Survivor Handbook: Introduction & How to Use This Guide
Welcome to the Survivor Handbook—your living guide to staying safe, finding clarity, and building real support networks inside and outside the system. If you’ve found your way here, you already know survival isn’t a straight line, and you don’t need another list of empty platitudes. This is for survivors, by survivors: practical, field-tested, coded with the reality of what it takes to navigate hostile corridors, closed doors, and all the subtle ways the world tries to shrink you.
Who this is for: • Survivors of high-control groups, coercive relationships, cults, or abusive family systems • Anyone who needs to set boundaries, recover from gaslighting, or build new safety rituals • Allies, chosen family, and “in-the-know” supporters looking to help without overstepping
How to use this guide: • In crisis: Flip straight to the Runaway Guide or Script/Counter-Script sections. Use what grounds you. • For study: Read through the Safety Structures, learn the codes, share with those who need it. • With allies: Use the boundaries, music memory, and SIRS protocols to build teams who know how to keep each other safe.
This handbook is a living document. It grows as you grow. If you’re reading this, you’re not alone—there’s a field of others out here, holding space and building new worlds with you.
(To move forward, start with the SIRS Safety Structure: Roles, Protocols, and Practical Boundaries.)
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