You may be afraid of your own feelings. Sometimes you can experience confusion or competing feelings about what happened to the person you know. What you feel could also be affected by how the survivor is feeling and in certain moments you won't be able to differentiate your own emotions from theirs, or you might feel you cannot express your own feelings. This can be scary.

It is important to remember that you are not the one who experienced the abuse and you can't "fix" everyone's emotions; what you can do is to be a strong support by listening and respecting the experience of others, without trying to do anything to change them.

Even if you did not suffer the abuse, it is normal to feel afraid. You might feel afraid that you might get hurt, afraid that someone else you love might get hurt, or that your life will not be the same. 

What can you do?
Remember to acknowledge your own feelings and to find support for yourself too.

​“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” ~Nelson Mandela