Lewis Howes

I’ll get straight to it. Some of my regular listeners might know this about me, but for those who don’t, I experienced a traumatic event as a child involving sexual abuse. It had a big impact on my sense of self worth and self love, both consciously and subconsciously. Growing up, I thought that if I opened up about what happened, then people would judge me for it, so I held it in like so many men and women who have gone through similar trauma do. 

It wasn’t until I was an adult that I finally opened up about it. At first, it was painful and caused me to break down. After I did though, I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. This thing that happened to me as a child, this thing that I had NO control over, no longer had a hold on me. It could no longer make me feel ashamed or guilty or feel like I was a lesser person because of it.

Now, I’ll be the first to say that I wasn’t able to fully heal overnight. It’s been a long but rewarding journey that’s involved therapy, support from my family and friends, and a lot of self reflection and introspection. But I’m so happy that I did. 

I know a lot of you have experienced similar trauma. In fact, it’s been estimated that 1 in 6 males and 1 in 4 females have gone through some form of sexual abuse during their lives. If you or someone you know has gone through this, just know you have support, you aren’t alone, and you CAN get through it.

This episode is a heavy one, but one that I hope will inspire you to seek therapy and find inner peace for yourself. This conversation was taken from an interview I had on my good friend Dr. Caroline Leaf’s podcast, Cleaning Up The Mental Mess.