On Emotional Support

Thank you to everyone who has offered kindness and support over my recent revelations. My wife and I have been on a journey of learning to support each other emotionally over the past few years and I want to share a couple of the resources that have helped. I don't know if I would've made it to this point without them.

The watershed moment for us was exposure to Brené Brown's work on vulnerability. Every one of her books has been an enormous help both in our private and public lives. The Daring Way is working to help people and organizations find strength in vulnerability.

In our discussions we've often lamented how little education we receive in how to deal with emotions. There are no classes on "how to be in the room with people you don't like" or "when should you apologize?" Instead, you lash out, face punishment, and never really learn what to do with those feelings the next time they come up. Thankfully, that's changing. The School of Life offers precisely these kinds of lessons in an easily digestible and amusing format.

Besides our own discoveries, I'd also like to pass along some of the resources that have been brought to my attention since revealing my story:

A Voice for the Innocent whose "purpose is to allow people to share their stories of sexual abuse and rape to a listening ear who won't judge them and will still allow them to be as anonymous as they choose to be."

MaleSurvivor has been conducting 3-Day Weekends of Recovery (WOR’s) throughout the US & Canada since 2001. Facilitated by a team of trained therapists and educators who adhere to the highest ethical standards of their clinical professions. These healing weekends provide adjunctive support for any male – 18 or older – who has been sexually victimized as a child and/or as an adult.