Emotional Reactions

Terror
Anger
Guilt
Anxiety
Depression
Social withdrawal
Emotional numbing
Feelings of helplessness
Memory loss of the event
Flashbacks of the event

Physical Reactions

Headaches
Stress related illness
Sleep disturbances
Nightmares
Forgetfulness
Inability to concentrate
Irritability
Mood swings
Hyperactivity/Hypoactivity
Lowered immunity
Appetite disturbances

If you want to be supportive of a friend or family member who has been victimized, it is important to be aware that you too may experience any number of the above reactions, and may need to seek help as well.

Many people live through a crisis and are able to reconstruct their lives without outside help. Most people find that the assistance of a victim advocate/counselor/support person is useful in dealing with this type of personal crisis.

Recovery from immediate crisis is often affected by
1 . Severity of crisis reaction
2. Ability to understand what happened
3. Stability of victim/survivor’s equilibrium before event
4. Supportive environment
5. Validation of experience

Recovery issues for survivors include
1. Getting control of event in victim/survivor’s mind
2. Working out an understanding of the event and, as needed, a redefinition of values
3. Re-establishing a new equilibrium/life
4. Re-establishing trust
5. Re-establishing meaning