Counteracting abuse and breaking free: the process of leaving revealed through women's voices.

In a feminist, grounded-theory study, we interviewed rural survivors of abusive relationships to discover a substantive theory to explain the process of leaving. The central process for survivors was reclaiming self. In this article, we discuss the initial stages of reclaiming self: counteracting abuse and breaking free. Our findings reveal that the abused women were not passive victims. From the beginning, they counteracted abuse by relinquishing parts of self, minimizing abuse, and fortifying their defenses. The work of counteracting abuse prepared the survivor for testing the exits in the process of breaking free. These findings support the view of abused women as survivors and clearly demonstrate the societal infrastructure required to support women's efforts to counteract abuse until they have acquired the strength and resources to leave. In addition, questions are raised about the roles of lay and professional helpers in facilitating and inhibiting the process of reclaiming self.