Episode Details

Emotional abuse and intimate betrayal can make you feel small. What does it mean to find your voice?

To discover if you’re emotionally abused, take this free emotional abuse quiz.

How Can I Find My Voice When I’m Experiencing Emotional Abuse & Intimate Betrayal?

Finding your voice does not mean confronting your abuser. In fact, that can be dangerous for you. Instead, find your voice by:

• Journaling about your experiences
• Sharing your story with a trusted friend
• Attending a Betrayal Trauma Recovery Group Session
• Listening to The FREE Betrayal Trauma Recovery Podcast to hear other stories of betrayal trauma & emotional abuse
• Taking a self-defense course

However you choose to find your voice, know that your story is important. Your experiences are real, and we believe you.

Transcript: Find Your Voice After Emotional Abuse

Anne: I have Allyson on the podcast today. She’s an advocate for women and a believer in self-defense. She has a black belt in traditional TaeKwonDo and helps teach women’s self-defense classes to help them find their voice and meaning after abuse.

Welcome, Allyson.

Allyson: Oh, thank you. It’s good to be here.

Anne: So, what does “find your voice” mean to you?

Allyson: It was definitely a long time coming. I came from a home of abuse. I’ve had experiences of men following me, pestering me. I’m short and tiny and an easy target. It was important to me not to be a target anymore. I decided to attend martial arts classes. I wanted to learn technique, because when a guy is six feet plus, he’s got a lot of mass behind him.

And if you know what you’re doing, technique wins. Even with the enormous size difference. You can get out, escape, defend yourself. And of course, you always feel dumb going in there. You know, people are looking at me a little funny, and you’re like, you want me to do what? You want me to, are you sure? I went from scared to do anything. To where I am now today, I’m teaching women how to defend themselves.

Anne: Making meaning in finding our voices takes time and effort. We can do it in various ways. I started podcasting, I garden.

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