You don't have to feel this way. There is help. Don't lose hope.

Myth: You'll be the first to know when you're in danger.
Fact: Everyone around you will know before you realize what's happening.

Myth: You can stop using drugs anytime.
Fact: Withdrawal sickness, believing you must have the drugs, and being around people who use can make stopping nearly impossible without help.

Suicide Myths

Myth: Suicidal people are fully intent on dying.
Fact: Most suicidal people are undecided about living or dying. They gamble with death, leaving it to others to save them.

Myth: People who talk about suicide don't commit suicide.
Fact: Four out of five people who commit suicide have previously voiced their intention to do so.

Myth: You must never say the word "suicide" to people you suspect may be suicidal.
Fact: Facing them with the word will not affect their decision one way or another. If a person is not suicidal, talking about suicide will not put the idea into his/her head. If he/she is suicidal, it gives him/her permission to talk about it.

It's still rape if...

• She says "no," but he figures she really means "yes" and goes ahead anyway.
• She drinks so much she can't really tell what is going on or resist, and he has intercourse with her.
• He takes her out to dinner, then back to her apartment and forces her to have sex with him because "she owes him."
• A couple is making out and she wants to stop, but he "can't help himself," and he forces her to have intercourse with him.

Dating Violence Myths

Myth: It can't happen to me.
Fact: More than 1 in 10 teens experience physical violence in their dating relationships.

Myth: Jealousy and possessiveness are a sign of true love.
Fact: Jealousy and possessiveness are a sign that the person sees you as a possession. It is the most common early warning sign of abuse.

Myth: Teen dating violence isn't really that serious.
Fact: Thirty percent of all women who are murdered in this country are killed by their husband or boyfriend. According to a Mass. study, that same high percentage applied to teen women, aged 15-19, as well. Also, 60% of all rapes reported to the rape crisis centers are committed by acquaintances, and the majority of victims are aged 16-24.

Myth: Men are battered by women just as often as women are battered by men.
Fact: The US Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that 95% of the reported incidents of assaults in relationships are committed by males.

Myth: Alcohol or drugs cause men to batter.
Fact: Many men who batter do not drink heavily or use drugs, and alcoholics or drug users do not beat their partners. Further, batterers who do drink and use drugs don't necessarily give up battering when they give up these habits. While some abusers do beat their partners while they are under the influence, drugs and alcohol often act as their excuse.

Myth: Victims bring on the abuse themselves. They ask for it.
Fact: Perpetrators believe they have the right to use abuse to control their partner and they see the victim as less than equal to themselves. The victim has no control over the abuser.

Myth: If a person stays in an abusive relationship, it must not really be that bad.
Fact: People stay in abusive relationships for a number of reasons: fear, economic dependence, confusion, loss of self-confidence, not recognizing that what's happening is abusive, belief that the abuser needs their help or will change.

Myth: Most batterers are bums or crazy people.
Fact: Batterers are found in all classes and types of people and all kinds of relationships: rich, poor, professional, unemployed, black, white, urban and rural, gay or straight.