Insomnia

I am told that insomnia is good for creativity, but what about those nights when you can't fall asleep, but you are just so tired, too tired to enjoy it really, this beautiful awakeness at night?

So I decided to post this link:
http://www.slate.com/id/2300663/

and this: http://www.slate.com/id/2300600/

and this, which I thought was a pretty balanced answer - also, the reader comments are very interesting: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/02/could-i-have-been-sexually-abused/?hpt=hp_bn6

I think this article points to the complexity of memory with regards to sexual assualt: Often, if a victim can not remember exactly what happened and how it happened, if there are any discrepancies in their story, in how they remember it one day verse how they remember it the next, they are completely discredited, both by the legal establishment and by society. However, memory in humans is extremely complex, and all the more so when it comes to traumatic events in our past. Every time we remember something, we reconsolidate it, and in doing so, are able to change our memories - in other words, memories have a certain amount of neuroplasticity.

After a while, if the event happened in the distant enough past, or was a borderline case of abuse to being with, victims can begin to doubt themselves, to feel "Did this really happen to me?", to almost wonder if they are imagining things. (For more on how what society tells us can change our memory of events that happened to us, please see the studies by Elizabeth Loftus.) I am not saying that is what happened here, since this person has no memory, and may not have been assaulted - but I think it is an issue people should be aware of.

Two more points: 1. There is one reader comment by someone who clearly was abused asking if what happened to her was abuse. This just underscores the need to teach both men and women exactly what constitutes abuse, assault, etc. because there is a lot of confusion. 2. One person said they would never have let anyone abuse them as a child; they would have fought back. I think that this attitude of "she could have fought back harder and therefore prevented the attack", is a major factor in blaming the victim: The rapists' success is proof the woman somehow wanted it; if not, she would have been able to prevent it. This is especially the case when men are raped, because society has an assumption that men are strong and able to defend themselves. If you think about it, that is also part of the argument behind women's self-defense classes and rape whistles: That you can prevent rape. While I do think these classes are important, and I am sure many women have been saved because of them, I think the concept that women should have to do something to prevent rape, when not getting raped is a basic human right, is preposterous. It's like if society started mandating that people carry guns so they don't get robbed, and then blaming them for being unable to defend themselves in the case of a mugging.

Also, I think the article should have mentioned that childhood abuse need not come from within the family, but can often come from a teacher or family friend.