24. Your Voice Matters
Updated: Oct 18, 2023
**Trigger warning: In this post, I mention that disbelief of survivors is a challenge we are still overcoming. I do not write any explicit descriptions.**
Your Power
The fifth chakra is the throat chakra, which is the energetic center of your voice. Your actual voice is an expression of you, your energy, and your power. Voices are potent, whether or not they are audibly loud. A voice whispered or shouted conveys meaning. Voices are authoritative, both with and without the accompaniment of words. A voice spoken, sung, or hummed emanates intensity. In verbal forms, our voices are power outlets because of the fact that words are also quite mighty. An audible voice or one expressed through creative or written forms holds tremendous agency.
Our voices innately have significance because they are literally and figuratively our mouthpieces through which we communicate to those all around us. A voice, whether saying yes or no, deserves respect. Our voices determine consent and are prerequisites to any sexual interactions. Our voices have the authority to convey dissent as well. When our voices are either not sought, not listened to, downplayed, defied, threatened, or silenced, there is an energetic injury of power that must be recovered.
Speak Up
Your voice matters. Your account matters. Your truth matters. If you didn't previously tell anyone about sexual abuse, I encourage you to begin stepping out of isolation in ways that are safe for you. It's crucial to reach out so that you are not alone with the burden of being a survivor. The act of telling your truth is powerful in many ways. The benefits for you are that you no longer hold a secret, you feel able to express your voice, and you begin to leave isolation behind. This can feel very relieving and hopeful. It can further be a catalyst for healing, and lead you to taking your next steps toward recovery.
The process of reclaiming your voice is empowering. Even though you weren't able to decide what happened to you in the past, you are in control over how your past is revealed to others, which means that you decide how to communicate your narrative. You can be as selective as you choose when deciding with whom to share your story. You can decide specifically which people you want to share with. You can talk over the phone or in person, hand write a letter, or draft a word document. You may decide you would feel most comfortable telling someone you know, feel close with, and trust. This can be a helpful starting place. Regardless of who you first select to speak with about your past, I hope it is a person who is able to recognize that you are a survivor, and to treat you and your story with the care and compassion deserved.
Looking Forward To Loud
For those who have broken the silence about the abuse you've suffered, I encourage you to continue to live your truth in the ways that are right for you. It is helpful to speak up about your trauma for the sake of processing what happened to you and working toward personal healing. Speaking up also makes it less likely for others to be able to ignore the problems. The more voices who express our stories, the louder we become collectively, and the more difficult it becomes for others to disregard us.
Speaking up is about personal empowerment. In addition, it helps other people to become aware of your story. Consciousness facilitates growth in sympathy for survivors from those who haven't suffered sexual trauma. When people are personally connected to survivors, their compassion increases for the lives impacted by this disturbingly common problem. The more people who realize that their family, friends, loved ones, and community members have been effected by these atrocities, the better chance we all stand of people caring enough to recognize the scale of the problems and work toward ending the circumstances that contribute toward abuse.
When people recognize how severe this epidemic is, there is more likelihood of feeling the need to improve our social structures. This can lead people to be more on the lookout to prevent sexual trauma from happening within their communities, or become better informed about how to recognize potential situations that indicate that a person has experienced sexual trauma. It is paramount for large scale work to take place to remedy abusive cycles which may perpetuate themselves if unaddressed, and equally important to dismantle rape myths that are instrumental in shaping the mindsets of perpetrators. We need massive efforts to better protect people from sexual violence, as well as support survivors during recovery. The ultimate success would be for our world to become a place that actively dismantles both the motivations and opportunities for such crimes to continue, to work toward preventing future sexual traumas from ever occurring. I believe that will happen when enough people pay attention to our stories.
Visual Inspiration
The Many Colors Of Voices
To Continue Reading
Please see my next post about art as a healing modality.
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