Trauma and PTSD

Are you a Bad Indian or a South Asian Misfit who:

• Survived narcissistic abuse

• Experienced domestic violence

• Survived sexual assault

• Experienced a hate crime

• Survived workplace harassment

• Survived culturally-specific abuse (such as an honor killing, or an acid attack)?

• Was disowned by your parents, or cut off by family?

• Lost your support system because of your sexual identity?

• Experienced any kind of hurt or pain that had a lasting effect on you?

Maybe you’re not sure if you experienced trauma or an adverse experience, but maybe you:

• Feel hopeless and cynical about the world

• Are waiting for the other shoe to drop

• Have a hard time trusting others

• Believe things are too good to be true

• Have trouble sleeping at night

• Experience deja vu, or tense moments that feel familiar

Maybe you don’t identify with the word “trauma” because it brings up a strong image that doesn’t resonate, and that’s OK. No one can tell you how to feel or what to think.

There are about 1500 acid attacks a year that mostly happen in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and most are unreported because of fear of retaliation. Acid attacks also affect South Asian communities in the U.S. A 2022 study in New York found that South Asian young adult survivors were sexually assaulted (75%), raped (50%), and experienced more than one instance of rape (about 45%). 65% of these survivors reported that there perpetrator was also of South Asian descent, and 25% reported that they were family members. 47% of South Asian Americans in 2023 experienced intimate partner violence, and 13% reported abuse from in-laws.

These events aren’t just limited to South Asia or South Asian communities. Acid attacks increased by 45% in London, and some survivors aren’t South Asian. We know that intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and in-law abuse can happen anywhere, and that people with privilege are more likely to get away with it.

Abuse is not “cultural”. Maybe you keep hearing that it is. Maybe this person is someone in your culture or in your community. Maybe this person was a therapist, or a helping professional outside of your culture. This makes it hard to bring up problems and express how you feel, because you might be afraid of making your culture look “bad”. These concerns are often swept under the rug because we want to protect our community and our reputation. Maybe someone in your culture accused you of being racist or having self-hatred because you brought up these problems. Maybe you’re worried that a therapist or helping professional will judge you or your community for wanting to protect them. You might have felt silenced, unseen, unheard, and felt like you couldn’t rely on people to protect you.

This is a safe and brave space to talk about what happened to you without judgement. I see you, and I honor that. You are worthy of safety and protection. I’m not here to put a label on what you’ve experienced, or to make judgements on what you choose to call them. I’m here to help you make sense of your experiences. Healing from trauma isn’t linear, and we may use several different support systems and approaches to help you remember that you are more than your identity, and you are more than what someone did to you.

You’re not responsible for your trauma, but you’re responsible to yourself to heal. Let’s get you the help you need. If you’re a Bad Indian or South Asian Misfit who needs support making sense of the past, book your free intro call today to see if I’m a good fit for you.