Safety
A word of caution
The internet is a great source of information. However I suggest that you treat all of this information, and especially information that you seek regarding your own health and well-being, with caution.
This is not to say that information that you discover on the internet is inaccurate or misleading. While some of it can be pretty suspect, much of it is valuable.
Well-intentioned rather than well-informed
As a general rule it is wise to consider all health-related information from whatever source and including this site to be well-intentioned rather than well-informed. Your safety must come first.
It is impossible to provide even reasonably accurate personal suggestions without first taking a very detailed case history. Even then any suggestions need to be carefully discussed with the person for whom the suggestions are designed.
So act cautiously and responsibly with regard to all health-related suggestions. Evaluate them and decide for yourself how much, if any, applies to your personal circumstances and please proceed with caution when applying such suggestions in your life.
You must be the judge
Who can you rely on? Which sources of information are absolutely reliable? What information can you accept and apply immediately without having to think about it?
None.
You are the only person responsible for your safety.
You cannot even blindly rely on information from your own family doctor, who may have known you for years. Nor from a qualified specialist, therapist, scientist, nor anyone else. Why?
Be cautious and sceptical
Because none of these experts knows you well enough to be able to prescribe what is right for you in a manner that you can accept without…
questioning it
verifying it
seeking a second, third or , in serious situations, even a fourth or fifth opinion
cross-checking the information with that from other sources, and so on…
Do this until you are sure that it is not only the best quality information but it is also the most pertinent to your particular circumstances.
Then, when you do come to apply the information, remember that it is your body, your mind, and your life.
You are the one who loses if things go wrong.
So apply the information with caution – and carefully monitor the effects, being prepared to change things if you are unhappy with the results.
Treat this information similarly.
I believe that the information on this site is reliable – up to a point. That point is that any information regarding your health and well-being must be tailored to your personal circumstances.
If I spent some time getting a detailed ‘case history’ from you the information would be a lot more relevant to your situation. (And would still need to be scrutinised by you – and cross-checked).
However I do not know you. So the information on this site is of a general nature. You have to decide which, if any, of it is appropriate for you. You then have to apply it to the degree what is appropriate for you.
Then, if you do apply the information or use some of the ideas and techniques offered here – please proceed with caution.
And please decide that it is your responsibility to subject all advice from whatever source, no matter how well qualified they appear, to the same critical thinking.
Be an active participant rather than a ‘patient patient’…
Online Safety Course
HAVOCA periodically runs a Safety Course tailored to Survivors of abuse and run entirely online and free of charge. To take part in the eight day course you need to be a member of our forums, access to a computer for about an hour a day and the drive and determination to progress a step further on your journey. For more information please follow this link.
One last comment
The words “victim” and “survivor” are used throughout this website, but their limitations are acknowledged in that these terms may discount the aspects of a person’s life that are healthy and productive. The term “thriver” is now sometimes used to describe people who are not only surviving but flourishing. It better reflects the idea that child abuse is something that happens to people and should not be considered the core of their identity.
On this website, the terms “victim” and “survivor”, which are commonly used in the abuse-related literature, designate a person who has experienced child abuse in his or her childhood.