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10 Tips for Procrastinators
Published on Mon, 17 Feb 2020
Procrastination is the habit of putting off, delaying, avoiding things that need to be done. It's a form of self-sabotage that carries heavy consequences - but many abuse survivors engage in it because of how the past trauma affects us. Read about ten ways to overcome this problem and reach your goals.

Inspirational Quotes
Published on Fri, 07 Jun 2019
Hundreds of inspirational quotes about abuse, recovery, and mental health, organized by topic. Fort Refuge members can add quotes and bookmark their favorites, to use as a grounding tool.

Journaling
Published on Mon, 19 Mar 2018
Journaling allows you re-discover who you are and what you want to do with your life, now that abuse is over, and to express your thoughts, feelings, desires, plans, hopes - free of judgment or limitations.

Religious Violence
Published on Fri, 09 Mar 2018
Religious violence is dangerous because its perpetrators genuinely believe they are doing the right thing, and therefore are not afraid of legal repercussions and won't take pity on their victim. It's also terribly confusing, because it's often perpetrated by your family, the people who are supposed to love and protect you. Like any other form of abuse, religious violence is not limited to any specific religion or culture, so it's important to be aware of the danger no matter who you are or where you live.

Survivor's Gym
Published on Fri, 23 Feb 2018
Physical exercise is a great way to distract when trauma work becomes too overwhelming. This page has exercise istructions videos for people of any age and fitness level, not requiring any special equipment.

Grooming
Published on Tue, 20 Feb 2018
Grooming is the process of gradually entrapping a child, placing them in a position where they won't object to sexual abuse or tell anyone. It usually progresses through four stages described in this page.

Creating False Memories
Published on Sun, 18 Feb 2018
An article by Elizabeth Loftus, PhD, explaining how false memories of childhood abuse are formed in therapy, and describing very interesting research studies on the subject, including the famous lost-in-the-mall study.

How To Talk To An Abused Child
Published on Thu, 14 Dec 2017
They need to see that the topic is OK with you, that you care enough to listen, won't punish or ridicule them, that you don't seem uncomfortable, angry, or scared, and won't jump to action before understanding what's going on.

Child Sexual Abuse
Published on Tue, 12 Sept 2017
Any degree of sexual contact between a child and an adult is inappropriate and illegal, because children just can't cope with it; they're often ashamed, scared, and unsure what happened and whose fault it was. Sexual abuse is especially confusing when disguised as something else, e.g. medical procedures or punishment.

Making Sense of Pedophilia
Published on Tue, 12 Sept 2017
For many abuse survivors, our first (and sometimes the only) source of information on pedophilia was the person who molested us. What they told us was a bizarre concoction of truth, lies, and delusions, that can be hard to sort through even once we reach adulthood.

Emotional Child Abuse
Published on Wed, 02 Aug 2017
Emotional abuse of children is usually a part of any other type of abuse (e.g. physical, sexual, or neglect), and is mostly treated as an aggravating factor rather than a separate crime. It lacks legal definition, which makes it hard to address when it's the only type of abuse inflicted on a child.

Physical Child Abuse
Published on Fri, 21 Jul 2017
Physical violence is devastating to children because they are completely dependent on their abusers, and can't form an accurate understanding of their situation, which results in serious psychological trauma, sometimes life-long.

Child Abuse: Neglect
Published on Fri, 21 Jul 2017
Neglect means failure to provide adequate care to the child in one's custody. It's by far the most common (and the most lethal) form of child abuse, yet the least spoken about.

DV: What if I stay?
Published on Fri, 21 Jul 2017
Leaving an abusive relationship or staying in it has to be your choice. We're simply listing common caveats so that you can consider your options, weigh pros and cons, and consciously choose what you feel would be in your best interest.

Worry Dolls
Published on Sat, 15 Jul 2017
Worry dolls originated in Guatemala as a children's activity, but offer multiple psychological benefits for people of any age, especially abuse survivors. The page explains what they are, and links to many instructions on how to make the dolls.