Mental Illness and Resilience in College Students Who Have Dealt with Sexual Abuse

Many Individuals who have been sexually abused and or/assaulted have ranged from a number of ages. Regardless of if the individual was a child, an adolescent, or an adult, many woman and men have encountered situations in which the action of sexual penetration or fondling was not voluntary. According to the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry women and children are more likely to have poor mental health due to preexisting victimization (2010). For example, Mental Health America states that 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have reported experiencing an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime (2018). These individuals explained that their assaults ranged from the ages around four to twenty-four. Many victims have reported flashbacks, shame, isolation, shock, confusion and guilt. Individuals who have experienced any of these feelings or symptoms after an attack are at an increased risk of becoming depressed, have PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), substance abuse disorder, eating disorders personality disruptions, and anxiety (2018). Individuals that seek help are at lower risk for these impacts on mental health. Counseling and therapy are the best-known forms of healthy treatment to individuals who have gone through such traumatic occurrences (2018). Counseling helps embower these individuals and helps them take back control of their lives. There are countless amounts of research, case studies, and experiences that have studied the correlation of sexual abuse and mental health, as well as correlational studies that prove resilience through the victims of sexual assault