her fault it happened to her, just like it’s okay to admit that I am her.”

Please always remember that although you may feel alone as the sole survivor of a horrible day, you are never alone. Family, friends, and other survivors can be there for you if you let them.

Eden (edensurvivor at yahoo dot com)
http://www.taking-back-control.com

Adam Walsh was kidnapped from a shopping mall in Florida. He was found murdered 16 days after his abduction, and the perpetrator of the crime has yet to be found. Adam Walsh’s father is John Walsh, host of the television series America’s Most Wanted. John Walsh is also founder of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

6. Creates a National Child Abuse Registry to protect children from being adopted by convicted child abusers.

We are Male
We are Female
We are African American
We are White
We are Asian
We are Native American
We are European
We are Tall
We are Short
We are Thin
We are Overweight
We are Straight
We are Gay
We are Bisexual
We are Transgendered
We are Left-Brained
We are Right-Brained
We are Single
We are Married
We are in a Committed Relationship
We are Dating Around
We like to have Sex
We don’t like to have Sex
We Drink
We don’t Drink
We Smoke
We don’t Smoke
We do Drugs
We don’t do Drugs
We went to College
We didn’t go to College
We Work
We are unable to Work
We have Children
We don’t have Children
We are unable to have Children
We have Pets
We don’t have Pets
We own a Home
We rent a Home
We live with our Friends/Parents
We like to Eat
We are Anorexic
We are Bulimic
We are Self-Injurers
We don’t Self-Injure
We have Support
We don’t have Support
We Feel
We are Numb
We have been Beaten
We have never been Beaten
We have been Assaulted
We have been Weak
We have been Strong
We have Lied
We have told the Truth
We have kept our mouths Shut
We have Spoken
We have felt Alone
We have been Lonely
We are just one person
We are many

Together, we are Strong
We will not be Silenced Anymore
We are Survivors
And you can be Too.

Is anyone else? Let me know if you are! edensurvivor at yahoo dot com

Excellence in Advocacy: It Happened to Alexa

Best Survivor Connection: _Survivors_ on LJ

Best Use of Creativity in Healing: Voices of Strength

Best Group Effort: Lavender Power

Best Individual Effort: Dancing in the Darkness

Congratulations!

TBC has decided to give out awards on October 22 to Survivor Thrivers in Cyberland. Here are the categories:

Awards will be awarded from TBC every 6 months, with the first awards to be given out effective October 1, 2007. Then again April 1, 2008 (During Sexual Assault Awareness Month)!

Excellence in Advocacy Award
Best Individual-Effort Website
Best Collaboration (Group)-Effort Website
Best Use of Creativity in Healing
Best Survivor Connection (Forum, List-Serve)

To vote on the following nominees, you must be an active registered member on our message board. Click here to register and begin posting!

The Nominees in each category are:

Excellence in Advocacy Award
1. PAVE: A multi-chapter organization that uses social, educational, and legislative tactics to shatter the silence of sexual violence.

2. It Happened to Alexa: An organization that helps assault survivors through the trauma of a criminal trial.

3. National Coalition Against Violent Athletes: Their mission to educate the public on a variety of issues regarding athletes and violent behavior, while also providing support to thevictims, including but not limited to, advocacy, referrals, and research.

4. Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse: Provides community-based self-help support groups, self-help support groups, web-based self-help support groups, and Survivor to Thriver workbooks for Adults trying to make a better life for themselves by dealing with past abuses.

5. SOAR: Runs national awareness, education and prevention programs to empower survivors of sexual violence and enhance the public’s understanding and acceptance of rape victims.

Best Individual-Effort Website
1. Through the Fire: A site dedicated to anyone struggling to survive.

2. Survivors Can Thrive: For and about survivors who want to thrive.

3. Dancing in the Darkness: An informative and thought-provoking resource for rape, sexual assault, incest, and sexual abuse survivors.

4. Over the Rainbow: A Wizard of Oz themed site for healing and validation.

Best Collaboration (Group)-Effort Website
1. Lavender Power: Promoting unity among survivors

2. After Silence: An organization designed to help victims become survivors, and communicate in the recovery of sexual violence.

3. The Survivor Archives: On a quarterly basis each year, survivors of abuse or trauma are featured in our archives. Each shares aspects of their emotional and psychological healing, including art, poetry, and letters which reflect their journey.

4. Survivorship: For Survivors of ritualistic abuse, mind control, and torture and their allies.

Best Use of Creativity in Healing
Criteria:
1.
Voices of Strength: ‘VOICES of Strength’ is an Audio Documentary for Rape and Sexual Abuse Survivors

2. The Show of Hands: Handprints of Survivors of Sexual Abuse

3. Points with Purpose: The artist is creating a pointalist piece of art. He adds one dot for every person who joins until the drawing is complete. The final drawing will be of a woman looking confident, proud and beautiful.

Best Survivor Connection (Forum, List-Serve)
Criteria:
1. _Survivors_on Livejournal: A survivor forum for discussion and help

2. Survivor Successors: A Survivor List Serve