Can you see her?...
Posted by shabranae patton on
Can you see her? I can...
For most people they believe the traumatic nightmare ends upon physical rescue, when the unfortunate truth is it’s only the beginning. As it replays in her mind over and over, as the smell lingers in her nostrils, and the visual and auditory remnants trigger her continuously... she is expected to continue to be strong in the face of adversity. All while her mind is slowly, yet at the same increasingly crumbling under the weight of a myriad of symptoms including...insecurity, high functioning anxiety, sleep loss, and ptsd just to name a few.
Can you see her? Can you see her silent dry tears? Can you see her fighting for her life? Fighting for true freedom? I can. I can see her because I am her. What you see is my strength in the midst of my survival.
Surviving an assault of any kind will definitely leave an impression on the psyche. As a survivor of both domestic and sexual assault, I've taken a unique perspective on what looks normal to everyone else on the outside, vs what happens in reality which can be described as chaos at best on the inside. Invisible to the naked eye, but glaringly loud and vivid under the microscopic eyes of a survivor.
What seems so small and insignificant for most, takes on a stature that rivals the grandest of beast that roam this earth in the mind of a survivor. Or at least that has been my reality. The mind is where my fight takes place. It is were the fight takes place for many of us.
As you can imagine for someone who has never experienced it personally, it is likely that you cannot see her. This is why I do what I do. In those moments of despair, fear, and feeling ultimately alone I begin to design my best work, in hopes that these care packages made possible through Anchor'd Inc, give another survivor a sense of peace, hope, love, and togetherness.
What you see in my artistry, is a survivors determination to save as many as she can before the silent battle overtakes them, and while simultaneously healing on her own journey for freedom. Again, it may seem small to some, but to me it is life...and to them...freedom.
Written By:
Shabranae Patton - CEO/Founder Anchor'd Inc.