Trauma survivors know all about perpetrators.  Dissociative trauma survivors know all about sadistic perpetrators.  Dissociative trauma survivors with a background in ritual abuse, or mind control, or sex slavery organizations know all about truly evil perpetrators.

Those of us in the world who were not directly exposed to such darkness have a hard time grasping its depth.  It seems surreal to us.  Unfathomable.  While many therapists may truly believe “in their heads” that abuse and evil exist in this world, having that head knowledge is still a far cry from truly knowing and experiencing yourself as the target of evil.

I’ve been working almost exclusively with dissociative trauma survivors for over 20 years, and I have listened to and believed what my clients have told me. I know the politically correct answer is to say that I can neither confirm nor deny the abuse of others, but let’s face it.  Either trauma therapists believe their clients were genuinely abused or they need to get out of the field and go work somewhere else.

But do therapists really know what evil is? I dare to say, no, most do not.

They have head knowledge, but most mental health therapists have not experienced evil.  They haven’t been the target of a predator.  They haven’t had their soul ravaged or clawed into.  They haven’t had their body destroyed or ripped apart.  Of course, there are some wounded healers that have truly been able to rise above their own traumas and actually do have a genuine sense of how deeply evil can wound, but these are a rare find.

(But be careful, there are far too many wounded who should spend more time on their own healing before jumping into the helping profession.  If you happen to find a therapist that truly has done their own healing, then you are very fortunate – that person will be able to help you.  But please watch out for the professionals who are still mid-process.  They can cause a lot more harm than they might mean to cause.)

Despite my sheltered upbringing, in the past few years, I have been getting a deeper grasp on how cold and evil people can be.  I’ve had a closer look at the destructive handiwork of predators.  Initially it took me off-guard, because I really believed in the goodness of people.  I was raised to trust, to forgive, to love, and to see the best in others, and I do that easily.

So being targeted by the calculated coldness of predators has been quite an eye-opening experience.  I still shake my head in surprise, completely amazed at how vicious people can be.   The lies, the twists, the deception – the depths to which people will sink when they have no conscience to guide them – it’s totally mind boggling to someone raised by a family who truly believed in goodness.

How does someone protect themselves from blatant attacks by a predator trying to destroy them?  When someone is trying to rip at your very core, how do you stay safe and solid within yourself?

First, know that they don’t know you.  They know what they want you to be, but they don’t know who you truly are apart from them.   As a result, they don’t speak the truth about you, or about anyone.  They speak through the tools of their trade.  They tells lies, they create deception, because these are the things they know.  They know darkness, and they know cold, calculated, purposeful destruction of people.  Yes, they purposefully work to destroy good people.  But they are not you.  And they are not me.

You don’t have to listen to them.  You don’t have to believe them.  You don’t have to be who or what they say you are.  You don’t have to do what they say to do or think what they tell you to think.  They are flat wrong in their words, their actions, and their motives.  Learn who you truly are, apart from their lies and their manipulations and their tricks.  Learn to think for yourself, neither in obedience to them nor in reaction to them, and that will help you to separate yourself from them.

And believe in your true self.  Your life, your beliefs, your heart, and your soul belong to what you are willing to fight for and to what you stand for when there is nobody but you yourself telling you where to stand.  You don’t have to give any of yourself away to the dark, cold emptiness of a predator.  If you know and connect to your true self, that alone can be a protection against any predatory attack on your self.  Knowing who you truly are is an armor against the lies and tricks intended to destroy you or hurt you by telling you who and what you are.

And learn how to compassionately love.  Hold onto that gentle love you feel, and never let it go.  Evil does not love.  If you can genuinely love and care for others, you are not one of them.  Stand solid in the knowledge of your own goodness, your spiritual faith, your strengths, and your ability to think and to feel and to love.  Let that repel the evil away from you.

Separate yourself from them.  Know who you are apart from them.

And stay far away from them.  The best protection you can have is not to give them the opportunity to say or do anything to you.  Protect yourself.  If you know that somebody is a predator or a perpetrator, stay away from them.

Because you are not them. And they are not you.

You do not belong to them, no matter how much they come after you.

You do not belong to them, no matter what they did to you or what they said to you or what they made you do.

Stay true to yourself, and be who you are.  Be who you truly are.  And let the power of compassionate love overcome any darkness that tries to change you.

If you forget, remember the beauty and simplicity in an opening quote from the movie, “The Notebook”:

“I am no one special – just a common man, with common thoughts.  I’ve led a common life.  There are no monuments dedicated to me, and my name will soon be forgotten.  But in one respect, I’ve succeeded as gloriously as anyone who has ever lived.

I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and for me, that is always good enough.“

__________

By:

Kathy Broady LCSW

www.AbuseConsultants.com

www.SurvivorForum.com