Quotessence
Home / Authors / Diane Langberg

Diane Langberg Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllAbuse SurvivorsAbuseChild Sexual Abuse SurvivorsComplex PtsdSurvivorsTherapyAbusive FamilyChild AbuseChild Abuse SurvivorsChild Sexual Abuse

Famous Diane Langberg Quotes

“We are God’s dissidents every time we respond in offices, in communities, in churches, in schools, and in any areas of abuse. We do this as a part of systems, many of them with good and godly aims. We must not go to sleep. We must watch. We must not assume that our family, church, community, country, or organization is always right just because the people in it use the right words. We must never agree to “protect” the name of God by covering ungodliness. In Ephesians 5:11, Paul warns us not to participate in the deeds of darkness but instead to expose them. Understand that you cannot singlehandedly change an entire system; you are not called to do so. Yet we are to speak truth about our systems. This is difficult to do and sometimes quite risky. Just ask Martin Luther King Jr. Ask Martin Luther himself. Ask those in the #MeToo movement. When systems change, it is often little by little and usually at great cost. When you feel overwhelmed, remember this: people are sacred, created in the image of God. Systems are not. They are only worth the people in them and the people they serve. And people are to be treated, whether one or many, the way Jesus Christ treated people.”

PeopleChristChurchFamilyPowerAbuseImage Of God
Book:Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church
Create image

“The experience of chronic abuse carries within it the gross mislabeling of things. Perpetrators are really "nice daddies." Victims are "evil and seductive" (at the age of three!). Nonprotecting parents are "tired and busy." The survivor makes a giant leap forward when [he or ]she can call abuse by its right name and grasp the concept that what was done was a manifestation of the heart of the perpetrator, not the heart of the victim.”

AbuseTherapyAbuse SurvivorsSurvivorsPerpetratorsSurvivors Of AbuseChild Abuse SurvivorsMinimizationDenial Of AbuseAbusive FamilyMislabellingNonprotectingRrecovery From AbuseTherapy For Rape Victims
Book:Counseling Survivors of Sexual Abuse
Create image

“One of the reasons a survivor finds it so difficult to see herself as a victim is that she has been blamed repeatedly for the abuse: "If you weren't such a whore, this wouldn't have to happen." Each time she is used and trashed, she becomes further convinced of her innate badness. She sees herself participating in forbidden sexual activity and may often get some sense of gratification from it even if she doesn't want to (it is, after all, a form of touch, and our bodies respond without the consent of our wills). This is seen as further proof that the abuse is her fault and well deserved. In her mind, she has become responsible for the actions of her abusers. She believes she is not a victim; she is a loathsome, despicable, worthless human being—if indeed she even qualifies as human. When the abuse has been sadistic in nature...these beliefs are futher entrenched.”

Child AbuseChild Sexual AbuseAbuse SurvivorsIncestDehumanizationComplex PtsdVictim BlamingChild Sexual Abuse SurvivorComplex TraumaSelf BlameChild Sexual Abuse SurvivorsNo Longer Human
Book:Counseling Survivors of Sexual Abuse
Create image

“Too often the survivor is seen by [himself or] herself and others as "nuts," "crazy," or "weird." Unless her responses are understood within the context of trauma. A traumatic stress reaction consists of *natural* emotions and behaviors in response to a catastrophe, its immediate aftermath, or memories of it. These reactions can occur anytime after the trauma, even decades later. The coping strategies that victims use can be understood only within the context of the abuse of a child. The importance of context was made very clear many years ago when I was visiting the home of a Holocaust survivor. The woman's home was within the city limits of a large metropolitan area. Every time a police or ambulance siren sounded, she became terrified and ran and hid in a closet or under the bed. To put yourself in a closet at the sound of a far-off siren is strange behavior indeed—outside of the context of possibly being sent to a death camp. Within that context, it makes perfect sense. Unless we as therapists have a good grasp of the context of trauma, we run the risk of misunderstanding the symptoms our clients present and, hence, responding inappropriately or in damaging ways.”

CrazyMental HealthTherapyNutsPtsdAbuse SurvivorsPsychotherapySurvivorsMental Health StigmaTraumatizedTrauma SurvivorsComplex PtsdCounsellingCptsdChild Sexual Abuse SurvivorsTriggeredTrauma TriggerSexual Abuse Survives
Book:Counseling Survivors of Sexual Abuse
Create image