Coping after a military sexual trauma

Interviewee1:

At the time, I just didn't think about it. I thought it was my fault, and I pocketed that, and it went into a black box and I didn't deal with it.

Interviewee2:

There was no rape kit, it was his word against your word, and he was a sergeant, you know, I had just come in, so I didn't have a chance. So, I didn't say anything.

Interviewee3:

There are so many men that you know, just won't talk about it. Want to, but don't know how and I knew how that felt.

Interviewee4:

I'd struggled with a lot of stuff. Not sleeping, anger issues, just because I wasn't dealing with anything, I was just bottling it all up.

Interviewee2:

When I got out, I decided I wasn't going to let this person control my life. And so, I seeked services through the VA.

Interviewee5:

I was able to meet with, to have a therapist, to meet with those and be open and honest with them. I started to talk more about my military sexual trauma.

Interviewee4:

The first time I said what happened to the professional at the VA, it was like a weight was lifted, like oh my God, finally somebody else knows besides me.

Interviewee6:

It was very hard at the beginning, but once I started working with doctors and believing that these people were trying to help me and I started trusting them, I was able to talk about these military, this military sexual trauma. And not only that, I was able to work with those issues.

Interviewee3:

Try to talk to somebody and be honest about how you're feeling because it's like “this is my life, and I'm worth being happy, I'm worth having peace, I'm worth having joy. I'm somebody. I make a difference.”