Recovery Is Not Mystical – It Is Mechanical

Scam Victim Recovery is about following the recovery process.

May scam victims talk about their confusion about recovering. They don’t know what to do or how to recover. Yet this process only requires two things: following the process and time.

We have said this many times before and in many different ways, but here is a brief overview again.

You know what to do if you are working the process:

1. Start with the 3 Steps for New Victims.

2. Join a Support GroupSupport Group In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic, such as romance scams. Members with the same issues can come together for sharing coping strategies, to feel more empowered and for a sense of community. The help may take the form of providing and evaluating relevant information, relating personal experiences, listening to and accepting others' experiences, providing sympathetic understanding and establishing social networks. A support group may also work to inform the public or engage in advocacy. They can be supervised or not. SCARS support groups are moderated by the SCARS Team and or volunteers. & Start CounselingCounseling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. A mental health counselor (MHC), or counselor, is a person who works with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health. Such persons may help individuals deal with issues associated with addiction and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; and aging. They may also work with "Social Workers", "Psychiatrists", and "Psychologists". SCARS does not provide mental health counseling. – so you have access to proper guidance. SCARS offers support groupsSupport Groups In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic, such as romance scams. Members with the same issues can come together for sharing coping strategies, to feel more empowered and for a sense of community. The help may take the form of providing and evaluating relevant information, relating personal experiences, listening to and accepting others' experiences, providing sympathetic understanding and establishing social networks. A support group may also work to inform the public or engage in advocacy. They can be supervised or not. SCARS support groups are moderated by the SCARS Team and or volunteers. online on Facebook, and to find a qualified traumaTrauma Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless in a dangerous world. Psychological trauma can leave you struggling with upsetting emotions, memories, and anxiety that won’t go away. It can also leave you feeling numb, disconnected, and unable to trust other people. Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety or other emotional shocks, but any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and isolated can result in trauma, even if it doesn’t involve physical harm. It’s not the objective circumstances that determine whether an event is traumatic, but your subjective emotional experience of the event. The more frightened and helpless you feel, the more likely you are to be traumatized. Trauma requires treatment, either through counseling or therapy or through trauma-oriented support programs, such as those offered by SCARS. counselor click here:  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/trauma-and-ptsd  Avoid amateur groups, especially those that focus on exposing scammers – this only increases your trauma.

3. Participate actively – in the support group, in counseling – share what you feel and what you are going through – secrets are the enemy of recovery.

4. Journaling every day – use the SCARS BLUE BOOKS or a journal of your choice – every day record how long it has been since your scam ended, how you are feeling, and your daily challenges. The key is to do it every day!

5. Daily reminders of your recovery – we offer them in our store or chose any others to remind you why you need to push forward and that you are not to blameBlame Blame or Blaming is the act of censuring, holding responsible, making negative statements about an individual or group that their action or actions are socially or morally irresponsible, the opposite of praise. When someone is morally responsible for doing something wrong, their action is blameworthy. By contrast, when someone is morally responsible for doing something right, we may say that his or her action is praiseworthy. Blame imparts responsibility for an action or act, as in that they made a choice to perform that act or action.!

6. Share your story, thoroughly in the support group and in counseling. Holding back is just keeping it secret and not helping you work through it!

7. Acknowledge your milestones of progress. Every month that passes is a month further away from the scam.

8. Follow the SCARS Steps 8 step program (available in book form here)

9. Learn all that you can about your psychology and why this happened to you – this removes guilt, shameShame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion typically associated with a negative evaluation of the self; withdrawal motivations; and feelings of distress, exposure, mistrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness., and self-blameSelf-Blame Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm that befell them. SCARS seeks to mitigate the prejudice against victims and the perception that victims are in any way responsible for the actions of offenders or scammers. There is historical and current prejudice against the victims of domestic violence and sex crimes, such as the greater tendency to blame victims of rape than victims of robbery. Scam victims are often blamed by family & friends for the crime. Scam victims also engage in self-blame even though they are not to blame. – you are already on the right website for that.

10. Tell others about what happened to you – to educate and share – when you are ready, but start with trusted family and friends because they are also at risk.

These are the basics and if you follow them they work. The reason so many are confused or not progressing faster is that they are not following them.

This requires a commitment to your own future. If you don’t feel so good, do two things: read RomanceScamsNOW.com and write in your journal – these will help you get through the rough patches. Then talk about what you learned or how you are feeling in the support group and with your counselor.

It is NOT hard if you do it.

If you don’t, it will take much longer to recover. But that is a choice you are forced to make.

If you really do these things you can recover. Even your financial situation cannot hold you back – you can find peace.

Just remember, recovery is a team effort. Don’t isolate yourself from those that want to help you.

This is the way!