New Visitors Page
Click here if you are not
a victim or survivor of extreme abuse
Click here if you
are a victim or survivor of extreme abuse
A
note to new visitors who are not victims or survivors of extreme abuse
Most of
the information contained in this website's pages may be unpleasant to think
about. Most
of the issues that we address are unavoidably hard-core, because
the North American extreme abuse survivor community that we advocate for has experienced some
of the most horrendous forms of abuse and human rights violations known to
mankind.
Beyond being disturbed by the
harshness of some of our website's information, you may experience another
difficulty: cognitive
dissonance. This occurs when a person, who has a specific
understanding of the world, encounters new information that
doesn't neatly "fit" into that person's current wealth of knowledge.
Although temporary, cognitive dissonance can be an unpleasant and irritating
experience. It can bring up unexpected emotions and cause one to
feel dazed. We apologize if this happens to you. Although causing
cognitive dissonance in the minds of some visitors is not our goal, it is most likely to occur if our
information is totally new and unfamiliar to you.
Although our information may
be unfamiliar at first, we assure you that it is real and solid. At this
time, we are ahead of the media in reporting objectively about these
issues. We look forward to the day when many media representatives working
in North America will do the same.
How you choose to assimilate
our information into your personal store of knowledge and information is
totally up to you. You also have the right to completely reject our
information. Although we certainly respect your right to make that
particular choice,
we hope that you will consider working through your temporary cognitive
dissonance, and assimilate our information into your wealth of current
knowledge.
If, after reviewing the
materials on our website, you experience unusually disturbing or intrusive
thoughts, emotions, nightmares, or flashbacks, you may need to contact a friend
or loved one to discuss these strong reactions. If ensuing thoughts, emotions,
nightmares or flashbacks affect your ability to function on the job and interact
with others, you may need temporary professional help. If this should
occur, we strongly recommend that you begin by seeking help from clerical or
mental health professionals who are experienced in working with survivors of abuse and trauma.
Thank
you for visiting our website.
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A
note to new visitors who are victims or survivors of extreme abuse
This website is designed to educate the greater public about
the issues that many North American victims and survivors of extreme abuse may experience and struggle with on a regular
basis.
If you find any of the information in this website
overwhelming or triggering, we apologize. That is not our intention; and
yet, it can accidentally happen. If it does, we ask that you ask a trusted
support person for help in processing and understanding your reactions to our
information.
Not everyone will agree with some of the information and
statements we include in this website. Although we are comfortably certain
that they are valid, we fully respect your right not to agree with
us.
Some survivors of extreme abuse trauma have certain
belief systems and opinions that remain comfortably solid throughout their
lives. And yet, as part of their long-term recovery process, some
survivors may strongly adhere to a certain opinion or belief system, only to
discard or modify it as their recovery progresses. This part of recovery
from severe abuse is both normal and healthy.
As we did through our former PARC-VRAMC website, we will continue
to educate the public about your unique experiences and recovery needs that are
above and beyond others that you have in common with most trauma and abuse
survivors. We will also continue to honor those individuals who choose to
help you to survive and self-heal.
Our knowledge that many survivors are amazingly alive, paired
with the knowledge that many victims are still being cruelly abused in
unspeakable ways, gives us sufficient strength and motivation to do the work
that is ahead for us.
Our pledge to you is this: we will continue to speak
out and work on your behalf until a reasonable majority of the public in North
America accepts the reality of your collective experiences and your
above-and-beyond recovery needs.
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This page was most recently edited on 11/02/2009.
