Anything you have to run from is your master. If you want to be a slave to your fears of inadequacy in handling these questions, you will drive yourself nuts. You don't let them become weights around your ankles as you climb your staircase.
- Dr. Laura Schlessinger

Often when I share my story about a breakdown, survivors feel frightened. But my breakdown, I believe, was because I had no support, other than therapist, the terrible stories in my family suddenly surfacing gave hard unavoidable evidence, and I had to quickly remember and believe myself in order to make hard decisions about my family for my own sanity.

My therapist says I must have felt safe enough with myself and my husband to allow the breakdown.

"Out of breakdown comes possibility."

I always tell people they don't have to go thru what I did. They have support groups, therapy, and can seek knowledge about the issues. They don't have to remember in a flood of memories.

I needed to do it the way I did. No one else need have a breakdown in order to remember. Maybe a survivor doesn't need to remember at all. A survivor may be doing what she needs to do as she goes along despite her feelings to the contrary.

Over 20 years ago, taking modeling classes, the teacher explained that a magazine like Cosmopolitan or cosmetic companies do outrageous things with make-up, nail polish, hoping to get the public to make one tiny change in the direction of a new style, color...most survivors don't have a breakdown. What if, tho, a survivor who's gone thru terrible times and a hell of a recovery is the cosmetic company for a survivor who went thru abuse and is facing recovery to find a little something that gives a little inspiration to take a step forward in recovery.

Please be gentle with yourself and get help if you feel the need.

Here's the article, The Caves.