How to stay alive when kidnapped!… and what to do afterwards
How do you stay alive when someone tries to murder you and cut you into pieces?? And if you do escape, how do you deal with the years of nightmares and panic attacks that follow?? What if they have a bomb?
There really is no formula for surviving a kidnapping. Stay calm, deescalate and hope desperately that you will be given a second chance at life. You can be as prepared as you want, but the truth is, these situations happen when you are least expecting them. And when it’s a loved one that attacks you, it’s a million times more surprising.
The part I CAN help you with is the aftermath of being a survivor. You would think that coming out alive would be so glorious in itself that you would never have a bad day ever again. Wrong. Here is a glimpse into a typical night weeks later:
“No!” I screamed as I jumped awake. My body was covered in a cold sweat and I was visibly shaking. The pounding in my chest felt like my heart was trying to burst through. Tears filled my eyes and spilled over, as I let out a sob. I was still tucked into the corner of the floor.
Grabbing my knees, I curled into as tight a ball as I could. I pressed into the walls, subconsciously trying to melt into them. I cried into my arms, trying to shake the dream from my mind. He had found me. He had found me and plunged that knife into my back. I felt my heartbeat stop and the last thing I saw were his cold eyes as my vision faded.
The red lines on my wrists were reminders that my fears were well grounded. Just weeks ago, that knife had been pressed into my throat for real. Those hands had been brass knuckles bashing against my skull. My tears had burnt from the mace that coated my face. I should be dead. Cut into pieces. But I’m not! I’m alive!
I was given a beautiful second chance at life that day. So, here I am. Sharing my story with you. I don’t know where you’re at in life. Perhaps you just returned from a hard deployment. Maybe you just gave birth to a beautiful baby and you don’t know why you feel depressed. Maybe the person you gave all your love to just shattered your heart. Or maybe your life is good, but you feel like something’s missing.
If you want to hear the full story of what happened or if you REALLY want to know what to do after trauma, check out The Girl That Got Out by RJ Fisher. I break it down into trauma responses and discuss how each tactic worked for me to heal and be able to function again.
Wherever you’re at, whatever you’re going through, throw it in the comments. Send me an e-mail if you need someone to talk to. Life is hard. We have to be harder. Be Better. Do Different. Reach out.
