============================================================================================================

The 16 Signs of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Posted by Louise Behiel in Louise Behiel, Sexual Abuse | 1,516 comments

https://louisebehiel.com/the-16-signs-of-childhood-sexual-abuse/

Over many years of working with survivors of childhood abuse, in all of its many permutations and combinations, I’ve come to believe that there is a constellation of symptoms or behaviors in adults which suggest they might have been abused as children. While these are more applicable to sexual abuse, some apply to physical abuse victims and a few apply to the other types of abuse we put children through.

Disclosure: the most exhaustive list I’ve ever found is in the book Secret Survivors, by E. Sue Blume. It’s an old one (1998) but it is still worth reading if any of this feels like it might be your truth.

It is not my place as a therapist, in my opinion, to diagnose or make decisions about your past.  It is my job to help you discover it for yourself.  So while the items on this list are common in the people I’ve worked with, I do NOT use it as a tool to tell clients they’ve been abused. I use it for my information only. It provides a possible underlying reason that my client chose to come to therapy at this time. The same is true for you — you must NOT read this list and say to yourself “I ticked off most of these characteristics, so I must have been abused”. That’s not the way this stuff works. {Sorry}

Abuse survivors often:

1. Have a very sensitive gag reflex

2. Can’t tolerate having water hit them in the face (in the shower or pool)

3. May not enjoy bathing; personal hygiene can be a challenge; alternately they may shower fastidiously and too often

4. Dressing inappropriately (either very modestly or very immodestly) for the weather and their size

5. Obesity (in my clients about 1/3 of the obese women were sexually abused)

6. Have eating disorders, alcoholism andor/ virtually every form of addiction, including sex

7. Abuse themselves – cutting, picking at the skin, burning (usually from cigarettes)

8. Lack boundaries, physically, emotionally and spiritually

9. Have ‘dead zones’ on the body (for example, may not know body has wet spots after toweling off after a shower, or she may not know how she got a bruise)

10. Are unable to make love in certain positions

11. Can’t remember periods during childhood or realize that everything happened at ‘8 or 9 or…’

12. Feel crazy, or different, or alone; also feel dirty and unworthy

13. Regularly see double entendres in ordinary conversation

14. Not trust the body (to be strong, graceful, reliable, healthy)

15. Suffer emotional abreactions: reliving the emotions of the abuse when confronted with specific stimuli, e.g. smells (aftershave or cooked cabbage like Grandma always made) or sounds (a footstep in the hall at night) or images (a type of bed or a sofa in the basement) or touch (the hair, or lack of, on a man’s chest) or taste (slimy, tart, or spicy). This is usually part of PTSD, but that deserves a post of its own, because of the complexity of the topic.

16. Arousal when reading about a child who’s been victimized. This is the body’s response to the victim’s sexual ‘education’ and is particularly prevalent if the victim was groomed over a period of time.  But it is the most shameful reaction for victims and one that is the hardest to talk about. It is also the only item on this list that makes me mad.  I’m not talking about the arousal of a perpetrator here, but the reaction of my client who feels ashamed because “Something is wrong with me if I feel this way”. It reinforces the message they were given during the abuse that said “this is your fault” or “you like it”. This message is incredibly complicated if the victim experienced arousal during the abuse. (Yes it happens – it’s natural and it’s normal).This isn’t a person who is aroused looking at a child but only when reading about the abuse done to children. (All my women clients who report this symptom admit it only comes when reading, but I have a small sample.)

It should be clear that the effects of childhood sexual abuse are long term and insidious. They don’t go away unless treated and resolved. They vary in complexity and how they interact. They are always impacted by the role the client has adopted to handle the stress of her family of origin.

And they are always treatable. They can be resolved, diminished or made manageable. The important thing is to accept that if ‘something doesn’t feel right’, it probably isn’t. And that there is no shame for what was done to you.

IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT

If you doubt that, please go and watch children playing at a park or in a yard or in their home.  Preferably watch children who are about the age you were at the time of your abuse or when it began. Watch them carefully. Then tell me what is sexual about their behavior.

Little kids love to run around without clothes.  It’s natural for them.  Tell me what is sexual about a 2 or 3 year old running and giggling because she got out of the bathroom after her bath and is enjoying the escape.

Kids are not sexual – unless a perpetrator has taught them to be.

1,516 Comments

BJ March 17, 2018 at 3:33 PM

I’m not sure if anything happened to me, but I know when I was around 5, 6, or 7 I went through a bought of deep depression. I hated myself, the way I looked my personality, everything. and I didn’t know why. I know around that time also I would draw pictures of naked people both male and adult female genitalia. I sometimes would lay down to go to sleep and I’d start thinking of BDSM stuff, especially stuff done to adult woman, but I dont know where I’d get those thoughts from. I started masturbating during that time too, and would sometimes put a sock in my pants to rub against a pillow. I felt sick and ashamed with all of these things. I also got into a incest relationship once or twice with the sister that was 2 years older than me. We were only “pretending” in a game, I played the part of the male. I dont remember the details other than the fact we were naked in bed together and roleplaying, and I felt so sick and ashamed. The masturbation went away for awhile then seems like it came back around 9 or 10 and I almost felt addicted. Like, worried that going to camp I wouldn’t be able to masturbate. It subsides and intensifies on and off throughout my life.

As for the BDSM stuff, I dont recall ever seeing that kind of stuff in a movie, all though once or twice I saw sex scenes and Birds which was graphic and traumatized me (I only saw the part where someone’s eyes got poked out). When I first started masturbating it was usually involving me sticking stuff like bobby pins, pencils on my lips or other places to cause so pain. I dont know why I had that sick desire.

Most of my childhood is kinda blank, I was forgotten and neglected at times by my parents.

I got into porn when I was twelve, and have been since then. Abusive porn to women was especially stimulating for me. I once after masturbating forced my dogs face into my genitals.

Why was I like this? Why violence towards adult females stimulating to me? Why did I pretend to have a penis to rub into the pillow? Why did I want to receive torture/BDSM sexual stuff?

I know as far back as I can remember I have never liked men very much except for my dad. When I was 12 that changed. He became abusive emotionally and psychologically, and sexist which in itself tore me to shreds emotionally. I felt very unloved by him and though my mom was sorta abusive too, I would still defend her when he’d scream at her. I do not trust people at all. I have never had sex (that I am aware of) and I’m 24. I have severe anxiety and anytime a guy starts showing interest in me I pull away from him and avoid him. Even when I liked him a lot.

If something did happen to me the only culprits I have are:

I know one of my sisters fiancés around the time I was 6, 7, or 8 stayed with our family for a few months, and I know I have never liked him from the first time I met him for some reason, but I dont remember ever being alone with him during that time in my life. As a teenager I’ve witnessed him glaring at his 7 y/o daughter because she was pretending to be a puppydog and laid down and it kinda looked like a porn star pose. He thought no one was looking but I saw him, and she suddenly changed her position seeing her dad glare at her like that.

I know one of my older sisters who was a teenager at that time I was first starting to masturbate, she had been molested as a 3 y/o and the memories came back it was someone from when we lived in a different state, some teenager boy at the time. But for some reason she has always hated me. She was psychologically abusive once or twice (pretending to kill my pet grasshoppers and telling me how she shook them in their jar over and over until they died and she was laughing at the fact I was crying) and physically abusive to me. She once strangled me in public, pretending she was kidding, but I almost passed out (I was 9 at the time) and ever since then I can’t let anyone touch my throat without revolting.

My dad is a possibility just because it usually is that dad, and I didn’t really understand why I hated him so severely and blindly as a teenager. but it could just be because I felt rejected by him.

I had another brother-in-law stay with us when I was 3 and 4 but I dont think he did anything. I didn’t have problems back then.

I do remember my family having this guy over, a friend of the family, when I was about 5, 6, or 7. And I remember thinking he was really hot and kinda lusting after his body but at the same time I was particularly afraid of him. I can’t remember if this was before or after I started having perversion. Those three years of my childhood all blend in together. Anyways, some reason I felt guilty but I cant remember why I felt guilty when he was around.
My mom recently mentioned him randomly and said he was a nice guy, he was in the military at the time and talked about how he didn’t really like it because all the guys there were watching porn in the open and it bothered him. So maybe that’s true he wasn’t a bad guy and I felt ashamed because I was crushing on him? I would always feel ashamed whenever I had a crush on a guy, all the way up into my teen years I’ve been like that. I’m not sure if that’s normal or why I’m like that?

Does anyone know what’s wrong with me? And how likely I am to have had something happen to me? Also I’ve always felt kinda nasty and unworthy especially when I tried to practice my religion, which was the result of these perversions.

Reply

LOUISE BEHIEL March 19, 2018 at 11:00 AM

I apologize for the delay in responding. you certainly have many of the symptoms of being abused in childhood. However, I can’t tell from a post. finding out is a personal process where you interact with a professional with experience in this field and discover your truth. remember that there are all sorts of sexual abuse. watching your parents, or other adults can do a lot of damage to a sensitive child.

what I’d like you to know is that I have had clients present with many of the realities you present. they weren’t crazy or dysfunctional and neither are you. There is something troubling in your past and it can be healed, just as theirs was. You may never know exactly what happened. but you can heal all the shame and guilt and uncertainty and live a wonderful, productive life if you do the work. it’s not easy, nor is it usually fast, but it can be done. myself and many of my clients have had success in healing the past of abuse and pain. You can do it too.

Reply

ANONYMOUS January 26, 2018 at 7:51 AM

I have this feeling that something is really wrong, but i have no idea what it is. I kind of feel out of touch with myself, like it is not my body and that im not real sometimes. I have a very foggy memory, and my prespective of time is wrong. I say to my mom when i was 6 i did that, and then my mother would say i was 8 at the time. I did not have any problems until i was around 15, that was when my eating disorder started and i began to selfharm. I reallly never had a reason for it and never understood why it happend. I later became very depressed and was suicidal. When i got help for my problems they asked if was sexually abused, and at the moment they asked me that i felt sick to my stomach, i wanted to throw up and i felt like i was going to cry. I never said anything about it at the time and i moved on.

I later came out as gay, but i find myself looking at men at men, and then feeling ashamed because of it. It is not like i want to marry them or fall inlove, but something about the sexual part is embarrasing and shamefull.

I remember at the age of 7 or 8 that me and my friend took pictures of our vagina with a camera, but i never really knew why i did it, when i was around 11 i remember grinding myself up against the wall and my dogs and being kind of sexual in school while showering after gym class. When i was 11 i began watching porn and people making out, i never really knew how that got in my head. When i was 13 i started to watch all of the episodes of law and order which contained sexual abuse towards children and when my brother asked my why i told him that i could relate to it.

When i was 16 i could not stand being touched by my dad or men in general, i did not want to live with my dad and went many months without seeing him much. It always seems that when im with my dad, my eating disorder and self harm get worse or out of control.

I often have an arousing feeling when thinking about rape or me being sexually abused when i was little, and often think that i should be raped. When im sleeping i can not sleep with my legs open and i find it uncomfortable to sleep with my back towards the door.

When i watch videos of myself i always find it so uncomfortable when my dad would give cuddles up and down my back, and also the idea of sleeping in his bed until i was about 11 gives me the creeps. I also remember never wanting to shower when i was younger and my mother had to tell me to take one all the time. When i was around 14 i got bacterial vaginosis, but i never had sex. it keeps comming back a lot.

I now suffer form anxiety, but it never find out what it is caused by, but it became worse when i stared my new school. The smell and the walls remind me of the school i went to in first grade, but i hardly rememeber anything about that place or where we lived at the time. I also had alot of stomach pain and constipations when i grew up, but i never found out why.

Recently i was suppose to ride alone in my teachers car (a man)and i completly broke down by the thought of it. Crying and began to panick. I was crying like i never had before, because it felt such incredible sadness in my stomach, like it was buried away, but it finally came to the surface. That night i could not sleep very well, i woke up many times in horror. It was like someone was hugging me extremely tight and could not get away, and i had a feeling that someone was watching me.

When watching information videos about the topic i wanna cry or throw up. My mother asked me if something happend when i was younger and kinda panicked when she asked me. Also recently i sorted out my old clothes and my dad had kept my underwear from when i was little, there was underwear from when i was 11. I asked why and he responded with because they are cute. I thought that was so disgusting.
One night my dad came home drunk and my first tought was that he was going to rape me or something, i was scared to go to bed that night as i thought he was goning to enter my room and touch me.

I was sexually harrased by a boy when i was in high school, but this feeling is something deeper and different.
I am afraid that i am making this up,because i never could imagine my dad doing that to me. It makes me wonder if it is true or not, ecpesially when he shows that he is worried about me.
I also want to mention that my younger brother wet the bed at night and also through the day until he was 11 or so. He was also very violent.I dont know if it has something to do with it, but i wanted to mention it.

I dont know what to do about this, it feles like im losing my mind.
Im almost 18 by the way.

https://louisebehiel.com/the-16-signs-of-childhood-sexual-abuse/

==================================================================================================

======================================================================================================

Yes, Childhood Sexual Abuse Often Does Contribute to Homosexuality

https://stream.org/yes-childhood-sexual-abuse-often-contribute-homosexuality/

13.6K504

By MICHAEL BROWN Published on February 23, 2017 • 456 Comments

Michael Brown

What do Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, George Takei and Milo Yiannopoulos have in common? They are all out and proud gay men, and they were all sexually abused as underage minors. Sadly, this is an extremely common occurrence, as there is frequently a connection between childhood sexual abuse and adult homosexuality.

To say such a thing, of course, is to invite a hailstorm of fierce criticism and ridicule: “You bigoted homophobe! These men were born gay, not made gay, and their sexuality is a gift from God, not the result of sexual abuse. Plus, there are plenty of gay men who were never abused and plenty of straight men who were abused as boys and never turned gay.”

Putting the name-calling aside, there is some truth to these statements.

Numbers Don’t Lie

Not all gay men were molested as boys (since there are multiple causes for homosexuality) and not all boys who are molested turn out gay (probably because they were less predisposed towards homosexuality). Still, it cannot be denied that a disproportionately high number of gay men were abused as boys, and that certainly contributed to their sexual and emotional development.

That’s why it was no surprise when Dr. Robert Epstein, the pro-gay editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, noted that gay readers who were upset with an ad that ran in his publication in 2002 sent him letters asserting “that gays have a right to be rude or abusive because they themselves have been abused” (this obviously included being sexually abused).

And that’s why it was no surprise when a 2009 report prepared for a bisexual health summit revealed that 74 percent of bisexuals had been sexually abused as children. (For other studies focusing specifically on the connection between childhood sexual abuse and homosexuality, see here.)

As for the notion that people are born gay, not only would that suggest that infants can relate to the concepts of sexual and romantic attraction (which they obviously cannot), but it would also ignore the fact that our upbringing and environment have profound effects on us. Why deny such an obvious reality?

It is well-known that the children of alcoholics have a much higher chance of becoming alcoholics than the general population, and this cannot be blamed on genetics alone. As stated by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “Genes are not the only things children inherit from their parents. How parents act and how they treat each other and their children has an influence on children growing up in the family. These aspects of family life also affect the risk for alcoholism.”

In the same way, it is well-known that men who were abused as children are much more likely than the average population to abuse other children as adults. As summarized in a 2001 article in the British Journal of Psychology:

But again, none of this should surprise us in the least, since the environment in which we are raised, especially if coupled with major, traumatic childhood experiences, has a profound effect on our ongoing mental and emotional and social development.

Society Ignores the Childhood Trauma of Many Gay Adults

Yet when it comes to homosexuality, it is taboo to connect childhood sexual abuse with subsequent gay identity since: 1) this would contradict the “born gay” myth; and 2) it would underscore the fact that homosexual attractions are not natural and positive.

As explained candidly by the lesbian feminist and academic Camille Paglia, “Every single gay person I know has some sort of drama going on, back in childhood. Something was happening that we’re not allowed to ask about anymore.” (She was speaking of bad relationships with parents as well as sexual abuse or other factors.)

In keeping with this, all the professional counselors I have spoken with (including trained pastors and psychologists or psychiatrists) have told me that the vast number of gays they have counseled were sexually abused as minors (some told me this was the case in every instance they encountered).

You might say, “But gays hardly have a monopoly on this. What about the problem of heterosexual schoolteachers having sex with their students, especially female teachers with male students?”

But you miss the point, since: 1) we all agree that this is terrible and abusive; and 2) most of us would agree that such relationships have the real potential of negatively affecting that child’s sexual and emotional development. Yet when it comes to gay men who were molested as boys, we’re told this did not contribute to their (homo)sexual development. More disturbingly, in gay circles, such relationships are often looked at as positive and nurturing, since, it is surmised, the boy was already aware of his same-sex attraction and the older man served as a mentor of sorts.

In Their Own Words

In the words of Harry Hay, the gay icon and founder of the American gay movement:

You can be assured that such relationships would often become sexual, thereby providing the entry point into the larger homosexual “lifestyle.” (For other quotes from Hay, see here.)

Similarly, the renowned gay activist Larry Kramer opined,

That’s why “man-boy love” has been celebrated in homosexual culture through the centuries, that’s why there’s a page listing “Historical pederastic couples” on a gay Wikipedia site, and that’s why George Takei could speak glowingly of his first sexual encounter at the age of 13 (with a 19-year-old male camp counselor), at a time when he admits he didn’t know he was gay.

In this light, the outrageous statement by philosopher Michael Foucalt, arguing for lowering the age of consent, doesn’t sound as outrageous: “It is quite difficult to lay down barriers [particularly since] it could be that the child, with his own sexuality, may have desired the adult.”

Ah yes, it was the child asking for it again. This too is sickening beyond words.

The reality is that children, especially pre-teens and young teens, are tremendously impressionable and malleable, as confirmed by this account shared by a Christian family activist (reflecting on his pre-Christian youth):

Ex-gay Robert Lopez, raised by his mother and her lesbian partner, had this to say:

It is truly distasteful to speak of such things, but speak about them we must, given the ever-increasing scope of gay activism, especially in our children’s schools. And with the terribly painful issue of childhood sexual abuse coming to the fore in recent days, let’s use this as a teachable moment.

We can do this by: 1) being on the lookout for signs that our own children may have been abused; 2) refusing to allow our kids to be experimental pawns in the culture wars, because of which we strongly oppose sex-based LGBT curricula in the schools; and 3) no longer denying the common connection between childhood sexual abuse and adult homosexuality, thereby providing a path for healing and wholeness.

By doing these things, we will not only make this a teachable moment, we will make it a redemptive one.

https://stream.org/yes-childhood-sexual-abuse-often-contribute-homosexuality/

=============================================================================================================

===========================================================================================================

New U.S. Study says Gay People are not ‘Born that Way’, Sexual Orientation Not Fixed

The study revealed that the notion that gender identity is fixed and determined by biological factors is also not backed up by data.

By

Amando Flavio

 -

The issue of sexual orientation has been a very controversial issue since nations in the West began to recognize Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgender (LGBT) rights.

An important part of the current LGBT debate is the belief that sexual orientation is predetermined by biology. Therefore, if a person has no choice over whether to be gay or not, society cannot demand that he or she becomes ‘straight’. This is a sound and reasonable argument.  Indeed, society cannot force people to change from something they have no control over.

On the other hand, the ‘born that way’ argument has been disputed by some people. A latest cross-discipline study published in the journal New Atlantis has challenged the belief that human sexuality and gender identity are determined by biology and remains fixed. The New Atlantis journal focuses on political, societal and ethical ramifications of technological advances.

The study, carried out by two researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, revealed that there is no scientific proof of sexual orientation being fixed. The researchers said the objective of their study is to draw the attention of the public to mental health problems of the LGBT community. The study cautioned against drastic medical treatment for transgender children.

According to the study, regardless of its political worth, the “born this way” notion by the LGBT community is not backed up by sufficient scientific data. But the study did not conclude or state that being gay is a choice. It merely said stating the opposite may be wrong.

The study, a 144-page paper, was written by Dr. Lawrence S. Mayer, an epidemiologist and biostatistician also trained in psychiatry, who is currently a scholar in residence at the Department of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Paul R. McHugh, who also co-wrote the paper is a renowned psychiatrist, researcher, and educator and former chief of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dr. Mayer said many people who contributed to the study asked not to be identified. The anonymity they requested is to protect them from a potential backlash from those who would disagree with the study. He admitted the study may stir controversy among both pro and anti-LGBT people.

“Some feared an angry response from the more militant elements of the LGBT community; others feared an angry response from the more strident elements of religiously conservative communities. Most bothersome, however, is that some feared reprisals from their own universities for engaging such controversial topics, regardless of the report’s content—a sad statement about academic freedom,” Dr. Mayer said.

The paper’s three sections focus on sexual orientation, links between sexuality and mental health, and gender identity.  Drawing on studies in fields varying from neurobiology to social sciences, the researchers wrote: “The understanding of sexual orientation as an innate, biologically fixed property of human beings – the idea that people are ‘born that way’ – is not supported by scientific evidence.”

The study stated that even the term ‘sexual orientation’ itself is ambiguous. The term, according to the study, is used to describe attraction, behavior or identity by different researchers. Sometimes, the same term refers to things such as belonging to a certain community or having certain fantasies.

The study said: “It is important, then, that researchers are clear about which of these domains are being studied, and that we keep in mind the researchers’ specified definitions when we interpret their findings.”

The researchers acknowledged in the study that there are biological factors associated with sexual behavior, but pointed out that there are no compelling causal biological explanations for human sexual orientation. For example, some studies have showed that there are differences in the brain structures of gay and straight people. But the study said the differences are not necessarily innate, and may be the result of environmental or psychological factors.

“The strongest statement that science offers to explain sexual orientation is that some biological factors appear, to an unknown extent, to predispose some individuals to a non-heterosexual orientation,” the study said.

Explaining further, the researchers revealed LGBT individuals are statistically at greater risk of having mental health problems than the general population. The researchers said in the United States for example, the rate of lifetime suicide attempts across all ages of transgender individuals is estimated at 41%, compared to under 5% in the overall population of the country.  The usually accepted explanation for this is social stress from discrimination and stigma, but the study said that those factors may not solely explain the disparity and that more scientific research on the issue is necessary.

The paper added that the notion that gender identity is fixed and determined by biological factors is also not backed up by data. More scientific data is also needed to back this claim, according to the researchers.

“In reviewing the scientific literature, we find that almost nothing is well understood when we seek biological explanations for what causes some individuals to state that their gender does not match their biological sex,” the authors said.

Concluding the study, the researchers warned against resorting to drastic medical treatment such as sex-reassignment surgery for people identified or identifying as transgender. The researchers said their warning is especially true in children, whose sexuality is mutable and for whom such treatments may do more harm than good.

“There is little scientific evidence for the therapeutic value of interventions that delay puberty or modify the secondary sex characteristics of adolescents, although some children may have improved psychological well-being if they are encouraged and supported in their cross-gender identification. There is no evidence that all children who express gender-atypical thoughts or behavior should be encouraged to become transgender,” the researchers said.

The researchers finally noted that their study touches upon controversial issues, insisting that first and foremost, it is about science and the need for additional evidence in the field. They encouraged western societies to accept the study from a scientific point of view, and not by emotions and personal beliefs.

This article (New U.S. Study says Gay People are not ‘Born that Way’, Sexual Orientation not Fixed) is a free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and AnonHQ.com.

http://anonhq.com/new-u-s-study-says-gay-people-not-born-way-sexual-orientation-not-fixed/

=========================================================================================================

============================================================================================================

'The stroke had turned me gay'

By Lucy WallisBBC News

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17703018

17 April 2012

Following a stroke, Chris Birch's personality and sexuality altered dramatically. Now he is trying to rediscover who he is and why these changes may have happened.

"It's like looking at somebody else, but with my face only younger, and in all fairness, if I met myself I'd probably carry on walking."

Looking at past pictures of himself, 27-year-old Chris Birch struggles to remember or identify with his old self. He used to be a 19-stone, beer-swilling, party-loving rugby fan from the Welsh valleys, the life and soul of a party. He worked in a bank and loved sport and motorbikes.

After a freak accident in 2011, he says he underwent a big change to his personality. He believes that he has gone from being straight to gay.

"I was doing a forward roll down a grass bank one day and cut off the blood supply to my brain which caused a stroke to happen. It was from there, while I was recovering, that I realised I'd changed," says Birch, from Caerphilly.

"The Chris I knew had gone and a new Chris sort of came along. I came to the realisation that the stroke had turned me gay."

A stroke occurs when the blood, and therefore, oxygen supply to the brain is disrupted. Without oxygen, any part of the brain can be destroyed as brain cells die, leaving the brain to make new connections, which can affect how a person thinks, moves or feels.

Stroke patients have a 40% chance of suffering another stroke and Birch takes medication to prevent any such reoccurrence. He still has regular brain scans and cannot remember much of his life before the accident. He has also noticed physical changes to his body, for instance when he is tired, his left eye droops.

When Birch's story hit the headlines last year it sparked a media frenzy and the story went viral. However, some - including media organisations and those close to Birch - questioned whether a stroke could alter a person's sexual orientation.

There are few known cases of a stroke turning a straight person gay, and major personality changes in stroke sufferers are rare. Even Jak Powell, Birch's fiance, believes his partner may always have been gay.

"I've still got the same opinion that it was just something that was always there," says Powell.

"People grow up not knowing they are gay and have families and then they realise they are gay, but they don't have a stroke to realise that."

Find out more

• I Woke up Gay will be broadcast on Tuesday 17 April at 21:00 BST on BBC Three

Or catch up on iPlayer

Yet Birch disagrees and is convinced that, neurologically, it was the stroke that altered his sense of self. The moment he realised his feelings towards men had changed was a scary period in his life.

"It was a sort of lonely time. It was a time I was afraid to tell anybody because that wasn't who I used to be, so it shouldn't be who I am now," he says.

"You're afraid to tell people, you're afraid to have that conversation or even talk about the possibility that I have even changed in some way, and I suppose I dealt with it by moving out of my family home by myself and having to realise who I was all over again."

A change in sexual orientation in a stroke sufferer is a controversial issue that can divide scientific opinion.

Dr Qazi Rahman of Queen Mary, University of London, an expert in human sexual orientation, has researched the neurological differences between gay and straight men and women.

He has tested hundreds of lesbian, gay and straight volunteers and discovered certain key patterns which reveal if a person might have been born gay or straight.

Stroke statistics

• Every five minutes someone in the UK has a stroke
• Around a third of those who have suffered a stroke will recover
• A third of stroke sufferers are left disabled or need further rehabilitation
• And a third of stroke patients are likely to die within the first 10 days
• Medical help should be sought as soon as a stroke is suspected to increase the chance of recovery

BBC Health: Learn more about strokes

Rahman says the brains of gay men could be organised differently to those of straight men.

He invited Birch, who has swapped banking for hairdressing, to undergo the computer-based tests to see if he may, indeed, have been born gay. On half of the tests, Birch performed in the "expected direction" for a gay man, and for the other half was within the range of a straight man.

"The bulk of the evidence in the biological sciences of genetics and psychology and neuroscience suggest that sexuality is something you are born with and it develops later on through life," says Rahman.

"Sometimes it takes something like a neurological insult - which is what a stroke is - to make you reassess those feelings, perhaps that are lying dormant, and bring them into the front of your mind and it is possible that is what has happened with [Birch]."

Yet consultant neuro-psychiatrist Dr Sudad Jawad has worked with young people who have had strokes and has come across a similar case in his practice of a man whose sexuality changed from homosexual to heterosexual.

"Just like a stroke can change you as a person, your behaviour, your personality, the way you think, why not sexual orientation, it is part of the personality of the individual," says Jawad.

Birch's case brings to mind other examples of those whose personality has radically altered after a change in their medical history.

Tommy McHugh suffered a stroke in 2001 which unlocked his creative side. He used to be a builder and is now an artist, sculptor and writes poetry.

However before the stroke, McHugh had no interest in art apart from the tattoos on his arms.

In 2008, Cheryl Johnson claimed her personality and taste in literature had changed after a kidney transplant. She swapped popular novels for high-brow books by Dostoevsky.

Debbie McCann , a grandmother from Glasgow, suffered a stroke in 2011 and began speaking with an Italian accent, although she had never been to Italy.

One of the first recorded instances of a personality change after a head injury dates back to 1848, with the case of Phineas Gage . While working as a railroad construction foreman, his head was pierced by an iron bar propelled by an explosion. He survived the accident but suffered behavioural changes and was reported to have permanently lost his inhibitions.

Although science may never be able to reveal what happened after Birch's accident and the lasting effect of the stroke, he is continuing to rediscover himself and move on with his new life.

He has put away previous pictures of himself - and with them the "old Chris".

"I'm convinced more than ever looking at these photos that the stroke did turn me gay, because there is no way that I was gay before. I have photos as proof and I have friends as proof and now I have memories as proof."

"I'm happier now than I ever have been, why would I want to change?"

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17703018

====================================================================================================

БОЛЕУТОЛЯЮЩИЕ ТАБЛЕТКИ «ПОМЕНЯЛИ» БРИТАНЦУ СЕКСУАЛЬНУЮ ОРИЕНТАЦИЮ

Редакция сайта 360° | 03:21 17 апреля 2018

https://360tv.ru/news/obschestvo/tabletki-pomenjali-orientatsiju/

Специальные болеутоляющие таблетки оказались причиной неожиданной смены сексуального влечения у молодого мужчины из Великобритании. По словам 23‐летнего Скотта Пьюрди, по мере приема лекарства его либидо перестало реагировать на прекрасную половину человечества. В итоге, жителю Линкольншира пришлось открыто заявить о своей новой ориентации, сообщило британское издание Daily Mail.

Скотт Пьюрди рассказал местным журналистам, что все началось после того, как он сломал свою ногу во время катания на местном картодроме. Из-за сложности перелома, помимо основной терапии, местные врачи выписали британцу кодеиновые обезболивающие.

Вскоре мужчина пожаловался врачам, что выписанный препарат не имеет должного действия. Тогда лечащему доктору пришлось выписать препарат иного класса, который помимо прочего применяется и при тревожных расстройствах.

По словам Скотта Пьюрди, через некоторое время после начала приема нового препарата он стал замечать, как его влечение к девушками постепенно стало сходить на нет. Ему резко захотелось «мужского внимания». В итоге, 23-летний британец внезапно бросил свою девушку, пригласил на свидание молодого человека из Лондона и открыто заявил на своей странице в соцсети о смене сексуальной ориентации.

По словам Скотта Пьюрди, мужчины никогда его не интересовали. Но уже спустя две недели после начала приема этого препарата он удивился тому, что девушки его больше никак не привлекают. После чего, ему пришлось признаться в этом и своей второй половинке.

Сообщается, что он не сразу осознал медикаментозную причину своего нового влечения. Позднее, он перестал применять назначенный ему препарат и влечение к мужскому полу стало угасать, однако намерение пойти на свидание с мужчиной у Скотта Пьюрди не пропало.

По словам представителя компании-производителя, назначенное британцу лекарство имеет целый ряд побочных эффектов, в том числе и потерю либидо, а также резкие «колебания настроения».

Сообщается, что подобные таблетки врачи назначают в основном при жалобах на боли нейропатического характера, сильные тревожные расстройства, а также при приступах эпилепсии. По словам представителей фармацевтической компании, в настоящее время порядка 34 миллионов пациентов по всему миру применяют этот препарат.

https://360tv.ru/news/obschestvo/tabletki-pomenjali-orientatsiju/

==========================================================================================================

https://www.indy100.com/article/stroke-made-man-gay-chris-birch-bbc-3-documentary-i-woke-up-homosexuality-lgbt-8029506

This is what the man whose 'stroke made him gay' has to say, years later

Posted about 3 hours ago by Joe Vesey-Byrne in discover 

• UPVOTE
 
 
 

Picture: BBC/YOUTUBE SCREENGRAB

The subject of BBC Three show I Woke Up Gay, Chris Birch, has talked about suffering a stroke, coming out as gay, and the subsequent media attention he's received for his claims.

In an interview with Vice in May, Chris Birch talked about coming out as gay, which happened after he suffered a stroke.

Birch was one of the one in four people under the age of 65 who experienced a stroke, after he apparently did a forward roll and knocked his head.

The pressure damaged an artery bringing blood to the brain, which was reportedly the cause of his stroke.

When he recovered Birch claims that for the first time in his life he had homosexual feelings.

In a 2011 interview with The Daily Mail, Birch said

A spokesperson for the Stroke Association, Joe Korner told Pink News that parts of Birch's brain could have been opened up by the stroke.

In a 2017 interview with Vice, Chris reports that there were other significant changes to his personality, such a new fondness for animals, and wanting a change of career.

Ditching his clerical job for a bank to go into sales, Chris told Vice.

His sexuality change was allegedly less immediate.

He left banking for good after the 2008 crash, and joined a course on hairdressing. One of his clients in the salon he was working in recommended he sell his story to a weekly magazine. The small article was syndicated to become a double page spread in The Mirror entitled 'A Stroke Made Me Gay'.

Birch told Vice he was 'disappointed' in the BBC Three documentary.

The series saw a camera crew enter his Welsh hometown of Ystrad Mynach, and look at the difference between Chris before and after his stroke, with a focus on his sexuality.

The idea that a stroke can cause such a change to one's sexuality, or that it is a provenance of homosexuality, is obviously contentious.

Birch told Vice:

His experience with the British media and the BBC documentary have reportedly led Birch to refuse to pay his TV licence, and the sale of a German book he co-authored about his stroke have been banned from being sold in the UK.

In particular, Birch said he was harassed by proponents of 'gay cure' therapies, who held up his experience as evidence.

He said that others simply did not believe his story.

As of May, when Vice spoke to Birch, he is living in Cardiff with his first boyfriend Jack, and their four dogs.