Childhood Trauma: How Resilience Is Built

By Caroline Bellenger

ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FOR ME WHEN DESCRIBING MY EXPERIENCE OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE IS TO DESCRIBE WHO I AM NOW.

Although I spent over 20 years blaming myself for what happened, I can absolutely understand now that I was a Victim of these circumstances. After years of personal growth, I no longer consider myself a victim of anything.

Always remember that you do not have to be in a perfect place with everything under control to start developing resilience.

The term Survivor is what society mostly uses to describe those who experience child sexual abuse. And for most of my life, this is the terminology I used. However, I never felt comfortable with it. The general meaning of survivor is someone who has overcome difficulties or death and then carried on with life. I did not just carry on with life when I healed from childhood sexual abuse trauma, I built resilience and I thrived.

Caroline Bellenger

Caroline Bellenger is a passionate life coach, author, motivational speaker, and creator of ‘Be The Impossible’ courses. From childhood sexual abuse to over twenty years of addiction and mental health issues, Caroline finally got sober in 2009. Since then Caroline has gone on to represent Australia in triathlon, climb to Everest Base Camp, complete an honours degree, compete in national sporting events and operate a thriving fitness business. Caroline has been a sole single mum for 18 yrs and has volunteered countless hours giving back to the community. Caroline is passionate about inspiring women to reach their dreams. Caroline emphatically believes that if she can overcome significant life obstacles, then any woman given support and encouragement can achieve the impossible. Her life purpose is to help women find fulfillment and happiness in their own lives.

Read the complete article in the new issue of Mumpreneur Movement Magazine, Building Resilience: A Must For Successful Women.