is it just me or are some stories unbelievable

If you pay attention, the fakes will eventually give themselves away. Then, you put them on ignore.

One man was posting all kinds of nonsense claiming to be Cherokee, and details about them. I knew he was a fake because I am one. He was getting blisters on his fingers burning up Google to post that nonsense in chat. I put him on ignore. It wasn't long before the mods banned him.
 
Nobody would believe some parts of my story - nobody could do what was done to me, but I know that somebody did - I was there, and almost half of it was sexual torture, including tools and instruments, and fully intended. If people can't come here and tell their stories for fear of being disbelieved, there's pretty much nowhere left...where they can.
 
There **are** occasional "fakes" but they eventually show their true colors and are weeded out by the mods.
Good, and hopefully The Watchdog groups pick up on the digital trail.

Everything is recorded.

I'd never understand someone that could waster their own fucking time.
 
Honestly, I thought what happened to me had to be too outlandish to be believed; until I got on here and realized how similar everyone's story is. There may very well be a minority of false stories on here, the vast majority are true and focusing on alleged falsehoods, in my opinion at least, does a disservice to the majority of survivors on here.
 
I'm terrible at detecting B.S. - I just assume everyone here is telling the truth. I wouldn't lie, myself, and don't understand why anyone else would. I'm dumb, maybe.
 
I'm terrible at detecting B.S. - I just assume everyone here is telling the truth. I wouldn't lie, myself, and don't understand why anyone else would. I'm dumb, maybe.
I really don't think that it's an issue. In the remote chance someone is lying about something; that's on them.
 
In my early years, the few times that I thought that I could trust and reach out and tell someone about what was going on in my home ended in "you're making these things up", "he's going through a stage", "we've done everything to stop his lying", to outright betrayal; the [confessed to] reporting back to the abuser that his son was saying such things, which then led to even more horrific beatings. I went through a long period believing that everybody hated me for saying anything, and that most adults were probably perpetrators themselves, trying to cover up and conceal, for themselves or other offenders. That, up to this day, remains a plausible possibility to me.
 
I think on this subject a simple rule should apply. If you read someone's story and decide not to believe what you are reading, there's no rule saying that you must respond to try to be some sort of "hero" and out the "story teller" I mean who really needs to hear that, if you do believe, there's still no rule saying you have to respond, but if do decide to respond, try to imagine being the age of the boy in the experience and respond respectively. In another way of saying things, it's an old saying, "if you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all.
 
I have been disbelieved far more times than I've been believed, because those to whom I've sent the entire account of the torture and rapes inflicted on me, were certain that there are no people on Earth who would ever do such things to a defenceless male. When the account is rejected in that manner, I feel that it's ME who just got rejected, and the memory of what was done to me is made worse. It's one of those can't win, stop trying, situations that bob along into our lives, from time to time. I have no physical scars, but plenty of emotional damage that never went far in healing over. If people don't believe me, they can go to hell. I didn't confide in them to get their approval about the believability of it all...I was responding to them asking me to send the account to them. Some people can't stand the gore and savagery that old psycho males find easy to bring to bear on helpless victims. I wouldn't mind betting that some never read it, or never read all of it, and I kinda understand that, really.

I only know that it was life-changing, forever!
 
It's worth remembering that many of us have been traumatized more than once. Once via the original sexual trauma, and then again (and sometimes again and again and again) by disclosing to people who refuse to believe us.

This is why it's so important to pass on by and say nothing about any stories you disbelieve on this forum. I was greatly re-injured the first time I shared my story on social media, but that was a place for which I perhaps could have predicted the response. If I had told my story here, a place specifically meant to share our stories of trauma, and been disbelieved ... I think that would have been the permanent end of my healing journey.
 
It's worth remembering that many of us have been traumatized more than once. Once via the original sexual trauma, and then again (and sometimes again and again and again) by disclosing to people who refuse to believe us.

This is why it's so important to pass on by and say nothing about any stories you disbelieve on this forum. I was greatly re-injured the first time I shared my story on social media, but that was a place for which I perhaps could have predicted the response. If I had told my story here, a place specifically meant to share our stories of trauma, and been disbelieved ... I think that would have been the permanent end of my healing journey.
Great points @Strangeways. Not being believed is re-traumatizing for sure!

That makes me think of something I talked with a friend about recently. That is: when the abuse is still pretty much a “secret,” because we haven’t told anyone about it - or maybe have told just a few people, we survivors can sometimes over share. We over share both in terms of telling too many people, and in terms of what we tell people. We do this because we are so desperate for a witness (someone who will listen, believe us, empathize with us, and help us heal) to our abuse. It is completely understandable and is not a criticism. But it is a caution.

Please, guys, if you find yourself desperate inside to share about your abuse, please find a trauma-trained therapist and make that your primary outlet. Or, come here - where there are compassionate and empathetic men - and tell your story. The witness you long for probably won’t be found in family members or friends, and we set ourselves up for additional pain when we tell people who just can’t handle it.
 
. . . "we tell people. We do this because we are so desperate for a witness (someone who will listen, believe us . . . The witness you long for probably won’t be found in family members or friends, and we set ourselves up for additional pain when we tell people who just can’t handle it."

Absolutely TRUE.
 
We over share both in terms of telling too many people, and in terms of what we tell people. We do this because we are so desperate for a witness (someone who will listen, believe us, empathize with us, and help us heal) to our abuse. It is completely understandable and is not a criticism. But it is a caution.

Please, guys, if you find yourself desperate inside to share about your abuse, please find a trauma-trained therapist and make that your primary outlet. Or, come here - where there are compassionate and empathetic men - and tell your story.
QFT.
 
we survivors can sometimes over share. We over share both in terms of telling too many people, and in terms of what we tell people. We do this because we are so desperate for a witness (someone who will listen, believe us, empathize with us, and help us heal) to our abuse. It is completely understandable and is not a criticism. But it is a caution.

Please, guys, if you find yourself desperate inside to share about your abuse, please find a trauma-trained therapist and make that your primary outlet. Or, come here - where there are compassionate and empathetic men - and tell your story. The witness you long for probably won’t be found in family members or friends, and we set ourselves up for additional pain when we tell people who just can’t handle it.
This is something I probably needed to hear.
 
Great points @Strangeways. Not being believed is re-traumatizing for sure!

That makes me think of something I talked with a friend about recently. That is: when the abuse is still pretty much a “secret,” because we haven’t told anyone about it - or maybe have told just a few people, we survivors can sometimes over share. We over share both in terms of telling too many people, and in terms of what we tell people. We do this because we are so desperate for a witness (someone who will listen, believe us, empathize with us, and help us heal) to our abuse. It is completely understandable and is not a criticism. But it is a caution.

Please, guys, if you find yourself desperate inside to share about your abuse, please find a trauma-trained therapist and make that your primary outlet. Or, come here - where there are compassionate and empathetic men - and tell your story. The witness you long for probably won’t be found in family members or friends, and we set ourselves up for additional pain when we tell people who just can’t handle it.
Amen to that.
 
Great points @Strangeways. Not being believed is re-traumatizing for sure!

That makes me think of something I talked with a friend about recently. That is: when the abuse is still pretty much a “secret,” because we haven’t told anyone about it - or maybe have told just a few people, we survivors can sometimes over share. We over share both in terms of telling too many people, and in terms of what we tell people. We do this because we are so desperate for a witness (someone who will listen, believe us, empathize with us, and help us heal) to our abuse. It is completely understandable and is not a criticism. But it is a caution.

Please, guys, if you find yourself desperate inside to share about your abuse, please find a trauma-trained therapist and make that your primary outlet. Or, come here - where there are compassionate and empathetic men - and tell your story. The witness you long for probably won’t be found in family members or friends, and we set ourselves up for additional pain when we tell people who just can’t handle it.
There is so much truth in what you've said. Sadly I'm sure each one of us has had our abuse doubted by someone. This is especially painful and adds to the trauma if it's someone we trusted enough to disclose to in the first place.
 
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