What is Bughouse Square?
I am an incest survivor from Chicago. Like many other survivors of childhood abuse, for many years I had no voice, choice was always taken away from me.
When I tried to get help for myself when I was young, no one would believe me that my father would do what he did to me. I was from a "nice" Jewish home. I was always told that Jewish father's don't molest their children. I felt so blamed and shamed until I started meeting other Jewish survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
I've been wanting to start a blog for awhile, but never could think of a good name for one. I drove past Washington Park (the home of Bughouse Square) today and remembered its history. It just made sense to name my blog after it.
Many people may not remember Bughouse Square in Chicago. In its infancy in the mid-1800’s, Bughouse Square was a place where people would gather to share stories on the news and the politics of the day. I guess you can say it was one of the original place for "Blogging".
Until I found the right help, and started meeting other survivors I really felt like I was crazy. Now I look back and just sort of laugh at myself. FYI: The word Bughouse is slang for a mental health facility. My blog is open to all Jewish survivors to share their insanity. :-)
I also thought it might be a great idea for us to share what resources there out there.
Does anyone know of any good ISA or SIA groups? Are there other self-help groups around?
posted by Bughouse Square @ 12:00 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Not to start a blog just because you can't think of a good name?
Weird, but i can understand that.
I couldnt think of a good name for my blog either but i just typed in the first thing that came to mind.
in any case bughouse square is a cool name for a blog - eventhough i dont really know what it is.
how are you able to put links on your blogpage?
what kind of support groups did you find? ...i cant find any in my area. i would want to go to a support group of jews which definately doesnt exist?
is your group mixed men and woman -curious how that might affect the group.
Angry,
I guess I was just intimidated with the idea of blogging.
I put links up by going to the page that says template, and then using the find key to find the word "Links". it took me a bit to play with the thing to figure it out.
I went to ISA (Incest Survivors Anonymous). There used to be a another self-help group in Chicago that I went to, but it's no longer running.
I'll be honest, I like mixed groups. It helps me to understand from different perspectives.
I forgot to add this.
Bughouse square is a nickname for a small park near downtown Chicago.
I remember my grandparents telling me about it. People used to go there, stand up on soap boxes and give lectures about various political hot topics.
The word bughouse used to refer to an insane asylum. I guess you can say that talking about politics can get insane. Maybe that's why they called it "bughouse square"?
There are times I felt like I was insane, when I was dealing with some heavy duty issues in therapy. So when I went past bughouse square it all just clicked.
There are a lot of support groups, sites, etc that deal with surviving abuse. Feel free to visit my wifes site, she too is a survivor of abuse. She too has a new blog, at her site
http://www.keeperskorner.com
Please get the support and help you need and want, you deserve all the best help you can find.
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