Month: September 2020

‘And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.’ Philippians 1:6(NLT)

Scripture: Philippians 1:6

One of the most significant moments in my life was when I realized that God fully loves and fully accepts me just as I am. Only then was I able to learn to love others in this way. When I catch myself slipping into old ways of thinking about myself, I remind myself that it’s not about what I can do or what others can do for me. It is about loving God and receiving His love, so I can love others the way He loves me.

When others disappoint us, and they will, we can tell ourselves, “It’s okay. They’re trying to figure out this thing called life, too. We’re all at different places. It’s okay when people don’t understand me. God does and always will.” 

So it all begins and ends with love. Once you begin applying this kind of love to yourself, then you can love others with no strings attached. 

I want to reiterate a very important truth. I know I needed to hear it many times before it finally stuck. When abuse is present, you cannot love your abuser into wellness. While I will always have a love for Ben, I finally accepted that loving him would not change him. As a survivor of abuse, the healthy choice is to love your abuser from a distance and to love yourself enough to let go. Not all survivors will still have a love for their abusers, and that’s perfectly understandable. But for those of us who do, we need to accept this very important truth: no amount of our love will change our partners, regardless of how long or how hard we try. It’s only in accepting God’s love for us, and accepting the limits of our love to change another person, that true healing can take place. 

Loving yourself with the same kind of love God loves you with is a must to healing well. I can’t say it enough. You will never be all God created you to be until you love yourself like He does. It’s a process. I understand this. But, it is a process that can’t be skipped, minimized or detoured around. The only way out is through. 

Through His love. 

In what ways has your abusive situation changed your view of yourself? In what ways has this devotional challenged those lies about who you are? How can you start to apply healthy love toward yourself beginning today?

from Healing Well And Living Free by Dr. Ramona Probasco

‘You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.’ Psalms 56:8(NLT)

Scripture: Psalm 56:8

The emotional wounds resulting from trauma often outlast the physical injuries. Whether it produces bruises to the body or bruises to the heart, abuse of any kind always leaves an aftermath that cannot be ignored. Our pain demands to be heard. Most importantly, our pain can teach us if we will entrust ourselves to the healing process.

It is not uncommon for victims of domestic violence to exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. These symptoms include the following:

• Behavioral symptoms: agitation, irritability, hostility, hyper-vigilance, self-destructive behavior, avoidance of situations that remind the victim of the event(s), difficulty expressing feelings, trouble concentrating, or social isolation 

• Psychological symptoms: flashbacks (reliving the traumatic event or events), fear, severe anxiety, feelings of being constantly on edge, unwanted thoughts, or mistrust 

• Physical symptoms for no reason you can think of: nausea, tremors, pain, fainting, dizziness, headache, stomachache, vomiting, or other physical symptoms

• Mood-related symptoms: loss of interest or pleasure in activities, guilt, emotional numbness, emotional detachment, or loneliness 

• Sleep-related symptoms: insomnia, nightmares, or night terrors (resembles a panic attack, but the victim is asleep) 

Research has shown that the trauma that results from exposure to domestic violence mimics the trauma that war veterans exhibit from exposure to war. The main difference is that a victim of domestic violence faces the enemy in her own home as opposed to on a battlefield. Living day in and day out never knowing when another emotional, verbal, or physical grenade will be thrown at you takes its toll. That toll is PTSD. And that is why working with a trained domestic violence counselor can be life altering in your pursuit of healing well. 

In my own experience, the impact of counseling was astounding. I have found that it is crucial to work with someone who understands the complexities surrounding this issue. In addition to understanding the trauma that results from domestic violence, the professional you choose needs to be a good fit. Simply put, you should feel comfortable with them, feel understood by them, and feel validated regarding the impact abuse has had on you. 

What symptoms of PTSD do you identify with the most? In what ways are you seeing the connection between the trauma you’ve experienced (or are continuing to experience) and your body’s internal alarm system sending you warning signs that the abuse is taking a toll all on you?

from Healing Well And Living Free by Dr. Ramona Probasco

‘O Lord , if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone!’ Jeremiah 17:14(NLT)

Scripture: Jeremiah 17:14

When you have told your story, broken the silence, and called it what it is (abuse), you will realize that this person is not likely to change, and the research validates this. According to the Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center, “Only one percent of abusers change.” The National Domestic Violence Hotline reiterates this finding, “There’s a very low percentage of abusers who truly do change their ways.”  The reason for this is that there’s too much an abuser relinquishes when power and control ceases. My personal experience, along with the experience of those I’ve worked with who have walked a similar path, is that this realization often leads to grief.

Grief, by definition, is a signal that something is over. It is the very essence of loss. It is a natural and normal response. Any attempt to avoid grief will impede the healing process, causing you to feel stuck. When I finally accepted my marriage to Ben was over, I cried constantly and in situations where doing so wasn’t appropriate, such as in the classroom in front of my peers. I would politely excuse myself, go sit in my car, and wait for the wave of emotion to pass. 

Grieving can be an incredibly lonely journey. In my private practice, I always encourage my grieving clients to resist the temptation to run from their grief. They need to allow themselves to feel their deep emotions in order to heal well. So do you. A myriad of emotions will flood you, sometimes multiple times in one day. Grief is often comprised of the following phases, though not necessarily in this order: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. 

The shock you feel when you realize the situation you are in often gives way to denial. You want to pretend that what you know to be true is not. Denial is best buddies with bargaining, in which you “if only” yourself to death. When bargaining doesn’t provide any real answers, you can find yourself steeped in depression. And the emotion that tends to blanket them all is anger. This anger can often feel like rage because the person who promised to love you “till death do us part” was the very person who broke your heart. This pain can leave you feeling so raw that the thought that your life can ever feel like living again seems like a sinister fantasy at best. 

Grief is rarely experienced in a nice, neat, linear way. Grieving is messy work. The good news—and there is good news—is that as you permit yourself to feel, then you allow yourself to heal. Grieving is the doorway through which you eventually find freedom . . . if you do not give up on the process. 

What indications of shock, denial, anger, bargaining, and/or depression do you see in your journey today? Are you allowing yourself to grieve or are you substituting true grieving with other distractions?

from Healing Well And Living Free by Dr. Ramona Probasco

‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.’ 2 Timothy 1:7(NLT)

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7

One night I got up while Ben was sleeping to do a Google search of a term my best friend had encouraged me to read about. The term was cycle of abuse. I remember like it was yesterday how my hand on the computer mouse shook as I read the information. As I read the definition, I realized I was smack in the middle of a very toxic pattern. For the first time in my marriage, I knew what I was experiencing had a name . . . Abuse. 

Some women enduring intimate partner violence falsely believe their’s is a marital problem, in other words, a couple’s issue. Holding on to this belief gives victims a false sense of control. Let’s be clear: the only person with control over the abuse is the abuser. Contrary to what we may have been told or have told ourselves in the past, we cannot break the abuse cycle with better behavior, more prayer, less cellulite, or a tastier meat loaf. 

Abuse is not something you can manage or control. Accepting this is paramount to having a clear understanding that it is solely your abuser’s choice to abuse and that you are not responsible for his behavior. This understanding also completely eradicates the very common and dangerous misconception that somehow you provoked him and he had no other choice than to “set you straight.” As long as you believe you are somehow responsible for your abuser’s behavior, you will remain in the tangled web of abuse.

An abuser lacks sincere empathy for the pain he caused. In his twisted mind-set, if you deserved it, why should he feel sorry for his actions? He doesn’t. When the honeymoon phase circles back, as the cycle of abuse spins round, he may bring flowers or gifts or perform acts of contrition. He may seem sincere at the moment. You will want to believe his apparent remorse is true. However, it begs the question, “If he is truly sorry and promises never to do it again, why does he?” The answer never changes, “It’s because he can.” 

This is precisely where I encourage you to ask yourself, “Is this what I want for myself?” My prayer is that at this point your conviction is, “Enough is enough!” 

In what ways do you rationalize your partner’s abusive behavior? What feelings are generated when you call it what it is? Abuse.

from Healing Well And Living Free by Dr. Ramona Probasco