Self-care is about taking deliberate steps to protect and improve your mental, physical, and emotional/spiritual wellbeing. It is about being kind to yourself, and taking the time to rest, reflect, replenish and renew, based on your own needs. Self-care can help people cope with the short and long-term effects of trauma, including the trauma of sexual violence. Self-care takes many forms. It can include developing a good sleep routine, prioritizing making time for yourself, moving your body through any form of exercise, or integrating positive self-talk or relaxation techniques into your daily life.
The resources below explore the importance of self-care and offer strategies for developing your own self-care plan.
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Taking care of yourself is essential when recovering from trauma. This video provides some simple healthy tips. For more information visit recoveryonline.org.au
In 1996, Thordis Elva shared a teenage romance with Tom Stranger, an exchange student from Australia. After a school dance, Tom raped Thordis, after which they parted ways for many years. In this extraordinary talk, Elva and Stranger move through a years-long chronology of shame and silence, and invite us to discuss the omnipresent global issue of sexual violence in a new, honest way.
As a survivor of sexual assault, Landon came to view his life as one broken into many pieces. He offers a unique perspective on how we can move forward as a society in dealing with not just male survivors but all victims of sexual assault. Landon shares his story and explains the factors that prevented him from seeking help from anyone for months after the assault. Landon has had to learn how to view himself as a man, while rebuilding his own identity and masculinity.
Pastor Seth Shelley takes us on an emotional and at times difficult journey about male sexual violence. He brings forward his own story of sexual assault to ask men to open up about their personal stories too. Seth speaks to an issue common around the world, sexual assault. However, it is men who also need to share their stories of abuse. Far too many men are silent about their own stories of trauma and eventual healing. It is our society's ideas around masculinity which prevent men from opening up and steal their narratives from them. Only through sharing with friends and family do we reclaim our stories for ourselves.
Dear Sister: Letters From Survivors of Sexual Violence by 
Hunger by 
Men's Experiences of Violence in Intimate Relationships by 
The Perfect Mango by 
Why I Didn't Say Anything: The Sheldon Kennedy Story by Do you have a title to recommend for our collection? Use the Suggest a Purchase form to suggest a book, video or journal.
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