Relearning Touch
photo taken from hubpages.com
An unwanted reaction to touch that you may just involuntarily do, can adversely affect your partner or even just the kid next door who merely wants to play. Survivors of sexual abuse can encounter a lot of unpleasant and automatic reactions to touch, which is a natural and necessary component of sex. A single touch may have a lot of painful effects to the survivor, these include: fleeting thoughts of the offender, flashbacks of the abuse, or strange reactions to something a sexual partner does or says. Though these reactions are common, as results of trauma, they can very much get in the way of enjoying sex.
You must therefore try to understand on handling these idiosyncrasies effectively. To be able to cope up when you have an unwanted reaction to touch, stop and be consciously aware of your immediate reaction. Calm your self physically and as soon as you can, affirm your current reality by reminding and that you are out of the abuse already. Don’t worry, automatic reactions to touch, unwanted as they are, will soon diminish over time. Just strive to become more and more aware of your responses to them.
For the meantime, there are several touch techniques you can develop. Learn special touch exercises which will help you relearn the intimate touch that is safe and relaxed. The “relearning touch” techniques can provide a wide assortment of exercises which you can choose from. Engage in exercises that help you develop being relaxed with touch, breathing comfortably, communicating with a partner, having fun, staying present and expressing and receiving love through physical touches. Choose your exercises that will enable you to progressive follow a sequence from being playful and non-sexual in touches to sensual and pleasuring touches. Don’t hurry up, take your time and be gentle on yourself and your partner.
Wherever stage you may be in your therapy, remember how important it is that you are personally convinced of changing yourself. Be convinced also that you can repair the damage that has been done to you in the past. Everybody deserves a second chance and you can always can look forward to a new surge of self-respect, personal sexual contentment, emotional intimacy with your new-found healthy sexuality.
