My Story Of Incest Guest Post on Survivor Advocacy

Hi. I don't have much to say today except to express my gratitude to all of my readers. I also want to share two blog posts. One is my guest post over at Survivor Advocacy. I hope you will go to the following link and read it.  A friend who has already read the post, says the post is my very best writing that she has read so far. I am not a very good judge of my writing. I write from the heart and write with as much honesty as I can with the difficult topic of incest. Here is the link:

My Story Of Incest found at http://www.survivoradvocacy.org/2012/11/my-story-of-incest.html


The second blog post that I want to highlight here today is from my friend Patricia (Tricia) McKnight. Tricia's blog is called survivorsjustice. I absolutely love the blog post that Tricia posted earlier today. The post is called "Hopes, Dreams, Moments of Laughter, Thriving". Tricia gives the best explanation of the differences between being a victim, survivor and thriver that I have ever read. I have tried a few times to explain the differences myself. She does a much better job in today's article. Here is the link:

Hopes, Dreams, Moments of Laughter, Thriving found at http://survivorsjustice.com/2012/11/14/hopes-dreams-moments-of-laughter-thriving/

I have been reading Tricia's blog for awhile now and we are friends on Facebook and Twitter where we are both Advocates for abused children and for other survivors. Who are these survivors? What have they survived?

Many of you who are reading this blog are survivors. You know who you are. You have survived incest, other forms of child abuse, domestic violence as a child and/or as an adult. Some of you are survivors of parents mental illness, of narcissist mothers or fathers, or maybe the family disease of alcoholism and drug abuse. You name it. You have survived it. No one was willing to be an advocate for me when I was a child even though a few people suspected that something was wrong. Nobody asked. I want that to change. If you suspect child abuse in any form, ask questions. If you are wrong, you can apologize. If you are right, you have changed the life of a child who needs you.
Patricia

You Deserve Your Own Love Guest Post

I was asked last week to submit a guest post for The Wounded Warrior blog which my friend from Twitter JanMetalMan is the owner.  Jan is a male survivor. He calls himself a wounded warrior.  I see myself as a warrior when it comes to reaching out to other survivors and giving others awareness about incest so that we can all give it our best efforts to protect our children from sexual abuse.

I had about a week to decide what I wanted to write the guest post on.  I kept coming back to the topic of self-love.  We are often taught as children that self-love is selfish.  The truth that I have discovered about self-love is that it is the most unselfish act that I can do. Me loving myself and you loving yourself benefits everyone around us.  I can better love you and my family if I love myself first. This has been the most valuable lesson that I have learned in my healing journey. When I love myself, I don't let myself become empty and useless to everyone. I take care of my needs so that I can be a better person and a better friend, partner and parent.

The title of the guest post is "You Deserve Your Own Love." Here is the link:

http://whatislove-2010.blogspot.com/2011/09/patricia-singleton-you-deserve-your-own.html

Thank you Jan for honoring me by asking me to write a guest post on your blog.
Patricia

Guest Post On Emerging From Broken - Self-Worth Gives You Ability To Say No

Today you have to do a little traveling across the internet from the southern USA all the way to the southwestern part of Canada where Darlene Ouimet sits at her computer and puts out her blog Emerging From Broken.  The internet really has made the world smaller.  Without it, Darlene and I would never have met and established our friendship online over the past year.

Today rather than a post here for you to read, Darlene asked me to do a Guest Post for her at her blog Emerging From Broken.  The post is called "Self-Worth Gives You Ability To Say No by Patricia Singleton".  You will find the post at the following link:

http://emergingfrombroken.com/self-worth-gives-you-ability-to-say-no-by-patricia-singleton/

Please feel free to leave comments here afterwords and to also join the conversation at Emerging From Broken.  If you have never visited the blog Emerging From Broken, please take the time to do so and read some of Darlene's thought provoking articles.  You will be glad that you did.

Again, thank you Darlene for allowing me the honor to speak to your blog readers about part of my own journey through recovery from incest.  I appreciate you and the work that you do at Emerging From Broken.
Patricia

Health And Wellness Is Your Responsibility

Hi. This is to let you know about the guest author post that I did on the blog "Best Of Mother Earth." You will find the article posted at http://bestwellnessconsultant.com/2008/06/18/guest-post-by-patricia-singleton-testimony-best-of-mother-earth.aspx . Karen is an online friend that I met through visiting her blog over the past six months and leaving comments.


In my search for better health and taking responsibility for my own life, I find Karen's wellness counselor advice to be sound and helpful. I realized a long time ago that doctors don't have all of the answers and they don't know my body as well as I do.


Over the past 15 years, my body has become more allergic to things in the air, in medicines and in foods. Because of that, I have chosen to take a more active part in my own health care. As I said in my guest article, the pharmacist that we have used for 20 years recently told my husband that the list of antibiotics that I am allergic to makes it impossible for me to take any of the antibiotics currently on the market. Of the list of medicines that I am allergic to, the pharmacist said that one of those ingredients is in every single antibiotic that is at our disposal today.


What are my choices? Stay healthy, which is my first choice. Or, find natural forms of treatment that work without the harmful side effects of regular medicines. I would much prefer to stay in peak health. Living in our society of air pollution, water pollution, outbreaks of bad food and drugs, I am not sure that is possible.


Because of my food, air and medical allergies, I decided to learn more about my body, about being healthy, about natural ways to do that. I have learned to use Reiki and EFT to work on my body and my emotional issues to help me be healthier. I have learned what herbs and suppliments will help. I have learned to ask questions and search out information. I have learned not to blindly follow doctor's instructions and to look at the possible side effects of any medicines that they may prescribe.


Some of the medicines on the market today have side effects that can kill you or make your health worse than what you started with. Is it worth it??? Not to me. I think the reason that the drug companies have gotten so out of control is so that people will wake up and decide that we need to be more in control of what goes on in and with our bodies and our health.


Part of my searching for more information took me to Karen's site "Best Of Mother Earth." She gives good information. She is willing to answer questions. She doesn't think she is God like some doctors that I have had the misfortune to run across. Karen is very down to earth. That is one of the qualities that have her friends referring to her as "Mother Earth."


I hope that this article guides each of you to take a more active part in your own health and wellness. Have a glorious day.
Patricia

Five Healing Lessons Learned From Pain

For today's post you will need to click on the following link:

http://www.thenext45years.com/2008/02/five-healing-lessons-learned-from-pain.html

This will take to you the article Five Healing Lessons Learned From Pain that I guest authored for Alex Blackwell at his blog "The Next 45 Years." I thank Alex for asking and giving me this opportunity to expose new readers to my writings. It has been a learning experience for me to write this article, as all articles are. This one was different because as a blog owner, we all have certain expectations for what we want our blog to say. That is as it should be.

I always write my blog articles just like I have written my journal entries in the past. One reason that I write from the "I" position in my articles is because I am speaking mostly from my own personal experience and my own point of view. I feel that it is less threatening for the reader that way.

In writing this article for Alex, my first copy was mostly from the "I" position. Alex prefers and does his writing from the "you" position to get his readers more involved in his writing. Both points are very valid. Both points have their pluses and minuses for the author and the reader.

When Alex asked me to do a revision of my article and use more of "you" rather than "I", I wasn't sure that I could do it. Once I started writing, as most of my articles do, the words started to flow. The finished product also had more information. Each time that I rewrite an article, new information comes in to be included so in that way the finished article is much better than what I first presented to Alex to post.

What I want you, my regular readers to do is to tell me which style you prefer, the way I usually write or this slightly different style. Please come back here to share those ideas about my writing style. Thanks for your input. Don't be afraid of hurting my feelings. I have a thick skin. I wouldn't have asked, if I didn't want to know. I am curious. Growth, even in writing, is about change. Writing this article was a growing experience for me. Again, thanks, Alex, for the experience.
Patricia