If you place a frog in a boiling pot of water, it will jump out immediately. If you place a frog in the same pot, and slowly heat the water until it’s boiling, the frog dies. But, if the frog manages to jump out before it dies, how do you make sure it recovers from the physical and mental pain?
Line Michaud was first emotionally, then physically abused by her husband. She was one of the few members of the audience at the “Women’s Health and Past Abuse: What Can Be Done to Help?” talk.
“The more you’re aware of it, the more you put it in their face, it might kind of open the door. Say, ‘Hey, I’m part of it. I better get out,'” said Michaud. “There’s not enough awareness around that topic, it should be more than what we have today.”
Michaud said what kept her going after separating from her husband was the support of groups and professionals, and her friends.
“The dogmatic view was that when the women left the abusive relationship, health would magically improve, and that wasn’t resonating with practitioners who would see women who left abusive relationships,” said Kelly Scott-Storey.
UNB nursing faculty members Scott-Storey and Marilyn Merritt-Gray along with their colleague Judy Wuest, decided to present their findings from a study challenging whether or not women were effectively recovering from past abuse, and how it was affecting their health.
“As a health researcher, as a nurse and as an academic, what struck me is a lot of what’s in our textbooks and what I was seeing in real practice in the people I work with on a daily basis, clients, didn’t seem to match,” said Merritt-Gray.
There are long term health implications for women recovering from past abusive relationships, including neglected PTSD symptoms, depression, fatigue, memory loss and disordered eating.
“It’s becoming less stigmatized, and more readily talked about. We’re making baby steps,” said Scott-Storey.
Merrit-Gray said the university community is becoming better informed, but still has a long way to go.
“The small turnout tonight is not uncommon too, because I think a lot of people think, ‘Oh man, give it a rest. You know, is there anything new here, haven’t we done this, shouldn’t we be moving on to men’s experience with abuse? Haven’t we learned what we need to learn about this, we need to be moving ahead,’” said Merrit-Gray.
Spreading awareness is the main idea behind the event, and it’s an idea Michaud can back whole heartedly.
“Get out. It’s as simple as that. But it’s not easy. You have to be ready. Once the door’s open, run, because there’s going to be help on the other side of the door, even if you don’t think there is,” said Michaud.
For those suffering from abuse, please contact the Fredericton Sexual Assault Crisis Centre for help at 454-0437 (available 24 hours a day), UNB Counselling Services at 453-4820, or the UNB Student Health Centre at 453-4837 during regular office hours.
