'I Got PTSD and Discovered the Truth About My Sexuality'
Get over it," I told myself. "It's not that bad," I thought, forcing myself to move on.Then, 18 months later, I witnessed my friend running out of a restaurant bathroom with tears streaming down her face after being drugged and sexually assaulted by a man that I knew.What started out as an enjoyable evening of catching up over wine and snacks turned into a nightmare that I couldn't forgive myself for.
I felt guilty for getting drunk, not being able to tell that my friend had been roofied, and for not stopping the assault.I was also terrified: Being so close to what happened that night made me feel like it could have just as easily happened to me.
And because I'd experienced sexual assault in college and had been violated by men on many other occasions, I felt like something similar would happen to me.But it was my friend who suffered the assault, so I pushed my fears aside.Shortly afterward, I went through some significant changes.
I got married and moved out of the city, but I also became a person who was terrified of the world.I never felt safe, even in my own home, and even with people I'd always felt safe with.
