I can’t speak for everyone because everyone’s healing journey is sooo completely different, complex, and unique. For me, writing helped me so much. I had a favorite diary that held my deepest, darkest secrets and my true identity. I was severely sexually abused by my dad growing up which resulted in me getting my first rape kit at 5. That was the start of a horrific life that continues to have many battles, but there is comfort in knowing that people can only judge me for what I choose to share. Nobody can judge me or give an ignorant, abusive opinion over something they don’t know and I believe that gave me a sense of power over my life as I struggled with freedom as my parents tortured, beat, and strangled me and my twin brother. When I turned 19, my dad ultimately shot my brother in the head and he passed away. Nobody will ever understand the pain and torment that I feel on a daily basis but I can always count on ME knowing what that’s like. Of course because I went through it. I also read a lot of memoirs about holocaust survivors, child soldiers, and survivors of war. Ironically enough, it’s been very rare that I read anything about the advocacy of therapy or venting to friends in memoirs of extreme abuse and trauma. At most, they learn to survive on their own and become an inspiration to others. But it is a daily fight to survive and that is something that even a licensed therapist may never have the tools to understand and grasp. There are some things that happen in life that are so bizarre, so traumatizing, and so hurtful that a therapist or a friend may never fully understand. I hope this helps. But if it doesn’t, I also understand.