Content warning: sexual assault and suicidal ideation.
Today I'm talking with Amelia Zachry, author of Enough - A Memoir of Mistakes, Mania, and Motherhood. She is a survivor of, and advocate for, sexual assault and bipolar disorder. In this episode, she’s sharing her authentic story about how sexual assault turned her life upside down and how it took her years to move past her shame and start her healing journey.
What to Listen For:
Her life before sexual assault
How sexual assault affected her life as she knew it
"I thought that I had done something wrong and I placed all the blame on myself."
Not feeling like herself after the assault
Isolating herself and why she felt the need to do this
Spiraling into irresponsible and maladaptive behaviors as a trauma response
Learning that she had bipolar disorder which had been triggered by the assault
"A chain of things spiral happened right after that incident."
Her first experience in trying to tell someone what had happened
"I did open up to somebody before, who was my college professor who actually said to me, ‘if you hadn't been hanging out with thugs, this wouldn't have happened.’ And so after that, I kind of refrained from trying to tell people what happened, but also mostly because I felt shameful. I felt like people would view me poorly if I were to share the story."
Opening up to those she trusted years later
Her husband’s reaction when she told him about the assault
The phases she went through after the assault and how she reclaimed her power
The biggest catalyst of her healing
How therapy helped her begin to process
“In therapy, I realized that it was a violation."
How her Uncle helped her find hope
"He was able to give me a vision of a life that is worth living."
Living the stigma of bipolar disorder
Her journey to realizing and accepting that she needed help
Processing and healing through her writing
Understanding that trauma and healing are a journey
What she would tell her younger self
There are no wrong cards
About Amelia Zachry:
Amelia Zachry is the author of Enough - A Memoir of Mistakes, Mania, and Motherhood. She is a survivor of sexual assault and bipolar disorder. Enough chronicles Amelia's struggles with PTSD and bipolar as she finds solid ground to stand on now that she has broken the silence. She is an advocate for dismantling rape culture and normalizing mental health.
Website and social media links:
https://ameliazachry.com/
https://instagram.com/browngirlcrazyworld
https://facebook.com/browngirlcrazyworld
Resources:
Access our free 8-part Journey Mapping™ sampler program and begin uncovering the purpose of your path at www.TalesFromTheJourney.tv/Free/.
Read my memoir, Unravel: Rising Up and Coming Back from a Season of Living that Damn Near Killed Me at www.TheUnravelBook.com.
Tales from the Journey™ is a Stephenie Zamora Media Production in partnership with the phenomenal producers at ExploraSTORY Studios.