A difficult Question
HI all! I hope you are doing well and if it turns out to be a rough day, I hope you have access to the support needed to get you through. I was hoping to get a few opinions on this. I am a survivor of complex trauma. I felt silenced by the "me too" campaign and I feel frustrated that the public discourse on complex trauma is essentially nonexistent in comparison to these recent stories about sexual assault by men in Hollywood. How do these "revelations" make you feel? How has the "metoo" movement helped or hurt you?
@reservedPond443 Hi Pond, thanks for your post. I dont really know a lot about the 'metoo' campaign, perhaps because of it being in another country so will need to do a little reading up on it to fully understand the context of your question. What I can say with regards complex trauma and complex PTSD is this is an area that is now being recognised more as needing its own diagnostic criteria in the DSM but there is a lot more awareness around complex trauma and complex ptsd, especially concerning dissociative disorders than there used to be. With that said, years ago, there was little publicity around child abuse, whereas now, there is a lot more awareness on this so perhaps its just a matter of time and education for things to be known more. Complex trauma is also an area that often requires people to specialise in this field and tho professionals in this area are growing, it is often for them individually a costly route to go down professionally. Money shouldnt come into it at all but sadly the reality is, for therapists in particular unless they are sponsored or can afford the expensive specialist training, its often an area they may struggle to get into. Complex trauma is also hard for the public to get their heads around, as they found it hard initially when child abuse hit the media initially. There is more awareness now, but you will always get people in all walks of life who would rather not know or who will minimise the suffering people go through or make out its not a big deal which often makes them feel better but can leave people such as yourself silenced. There are people out there who will be there, and who do appreciate the heartache and challenges that complex trauma can cause in someones life, and sometimes its more about searching for the people who do accept it and do want to help support someone with those issues, rather than getting caught up with people who would rather keep people silenced. This probably doesnt answer your questions at all but I just wanted to say, there are people out there who do appreciate the devastating effect complex trauma can have on someones life 
@reservedPond443
I personally felt that the "Me too" movement was very frustrating. My friend and I were both sexually assaulted together and she decided to participate because she felt it impowered her but I chose not to participate because I am already very open about my trauma and I do not feel it is something I should be talking about on social media. I felt that her participating was her speaking for both of us and acting as if she was making more progress; bragging almost. I felt that the me too movement not only pressured people to come out about their trauma, but shuned those who either did not feel comfortable or did not want to share publicly and therefore open it up as a topic of conversation.
@UntilThen
Im not public about anything thats happened to me, but I truly appreciate those who are because theyre bringing awareness and speaking up for those of us who cant. I did not participate in #metoo, but I did privately thank a few people who did. I dont think it was trying to shame or shun anyone, just providing a platform for those who are ready and able to speak up to do so in a manner that isnt them speaking out on their own. The more people that speak out, the more people will speak out. If youre alone in what youre saying, it can seem very intimidating and you may not feel comfortable saying anything, but if thousands or millions of people are saying theyve experienced similar things, it makes it less scary to say something. Have you told your friend how you feel about her participation? If she felt it empowering, she may not understand that you just arent ready for that. I will personally never share my experiences with my family, and that limits what I put on Facebook because I have so many family members on there, but I do think its important we have those types of conversations to bring awareness and to shut down predators.
@BeeLeigh
I know it was meant to empower people and give people an idea of the true numbers and those are both really important and powerful things. I know it helped many people and I am glad for that, which is why I am reluctant to bring up how it made me feel. I openly talk with everyone I know about my PTSD and even about the trauma itself, I just personally feel that social media is not a place I want to discuss those kinds of things becuase it seems counterproductive to me.
@UntilThen
This is a forum for open discussion, dont be reluctant to bring up how anything made you feel! Im trying to understand, what is it about putting this on social media that seems counterproductive? I took it as a way to show not just the numbers, but also that we all know someone whos been affected, whether it was us or not. :)
@BeeLeigh
I know I only speak for myself when I say this - I want to make that much clear.
To me, talking about your trauma is meant to be empoweing. Saying "no one can sicilence me because my voice is strong". It is for sharing with people around you so they understand your backstory. It is a way to say you understand someone. It is for explaining to people why you may react strangely. It is a conversation you have before sex.
To share it on social media would not be a personal conversation. It would only be to say "I identify myself as a survivor" and I do not. I do not feel empowered by just shouting it to people who know me already, i want to connect with people.
@reservedPond443 Interesting. Maybe the concept or conversation on complex trauma is a little overwhelming to get into, as far as mainstream media goes. #metoo movement is a quick and relatable way that those who have experienced this kind of trauma can bond. Consider the social media, everything has to be simplified, clear and relatable. It's almost a means to an end kind of thing. A way where one could give a voice to those hurt and be able to "market" the movement, so to speak.
I can see how you would feel short-changed if that's what you feel. There are a lot of components being left out and there is more to this #meetoo than what Hollywood says it is. It's just harder to deliver a full scope and keep people's attention and bring awareness of a situation when it's long and complicated. Hopefully, #metoo will be the start and/or the beginning of a dive, deeper into the world of complex trauma and somehow and someway begin the dialogue on all things involving complex traumas.
@reservedPond443
I hear you. I feel that way too- both as a trans/male survivor and a survivor of extreme trauma/organized abuse. As I was saying to another friend who feels like this, it's like there's this "acceptable" narrative of what is and isn't ok to talk about/admit exists. And complex trauma falls outside of that and I feel like the metoo thing is all about the "acceptable"/"normal" narratives and I found it very alientating and frankly pissed me off on that.