News

• WELCOME TO OUT OF THE STORM
  
  New Members please register here after first reading our Member Guidelines which are in place to ensure a safe, respectful & considerate community for all.  Please note that non-survivors are welcome to read, but not join the forum.
  
  OOTS is a recovery focused forum and information web site for survivors of relational trauma (repeated emotional/physical/sexual abuse & neglect) who suffer from the symptoms of Complex PTSD.  The forum is English speaking but members come from all around the world. As of Oct 3, 2022, there have been 10,411  registrations by survivors from 59 countries. 
  
  (New)  Relational trauma survivors are abused and neglected "behind closed doors" by those who do not want their illegal acts to be seen (e.g., parents, spouses, religious leaders, coaches).  This is different from those who traumatize and abuse/neglect others openly and in groups such as racists, religious persecutors, war makers, political autocrats/dictators.  Because our abuse/neglect is hidden/secret, it is easier to ignore and as a result we are not as well recognized/acknowledged as a group; that is, relational trauma survivors.  As such, funding, research, services and treatment are lacking around the world.  It is why we must open the door and let our trauma be seen so we will be acknowledged by our communities, health services and governments.  It is the only way we will receive the treatment, services and support we all need. 
  
  Why We are Here: The Power of Community
  
  Traumatic events destroy the sustaining bonds between individual and community. Those who have survived learn that their sense of self, of worth, of humanity, depends upon a feeling of connection with others. The solidarity of a group provides the strongest protection against terror and despair, and the strongest antidote to traumatic experience. Trauma isolates; the group re-creates a sense of belonging. Trauma shames and stigmatizes; the group bears witness and affirms. Trauma degrades the victim; the group exalts her. Trauma dehumanizes the victim; the group restores her humanity.
  
  Repeatedly in the testimony of survivors there comes a moment when a sense of connection is restored by another person’s unaffected display of generosity. Something in herself that the victim believes to be irretrievably destroyed---faith, decency, courage---is reawakened by an example of common altruism. Mirrored in the actions of others, the survivor recognizes and reclaims a lost part of herself.
  
  Herman, J. (1997). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence from domestic abuse to political terror. New York: Basic Books