I spoke to experts on trauma after @AOC opened up about being a survivor of sexual assault during video about Jan 6

Telling people to forget, "actually can lead people to have a higher risk of developing symptoms of things like PTSD.” @19thnews https://19thnews.org/2021/02/rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-instagram-live-could-have-an-impact-on-assault-survivors/

Historically, trauma survivors are told to deny and forget, said Leslie Lebowitz, a clinical psychologist with expertise in trauma processing. But trauma, she said, can leave an “imprint of pain that doesn’t necessarily fade with the passage of time.”

“The experiences of the past create lenses, which shape our perception and our responses to the present...her deconstruction of what is actually the behavior of a perpetrator is very clear.”

Although speaking out is not a tactic for all, experts say it can hold truth to power and create opportunities for coping through a shared reality, especially for women and nonbinary people who disproportionately experience sexual violence.