When The Predator Is Your Father- Sherrie Allsup

Quick Overview

Sherrie Allsup shares her harrowing experience of surviving long-term sexual abuse by her father starting at age six or seven, detailing how the constant adrenaline from fear led to severe physical health problems and complex PTSD, yet she ultimately channeled this trauma into becoming an educator for law enforcement on working with sex crime victims alongside retired officer Kevin Donaldson.

Key Points: Sherrie Allsup's sexual abuse by her father began when she was six or seven, involving full penetration, and her father was perceived by the community as a "great guy," illustrating how perpetrators often infiltrate social circles. The perpetual state of living on adrenaline due to fear caused severe physical tolls, resulting in current issues like thyroid and kidney problems, necessitating 25 pills daily, aligning with concepts in 'The Body Keeps the Score'. When Allsup told her mother at age 35, her father admitted the abuse, but her mother returned to him the next day, and they remained married until his death years later. Allsup experienced a suicide attempt at age 50, feeling that living had become worse than dying due to exhaustion from constant fighting, but subsequent EMDR therapy significantly changed her world. She and retired law enforcement officer Kevin Donaldson now co-teach an eight-hour interactive class to law enforcement nationwide, aiming to improve how officers work with victims of sex crimes, noting that the average officer receives only two hours of sexual assault training. A key lesson learned is that survivors are not the labels forced upon them; Allsup defaults to thinking she is "stupid" or "worthless" when things go wrong, a residual effect of her perpetrator's constant verbal abuse. Allsup emphasizes that for survivors, the trauma doesn't end when the abuse stops; it follows them into all aspects of adult life, requiring constant grounding techniques like putting her feet in the grass to manage triggers like loud noises.

Context: The discussion features Sherrie Allsup recounting the severe, lifelong impact of being sexually abused by her father from age six or seven until she married in high school, contrasting this hidden reality with her father's public persona as a charming pillar of the community. The conversation also briefly touches upon the addictive nature of high-stakes gambling losses experienced by 'whales' like Terry Watnabi, drawing parallels between that adrenaline rush and the survival mode Allsup was forced into.