Elizabeth Smart's Advice for Rescued Ohio Women

[Quixote1818]

This is right on target! Here name isn't Smart for nothing.

http://on.aol.com/playlist/aol-on-daily-dose-144602/videoid=517772477?hp=1&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cpopular-videos-5min-main%7Csec4_lnk2%7C274788

[hedda_foil]

1. She's really turned out to be an amazing woman.

[joesdaughter]

2. Ditto

I am in bed with my lap top and earphone. My husband asked what I was listening to, and I told him. I also said what an amazing young woman she is. Then I read your comment.

[kestrel91316]

3. She is wise beyond her years.

[JDPriestly]

4. Move forward and not let him take any more of my life away.

That is great advice for all people who find themselves in abusive relationships even if they are not kidnapped. I have seen so many people, both men and women, in abusive relationships who could not move on.

You can't save the other person. You have a responsibility to live your life. See a therapist if you feel guilt about what is happening to an abusive person because you are leaving. Don't let anyone abuse you. Don't let yourself stay and become more and more angry. If you can't deal with the situation, let it go. Get help.

That is wonderful advice.

And remember, men can be abused too. I've seen them. Sometimes it is harder for a man to admit he is being abused than it is for a woman. It's also very difficult for women sometimes if they are very, very religious.

The cases that I have seen of men who were abused tended to have to do with women who were addicted. Don't feel you have to save someone who is harming him- or herself. See a therapist. Call a help line. Don't sacrifice your life.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

6. It IS possible to reset your life,...

...it's tough to let go of the familiar but it can be done if you live for the moment.

We are what we chose to be.

[idahoblue]

7. I have a guy friend

Who was diagnosed as early onset Alzheimer's. It was later decided he had PTSD from his wife's years of abuse. Wife gone, mostly cured.

[adieu]

5. With Elizabeth Smart and Jaycee Dugard

They should form a advisory council and coalition. Give parents advice, give police advice, give neighbors advice.

Really, what I see is the common thread among these many abductions is the fact that people can go about their business in relative anonymity and obscurity. Nobody bothers to check on their neighbors. Part of that is because of the relative fluidity of people living in an area: people move in, people move out. But if there were more neighborly interaction, crime and crimes of this nature would be far more remote.

I remember when I lived in Philadelphia and helped in the evening neighborhood watch program. No, there never was any incident when I did the walk, but I felt it was great in that I started to know my neighborhood and my neighbors. That's a very important thing to build on.