Some thoughts to consider:

• If you are still wondering if choosing to heal is even necessary for you, then take a look here at a CHECKLIST of effects seen in adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
• In the book The Courage To Heal (... more) by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis , they have a chapter entitled, "Introduction: Healing is possible," and they write, "People say ‘time heals all wounds,’ and it’s true to a certain extent. Time will dull some of the pain, but deep healing doesn’t happen unless you consciously choose it. Healing from child sexual abuse takes years of commitment and dedication. But if you are willing to work hard, if you are determined to make lasting changes in your life, if you are able to find good resources and skilled support, you can not only heal but thrive." We agree whole-heartedly. You have to put in the commitment and dedication, and we will be happy to provide the good resources and skilled support.
• Many survivors who have successfully progressed in their healing had a moment when they suddenly realised how low they had come and that they needed help. Some survivors can actually remember the moment vividly. The thing is that at some point they made a conscious decision to change their life. It wasn’t just to survive or just to get through the day or week or year, it wasn’t just to find something that worked, it was more desperate and more clear. It was a choice to give themselves help, perhaps for the first time.
• One survivor remembers reading this poem and wanting to have what the author had found. She says, "I finally realised that nothing would ever be ok until I faced the one thing I had never before been willing to face – the childhood sexual abuse."
• "We cannot begin a journey without our willingness to do so. Without our willingness to do whatever it takes to heal, we will not begin the journey of healing and evolving our soul. Doing whatever it takes means that we are ready and willing to feel, learn about and take full responsibility for our own feelings - our own pain, fear, anger, hurt, aloneness, loneliness, disappointment, depression, sense of safety, worth, lovability and joy. Willingness means that we are ready to become aware of creating our own feelings with our thoughts, beliefs and actions. It means we are willing to face whatever it is we fear in order to heal the beliefs causing the fear. Willingness means that we choose to be courageous and face our demons - the shadow side of ourselves about which we do not want anyone to know. It means that we are ready to move out of denial about the pain we are in, ready to stop hiding from ourselves. Willingness means that we are ready to become aware of how much we want control over our pain, over others, and over the outcome of things. Until we are ready to see, without judgment, how deeply we want to control everything, and all the overt and subtle ways we try to have control, we cannot choose to open. Willingness means that we are ready to ask for help from a spiritual source of strength, and from others who can bring us love to help us heal. As long as we are in denial about our pain, we will not recognize that we have inner pain and may not be motivated to learn about it. Our denial is one of the ways we are protecting against pain. We may not be willing to move out of denial until loving ourselves and others is more important than avoiding our pain. Willingness means that you pay attention to the physical sensations within your body. You cannot know if you are believing or behaving in ways that are hurting you if you are unwilling to feel what is going on within your body. Feelings of pain, anger, anxiety, hurt, fear, and loneliness are physical sensations that occur within the body. When you numb your body with substances or shut out your inner experience with manipulations and activities, you cannot know what you are feeling." Adapted slightly from an article The Willingness To Heal written by Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
• Denial systems helped us survive as children, but they became ropes that hung us as adults. Denial continues our feelings of isolation because we are incapable of trusting ourselves or anyone else. If we shut off feelings of pain and anger, we shut off all our feelings including joy, love, compassion, etc. It is imperative not to stay stuck in denial because one can’t get over a loss if one refuses to acknowledge its reality. If a sexual abuse survivor is going to recover well from the impact of the sexual abuse, s/he must let her/himself remember the incident(s) and feel whatever s/he is feeling inside.
• There is healing – you reach out and claim it.