A Survivor Story:Lexie Smith

Twitter: @_Lexie_SmithInstagram: @_Lexie_Smith

Facebook: Lexie Smith

GoalsReveal common vulnerabilities

Grant insight into living with trauma

Expose what makes people vulnerable, familial trafficking, manipulation, boyfriending, Stockholm syndrome.

Identify root causes.

Learn from past mistakes of my community.

Offer hope.

Rewind: What could have been done differently?

Ask children in private about their day.

Trust is not enough.

Authority is for adults.

Respond calmly.

Pay attention to odd behavior.

Trust your gut.

Physical Symptoms Severe gag-reflex, even with nothing in or near mouth

Frequent or chronic severe nausea

Breathing and heart problems

Sleeping disorders (insomnia, hypersomnia, night terrors, constant nightmares)

Extreme startle-response (when touched, upon sudden loud noise, when someone enters room, etc.)

Chronic, unexplained pelvic pain

Chronic, unexplained gastro-intestinal problems

Chronic, unexplained headaches, backaches, and skeletal pain

Chronic, unexplained respiratory problems

Addiction

Psychological Symptoms Dissociation (unresponsiveness, detachment, confusion, staring

blankly, unexplained crying, feeling of separation from reality, feeling of "floating," out-of-body experience, feeling that everyone but self is experiencing reality, or vice versa)

Feeling of choking or suffocating

Unexplained fear of water touching face (pool, shower, etc.)

Feeling dirty, disgusting, and/or damaged

Unexplained feelings of shame

Fear of extreme loss of control; extreme need to feel in control

Feelings of extreme vulnerability

Constant anticipation of pain

Suicidal ideation

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or related symptoms: e.g., cycling back and forth from denial and repression to re-experiencing of traumatic event/s

Psychological Continued Anticipation of early death

Panic disorder, panic attacks, and/or unmanageable anxiety

Extreme sensitivity and/or irritability

Difficulty regulating/processing emotions (emotional outbursts, disproportionate displays of anger, etc.)

Lack of confidence

Feelings of worthlessness and/or lack of self-respect

Intense fear of being wrong

 

Cognitive SymptomsDifficulty understanding what people mean

Difficulty answering simple questions (fear of misunderstanding and being tortured for "wrong answer")

Horrifying flashbacks (may be hazy or nonspecific)

Difficulty concentrating and/or learning

Behavioral Symptoms Self-injuring or self-mutilating behaviors (cutting,

poking with pins, etc.)

Disordered eating (may or may not be related to body image disorders)

Suicidal gestures or attempts

Extreme responsibility and safety-consciousness, or extreme tendency to take risks

Criminal activity

Wearing excessively loose-fitting clothing, or more layers of clothing than weather requires

Social/Relational Symptoms

Unreasonable fear of abandonment

Extreme need to please others, or refusal to "connect" with others at all

Intense fear of intimacy, or constant quest for intimacy

Social withdrawal or difficulty relating to others

Seeks out or stays in abusive relationships, or avoids relationships altogether

History of ambivalent feelings toward relational partners

Little confidence, or else total trust, in others (unreasonable in both instances)

Social/Relational Symptoms Cont.

Fear of loss of control in relationships; intense need to be in control

Difficulty expressing feelings and/or intense desire to self-disclose

Problems with social boundaries

Excessive feelings of gratitude for kind but small gestures from others

Too much eye-contact, or complete avoidance of eye-contact

In parents: repulsed by caring for baby in certain ways (nursing, taking temperature rectally, uncomfortable with child's nudity)

Sexual Symptoms Heightened sexual interest, or no interest at all

Promiscuity and/or prostitution

Recklessness

Compulsions

Sexual dysfunction

Unexplained pain

Flashbacks of abuse

Fantasies of raping or abusing others

Fantasies of being raped, tortured, tied, etc.

Exhibitionist-tendencies, or extreme fear of being seen nude

Final ReflectionsExploitation and trafficking does not

happen overnight.

Speak up when you sense something is off.

Healing is worth it! Get a mentor, find a good

community, use resources. You can recover and live “normally”