people will say “how will i cope with my trauma without using ao3 to show me that i’m less alone???” and like i’m gonna be gut punchingly honest. you are not alone, and there are ways to understand that without seeking out people who glorify and romanticize your trauma. if you are a survivor, giving kudos to “proshipping” pedophiles is not going to heal you. it’s going to embolden and enable them to traumatize more people. coping is about harm reduction, not re-exposing yourself to harm and allowing others to be harmed.
there are ways to cope. you deserve to heal. i am taking your hands and looking into your eyes, survivor to survivor, telling you that there are constructive ways to help yourself. there are resources for you. there is a community for you. there are ways you can cope with this besides reading porn on a website that acts as a free for all for the types of people who once hurt you.
you can call the confidential RAINN hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673)
if you’re in the US, you can find support near you through the national sexual violence resource center.
you can look for a therapist near you or find a professional to speak to digitally
you can look into dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) resources in real life or online
you can seek out survivor forums and support groups
there are ways to cope with this. but retraumatizing yourself and potentially exposing others to traumatizing content is not one of them.
