Sexual trauma is at the root of many addictions and mental disorders. Sexual trauma is one’s sexuality being ravaged, shamed, and damaged by strangers, friends, or family members. Whether it is one-time or hundreds of times by one person or many people, it creates pain that affects the entire being of the victim of sexual trauma. This pain will have to be addressed by the soul in some manner.

Sexual trauma is when one person (the perpetrator) uses the victim as a sex object. Being used as an object can clearly set up the survivor of abuse to relate to others and themselves as an object, which is discussed further in the book Intimacy Anorexia. At this point, it’s enough to say that when one relates to themselves and others as objects, they become limited in relating to people as souls. You can see how marriage could be difficult if someone primarily relates to people as objects, not as souls.

Fortunately, if an intimacy anorexic has experienced sexual trauma, they can seek and receive help. They don’t have to be defined by their perpetrator’s acts and beliefs. We can’t choose to be free of abuse; however, we can choose to do the work necessary to reclaim our soul to be able to give and receive love again.