For 10 years, I won 'Employee of the Month' while losing the battle with childhood sexual abuse. I smiled in meetings while dissociating in the bathroom.
"Fact: Tonic immobility (freezing) is a common biological response. Silence is not consent." (Video right side: Text overlay of a crisis number.) "Facts don't lie. Survivors do not owe you their fighting story. They owe you nothing. We believe you. #SurvivorStories #EndTheStigma" Pillar C: LinkedIn (The Professional Survivor) Headline: "High-functioning depression almost cost me my C-suite career. Here is why your workplace needs a mental health first aid kit."
Real survival isn't cinematic. It is taking a shower with the bathroom door unlocked for the first time in five years. It is laughing at a joke without flinching.
Our awareness campaigns must stop gatekeeping survival. If you woke up today and tried—just tried —you are a survivor.
That is psychological safety.
Society loves a specific type of survivor: The one who fought back. The one who testified immediately. The one who is now a lawyer/doctor/activist with a perfect smile.
For 10 years, I won 'Employee of the Month' while losing the battle with childhood sexual abuse. I smiled in meetings while dissociating in the bathroom.
As leaders, we need to move from (knowing it happens) to Action (paid therapy leave, trauma-informed HR training).
"Fact: Tonic immobility (freezing) is a common biological response. Silence is not consent." (Video right side: Text overlay of a crisis number.) "Facts don't lie. Survivors do not owe you their fighting story. They owe you nothing. We believe you. #SurvivorStories #EndTheStigma" Pillar C: LinkedIn (The Professional Survivor) Headline: "High-functioning depression almost cost me my C-suite career. Here is why your workplace needs a mental health first aid kit."
Last year, I told my CEO. He asked, "What do you need?" Not "What happened?"
Real survival isn't cinematic. It is taking a shower with the bathroom door unlocked for the first time in five years. It is laughing at a joke without flinching.