Born in February 1969 and raised in Ontario Canada, I have survived and overcome more than 20 sexual assaults in a matter of 37 years. Through 16 years of counseling and therapy, I have come past the past and been able to help others see how it is possible to let go of the past and live in the here and now with joy.
Unable to work due to 35 medical conditions, I spend my time volunteering at a local Mental Health Association in various ways from reception work to peer counseling and outreach work. I write Bible Studies for Christians In Recovery website, articles regarding self-help for a Social Newsletter for the Mental Health Association I am also a client of, and I have a following of readers on my blog and I write for Christians In Recovery http://christians-in-recovery.org/ You can find my submissions by searching for Sheri Adams.
I was an online team leader by leading Teams at www.sparkpeople.com one of which is the SparkPeople's Official Stress Relief Challenge that the creators of the site asked me to run because of my overall positive outlook on life and knowledge. I took part for the better part of 3 years, nominated twice as the Most Positive Overall Outlook/Attitude and also a Top Motivator.
Any counselor I have seen in the past for my own healing purposes has told me that I have enough knowledge and skill that I could be making money giving seminars on how to cope with life and its problems, healing from abuse etc. If I knew how, I would.
I write poetry, Bible Studies, self-help articles, short stories and I have written a book for Christian Women who have survived abuse in their past, though the book is not published yet.
I have been a guest speaker at a couple of seminars on epilepsy and what it is like to live life with seizures. This occurred AFTER I had brain surgery on March 28, 1990 that stopped the 5-20 seizures I was having daily while taking 4-5000mg of anti-seizure medications daily. The surgery, while I was awake for it, was a huge success in stopping the seizures but leaving an emotional deficit in that the emotion control centre of my brain was removed when the entire Right Temporal Lobe was removed.
I continue counseling and attend groups on many topics to keep up on things.
My dream is to be able, one day, to offer counseling to people that everybody can afford. Not everybody can afford $100/session and I'm hoping to be able to offer my services on a sliding fee scale.
I'm willing to share with anybody who asks. I learned a great deal from a former psychiatrist who is also a Christian, and it was he that I give the credit to my being able to overcome more than 20 years of abuse with, and credit for teaching me the value and truth of what forgiveness is and is not.
I'm happily divorced but have no children, and I am strong in my faith in God as a Christian. I won't preach at you but if you ask, I will tell you my beliefs.
I currently reside in Peterborough, Ontario where my cat Sweetie and I share a cozy apartment. I enjoy being active in the many arts and crafts I do while Sweetie enjoys trying to get in my way. Cats are my kids and ironically enough, black cats are my favourite and have been the only colour cat I've ever had! I attend Calvary Church and currently, March 2011 am part of a weekly study on the book THE BONDAGE BREAKER by Neil Anderson. Feel free to contact me.
Overcoming any painful past is possible with work, time and learning to live in the NOW.
True happiness must come from within your own being. If you are not happy with you, you will not be happy in any other situation.
Choose your friends wisely and remember that trust and respect are earned, not freely given.
Jesus is my Rock, Music is my Sanity.
With regards to being lonely, if you can be satisfied with being alone with you, then you will never be lonely.
God is my daily Guide, Support, Friend, Mentor, Coach - in essence, my daily EVERYTHING!
If you want to get an idea of who I am and the way I live, visit Christians In Recovery and do a search for Sheri Adams, or follow Sheri Adams to the links to my submitted articles. You will find out more about me by reading my work than by reading my bio. :)
To contact me, you can send an email to sadams3@cogeco.ca but please note, that all spam messages will be blocked.