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Mood dystonic sexual abuse
Mood dystonic sexual abuse creates intense fear without any association of love or safety, profoundly affecting the brain, body, and behavior. Unlike abuse paired with affection, this type leaves the nervous system on high alert, triggering hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts, and fear-based responses to reminders of the trauma. Understanding these patterns is essential for caregivers and professionals, as compassionate support, choice, and opportunities for safety can help the person gradually regain control, build resilience, and experience moments of felt safety.
Brain
Unlike mood syntonic sexual abuse, this is NOT paired with love and affection. This type of sexual abuse puts one into the freeze/submit response with fear and fear alone. This sets the fear center up to scan for anything or anyone that reminds the person of the situation and then sends out an intense fear response throughout the brain and body. For example: The person may fear those who are the same sex as the offender and/or fear sex or avoid sex. They will also have intrusive thoughts that are triggered by any reminder of the trauma or even boredom. When the brain is not occupied it will replay the trauma in an effort to figure out how to avoid it in the future.
Body
Experiencing this type of abuse can lead to hypervigilance, a heightened startle responses, and/or avoidance of anything that even remotely reminds the person of the experience.
Behavioral Patterns
Sensory or environmental reminders that come from the subcortical (unconscious) parts of the brain, may show up as fears that make no sense to the person or their caregivers. Sadly, people are often labeled “attention seeking” when this occurs. It will be important to avoid any blaming or shaming of these responses and help the person feel safe in the moment instead of asking “why” questions or telling them that “nothing is wrong” when clearly they feel unsafe.
Supports
GIVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR VOICE AND CHOICE.
Facilitate opportunities for the person to have power in their environment and power/control over their own body.
Do things as a team, so they can experience safe power with others.
Offer a soothing voice, safe face, and safe posture to the person when they are fearful.
Help the person to not feel alone in their pain which will help them experience a contradictory experience to the sexual assault.
Predict, practice, plan B around bathing times or any other times they exhibit a fear response.
Spend time growing or building Resilience Factors - (PSP workbook page 10) to build the person’s ability to feel less afraid in the world. Felt safety may take a long time to accomplish, so help them recognize what helps them feel a bit less afraid or a bit more comfortable first. Regaining a sense of felt safety will take more than time. It will happen on its own as the person slowly begins to experience situations where they can begin to relax.
Sensory integration, movement activities especially martial arts or other skills related to protection can be very empowering and helpful.