Domestic violence happens far too often. It happens if you’re any gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. When it occurs, some women might never feel the same again.

Women who experience domestic violence might not know how their lives change course from that point onward, but it’s worth discussing. Let’s go over how domestic violence can change a woman’s life.

You Might Need a Restraining Order

Maybe you know the person who harmed you. Perhaps a spouse, boyfriend, or some other family member did the deed.

If so, you may need to get a restraining order against them. You must speak to the police and get them to believe your story. You may need to show you have cuts, bruises, broken bones, or anything else the incident caused.

At that point, you can hopefully get a restraining order, though that won’t always stop the person. If they’re angry and want to inflict further harm, they might stalk you.

If so, you may need to leave your home and live with other family members for protection. You may need to stay with them for weeks or months until the person who harmed you calms down.

You May Need to Leave the City or State

Nightmare situations sometimes develop when the person who harmed you won’t leave you alone. They might ignore a restraining order and try to find you anywhere you go.

You may not feel safe till you leave that city or state. You may travel across the country to get away. You can reestablish yourself in another location. That’s an extreme measure, but you may have no alternative.

You Might Not Trust Anyone Going Forward

You also struggle to trust people from that point. Maybe you start dating someone else, and they seem pleasant and sane. You may look at them distrustfully, though, and wait for the other shoe to drop.

Even if you’re together for some time, you may feel they’ll hurt you like you experienced before. You might not get away from that mindset for many years in some cases.

Perhaps you won’t want this person to touch you, even if they seem nice and nonviolent. It may take years before you can accept physical love again. You may flinch or cower before you start regaining confidence.

You May Need Therapy

You might speak to a mental health professional about your experiences. You may need that to resume a healthy, loving relationship with a new person.

Maybe you don’t find someone new to date, and that’s fine. You might still need therapy to get you back to a healthy mental space. You can talk with the therapist about what happened and how you feel. They can recommend some techniques that should help you.

You might also speak to other formerly abused individuals in a group setting. These groups exist to help individuals who went through similar experiences. You should find strength there and gradually feel better about your situation.

You May Not Recover for Years

Some women can bounce back after abuse relatively quickly. Maybe you only experienced one incident, and it didn’t change you all that much. Other times, you might get away from someone who abused you for many years. Maybe this person lived with you and impacted your life in every conceivable way.

You may take many years and never get back to a completely happy mental space. You might not trust anyone ever again. You may shun relationships because you don’t feel you can ever trust anyone.

That does not happen very often, but it does occur sometimes. If you are in this extreme position, you might not have intimate human contact anymore, but you can still find support.

You have one-on-one and group therapy, and your work might help you forget and give you pleasure. You might also have children who you raise, and you can give them your love.

You may get a dog, cat, or some other pet that you can love as well. Maybe you’ll get several animals who will be your family. You don’t need to live with other humans at all. Many individuals do fine with animal companionship.

Physical abuse impacts everyone differently. You shouldn’t think you have to follow some blueprint. You can take the time you need to process what occurred. Just make sure you leave the person who did it and cut them out of your life for good. Otherwise, you can never heal.

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