Skip to Content
Mitchell & West, LLC Mitchell & West, LLC
Call Today For Personalized Legal Solutions 305-783-3301
Top

Protecting Your Rights Through a Personalized Approach

Learn More About Mitchell & West
silhouette of woman sitting on hill in the clouds

After being sexually assaulted, it can feel impossible to ever return to normal. After all, something majorly traumatic has happened to you. There are so many emotions involved after an attack, and everyone processes their experience differently.

We’ve put together some information that we hope can be helpful to you as you go through the healing process.

Emotions

There are no ‘right’ emotions to feel after being sexually assaulted. Survivors of assault report experiencing a wide range of emotions.

  • “I feel numb”
  • “No one understands”
  • “It wasn’t really a big deal”
  • “When will I stop feeling so bad?”
  • “Why do I feel guilty about what happened?”

There are a lot of ways to process the events that took place.

Remember that however you are feeling is valid.

Ways to help the healing process

You may lack the motivation to do anything that would help yourself feel better, especially if you don’t believe feeling better is even possible. However, engaging in self-help behaviors can be extremely beneficial for your mental health.

Try therapy

Therapy is one of the most common ways that people choose to work on intrapersonal struggles. A therapist can:

  • Be a non-judgmental person to vent to
  • Give advice
  • Give you tasks to complete that will help you heal and promote healthy behavior going forward
  • Keep it confidential

Seek support from friends and family

Turn to the people you are close to for support. Share what you’re feeling with people who can empathize and help you process your emotions.

Write down how you’re feeling

If you are hesitant to share your feelings with friends, family, or a therapist - put them on paper. It can be a cathartic experience to write down all of the feelings that are swirling around in your head.

See a doctor

If you are concerned that your sexual assault resulted in any medical trauma, be sure to see a doctor.

Try to maintain a daily routine

Having some structure in your day-to-day life can help things return to normal. It will also help you keep busy and help you avoid spending the day thinking about the attack.
Going back to the activities you love can help you feel like yourself again.

Give yourself grace

Don’t put pressure on yourself to act normal and forget about what happened. Sexual assault is a major life event, and you shouldn’t feel like you need to brush it under the rug. Come to terms with the fact that there will be days when you struggle, and that’s okay.

Consider your legal options

Did you know that you can take legal action to hold your attacker liable? Sexual assault is covered under personal injury law. If you have been assaulted, there are multiple parties that may be liable.
This includes:

  • The assaulter
  • The property owner where the assault took place
  • Supervisory personnel if they failed to discipline the offender (example: the attacker’s boss)
  • A government entity if the attacker is a public official or police officer

You may be able to recover damages after being sexually assaulted. This could cover costs like:

  • Medical bills
  • Lost wages
  • Pain and suffering

A personal injury attorney can help you through the process of filing a lawsuit and be there to support you each step of the way.

Miami Sexual Assault Victim Lawyers

At Mitchell & West, LLC, we are here for you. If you have been sexually assaulted, we can help you hold your attacker responsible and seek compensation on your behalf. Give us a call today at (305) 783-3301 to set up a confidential case evaluation with our Miami attorneys.