AnnaLynne McCord uncovered memories of childhood sexual abuse while undergoing therapy.
AnnaLynne McCord
The 32-year-old actress was raped by a friend in her own apartment over a decade ago so sought treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but was stunned by what she remembered in the sessions.
She said: "I remembered a sexual assault when I was 19 years old. That was the story I knew.
"A year ago, I was in treatment for PTSD and memories of child sexual abuse came back for years all the way until I was 11 years.
"Now I know why this is my life and this is my story because it is so personal to me."
Growing up, the '90210' star believed "sex equated love" and was desperate to feel loved by anyone.
She added to People magazine: "Sex and love equalled the same thing. So what did I do? I wanted to be loved. I thought I had to have sex with someone to be able to be loved. It was devastating to my soul as a human being to feel I wasn't worthy of love unless someone was taking advantage of my body."
AnnaLynne admitted her ordeal left her suicidal and self-harming and she's proud to be president of anti-human trafficking organisation Together1Heart because they are so inspirational and she wants to "make sure every single person in this planet knows what love feels like."
She added: "To be able to be a part of something where young men and women and boys and girls have been through even worse than what I have been through in my own life [and] to see that they weren't suicidal like I was, they weren't cutting up their arms like I was, they were forgiving and loving themselves and those who did that to them, that gave me a way out. They gave me hope."
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