The meaning of good and bad, of better and worse, is simply helping or hurting
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
About this section Hope is real
These pages are intense because they are dedicated to adults who have
experienced one or more encounters with evil. Survivors who are able to remember their encounters may discover that these
pages help
them to feel better, stronger, more hopeful, and less afraid. In contrast, people who
have had encounters but are not yet able to remember them completely or at all,
and people who are not survivors, may discover that they feel worse after they
read these pages. If you sense that this section may not be
helpful for you, please stop reading and go to another part of our website. If
you continue reading and begin to feel worse, please stop
reading and contact a support person to discuss your reaction to these
materials.
Most humans are not directly affected by evil during their
entire lifetime. That is a good thing,
because an encounter with evil tends to scar the human soul in a way that is
more difficult to recover from. In fact, some survivors are so
traumatized by personal encounters with evil that they believe they cannot ever
recover. The good news is, once you are safe from the source of the evil that has
wounded you, you probably can recover and you may be able to fully heal. You
may also
- if you choose - gradually learn to live a life that most people consider
"normal".
Many survivors of encounters with evil have difficulty coping with troubling emotions, thoughts and physical sensations that most non-survivors only experience when they watch a gory movie, listen to a scary ghost tale, read a horror story, or wake up from a nightmare that is nothing more than a bad dream.
Like a scar from a deep physical wound, scars from encounters with evil can continue to trouble our soul or psyche. And in the same way that physical scars may remind us of accidents and surgeries and other events that wounded our bodies, the symptoms of an encounter with evil can continue to remind us of that horrible event, long after the event has occurred. Unlike most physical scars, a scar from an encounter with evil may continue to ache.
Some survivors think that the soul-ache signals that the evil that harmed them now lives inside them. They may even avoid contact with fellow humans, to protect others from the invisible evil. Other survivors may feel as if the evil is still clinging to them, externally. They may avoid interacting with other people because the sense of having been "slimed" by evil still causes them to feel dirty or ashamed. Unfortunately, when survivors distance themselves to protect others from the evil that survivors still believe is inside or is attached to them, they may increase their risk of being harmed again in the future.
Sometimes asking for help is very difficult to do; and yet, it may be the most important and healthy thing we will ever do for ourselves...and for those who care about us. When we choose to actively work with others to heal our wounded souls or psyches, we begin to see ourselves as worthy of love instead of as tainted and disposable.
Another advantage of seeking help is this: the more we choose to interact with respectful people who care about us and who choose to do what is right, the less we will be reminded of the presence of evil in the world...and the more we will be aware of the presence of good.
Disclaimer
No part of the Healing Journey recovery website is to be used as a substitute for professional therapy. If you need professional support, please contact a qualified ministerial or mental health professional. Materials in this website may be printed or copied for personal use only. Readers are welcome to agree or disagree with any statements made in this website, and may benefit from sharing and discussing them with support persons.