OMG how do you ever.......if I can ask
I'm a victim of female genital mutilation, sadly. It damaged me a lot.
In the time that I've been around, and we'll call that 4 years, I have seen so many girls that come here looking for answers to some trauma in their lives. I've talked to many of them, and I've told many of them that they are not broken or damaged because of their past experiences (because they kept using those words). I might have a tougher time convincing Daizy of that.
What do we think about places like this for you girls? Is it therapy or is it dwelling on the bad things? I know in at least one instance a girl was advised by an actual therapist not to come here (the girl having told them they did). Sometimes I think it's getting the demons out, especially by writing. Other times I'm just not sure.
This is on my mind a whole lot lately. I lost someone.....we lost someone....
The way I see it, they may have broken something about my body, but they won't break my mind. I went into law to protect girls like me, to eventually be able to lock up the political pundits who said it was okay to do something like FGM to little girls.
This place... it feels like therapy. It feels like a place where I can forget that I am (1) supposed to be a certain kind of person with a certain kind of goal and (2) supposed to be In Control of my life at all times. I like giving that up, especially when I write.
I'm editing a longform piece now -- I hope to have it properly edited in between chugging wine and writing briefs by the weekend.
But for other women, it may drag them down into the darkness. I did read about one of the board's members taking her own life and my heart aches for her. Therapy is different for everyone -- what works for some doesn't work for others. But that doesn't mean that the site itself is bad -- darkness sometimes closes in when you least expect it.