Your story matters!

So many times, in sharing my story with other survivors, I have heard these words...

"Wow, I almost feel bad for mentioning my story...I was only molested. It's not nearly as bad as being raped."

Or, often times when sharing my story with someone who has not experienced sexual violence, I have heard...

 "Your story isn't nearly as bad as some I've heard of...at least you weren't _________."

During my healing process, I, too, felt this way. I thought that my story was invalid, or shouldn't be shared, because hey..."it could've been worse." But, fortunately for me, I acquired a new realization during my healing process some years ago, and I am going to share it here:

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "NOT AS SERIOUS" WHEN IT COMES TO ABUSE.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "MY STORY ISN’T AS VALID AS _____'S STORY."
ALL abuse is abuse. ALL survivors are survivors, in my book. Emotional, physical, sexual... the type and/or “severity" of the abuse does not matter. If you feel violated, you feel violated. Only you know how you feel, what you experienced, and what you are comfortable sharing...Please, PLEASE don’t let your measure for that be other people’s experiences. You have every right to share your story; to use your voice. You never have to feel guilty for having a "better" or "worse" situation than someone else. You matter, and so does your story!