Transcript A Survivor Story: Lexie Smith

A Survivor Story:
Lexie Smith
Twitter: @_Lexie_Smith
Instagram: @_Lexie_Smith
Facebook: Lexie Smith
Goals
 Reveal common vulnerabilities
 Grant insight into living with trauma
 Expose what makes people vulnerable, familial
trafficking, manipulation, boyfriending, Stockholm
syndrome.
 Identify root causes.
 Learn from past mistakes of my community.
 Offer hope.
Rewind: What could have
been done differently?
 Ask children in private about their day.
 Trust is not enough.
 Authority is for adults.
 Respond calmly.
 Pay attention to odd behavior.
 Trust your gut.
Physical Symptoms
 Severe gag-reflex, even with nothing in or near mouth
 Frequent or chronic severe nausea
 Breathing and heart problems
 Sleeping disorders (insomnia, hypersomnia, night terrors, constant
nightmares)
 Extreme startle-response (when touched, upon sudden loud noise, when
someone enters room, etc.)
 Chronic, unexplained pelvic pain
 Chronic, unexplained gastro-intestinal problems
 Chronic, unexplained headaches, backaches, and skeletal pain
 Chronic, unexplained respiratory problems
 Addiction
Psychological Symptoms

Dissociation (unresponsiveness, detachment, confusion, staring blankly, unexplained
crying, feeling of separation from reality, feeling of "floating," out-of-body experience,
feeling that everyone but self is experiencing reality, or vice versa)

Feeling of choking or suffocating

Unexplained fear of water touching face (pool, shower, etc.)

Feeling dirty, disgusting, and/or damaged

Unexplained feelings of shame

Fear of extreme loss of control; extreme need to feel in control

Feelings of extreme vulnerability

Constant anticipation of pain

Suicidal ideation

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or related symptoms: e.g., cycling back and forth
from denial and repression to re-experiencing of traumatic event/s
Psychological Continued
 Anticipation of early death
 Panic disorder, panic attacks, and/or unmanageable anxiety
 Extreme sensitivity and/or irritability
 Difficulty regulating/processing emotions (emotional outbursts,
disproportionate displays of anger, etc.)
 Lack of confidence
 Feelings of worthlessness and/or lack of self-respect
 Intense fear of being wrong

Cognitive Symptoms
 Difficulty understanding what people mean
 Difficulty answering simple questions (fear of
misunderstanding and being tortured for "wrong
answer")
 Horrifying flashbacks (may be hazy or nonspecific)
 Difficulty concentrating and/or learning
Behavioral Symptoms
 Self-injuring or self-mutilating behaviors (cutting, poking with
pins, etc.)
 Disordered eating (may or may not be related to body image
disorders)
 Suicidal gestures or attempts
 Extreme responsibility and safety-consciousness, or
extreme tendency to take risks
 Criminal activity
 Wearing excessively loose-fitting clothing, or more layers of
clothing than weather requires
Social/Relational Symptoms
 Unreasonable fear of abandonment
 Extreme need to please others, or refusal to "connect" with
others at all
 Intense fear of intimacy, or constant quest for intimacy
 Social withdrawal or difficulty relating to others
 Seeks out or stays in abusive relationships, or avoids
relationships altogether
 History of ambivalent feelings toward relational partners
 Little confidence, or else total trust, in others (unreasonable
in both instances)
Social/Relational Symptoms
Cont.
 Fear of loss of control in relationships; intense need to be in
control
 Difficulty expressing feelings and/or intense desire to selfdisclose
 Problems with social boundaries
 Excessive feelings of gratitude for kind but small gestures
from others
 Too much eye-contact, or complete avoidance of eyecontact
 In parents: repulsed by caring for baby in certain ways
(nursing, taking temperature rectally, uncomfortable with
child's nudity)
Sexual Symptoms
 Heightened sexual interest, or no interest at all
 Promiscuity and/or prostitution
 Recklessness
 Compulsions
 Sexual dysfunction
 Unexplained pain
 Flashbacks of abuse
 Fantasies of raping or abusing others
 Fantasies of being raped, tortured, tied, etc.
 Exhibitionist-tendencies, or extreme fear of being seen nude
Final Reflections
 Exploitation and trafficking does not
happen overnight.
 Speak up when you sense something is
off.
 Healing is worth it!
 Get a mentor, find a good community, use
resources.
 You can recover and live “normally”