Content Warning: This episode discusses child sexual abuse and its long-term impacts. Please take care while listening.

Silence was survival — until the day it wasn’t.
In this emotional and deeply honest opening episode, Sheryl shares the moment her decades of silence finally shattered. A single phone call from her sister pulled the truth to the surface, revealing that the abuse Sheryl endured as a child had now reached the next generation. Speaking out for the very first time became the beginning of justice: her abuser was later convicted on 32 counts of sexual abuse against Sheryl, her sister, and her niece, and is now serving a life sentence.

Through vulnerable storytelling, flashes of humor, and the kind of honesty that only comes from lived experience, Sheryl explores what silence looked like at different stages of her life — the freezing, the obedience, the perfectionism — and how breaking that silence began the slow, painful, and ultimately liberating process of healing.

This episode sets the foundation for the journey ahead: understanding trauma, rebuilding identity, reclaiming joy, and reminding other survivors that they’re not alone, and never were.

CREDITS: Created, hosted, and produced by Sheryl.

Website: dissociatedpod.com

RESOURCES

Immediate Support

• National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-4673 Website: https://www.rainn.org
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 Website: https://www.crisistextline.org
• Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988 Website: https://988lifeline.org

Therapy & Trauma Support

• Psychology Today Therapist Finder: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapist
• Therapy Den — Inclusive Therapist Directory: https://www.therapyden.com
• EMDR International Association: https://www.emdria.org
• Trauma-Focused CBT: https://tfcbt.org

Organizations & Survivor Communities

• RAINN: https://www.rainn.org
• 1in6 (for male-identifying survivors): https://1in6.org
• Pandora’s Project: https://pandys.org
• End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI): https://evawintl.org