Therapy for Crime Victims: What to Expect in the Immediate Aftermath of a Traumatic Event
Being the victim of a crime, whether directly as the victim or indirectly as a witness or loved one to the victim, can impact our mental health in many different ways. Everyone is unique and will have their own unique responses, but there are some common reactions that are normal in the weeks following crime victimization. Here is some of what you might expect in the initial weeks after such an event:
Immediate Reactions:
Fight/Flight/or Freeze Stress Response: During the event your body may have automatically shifted into a survival response of fight, flight, or freeze. After the event it can take time for your body to come out of this automatic response, and to realize what has just occurred. Your thinking brain was most likely turned off while in fight/flight/or freeze in order to allow your body to focus all energy on survival. Your thinking may not feel clear or rational immediately after.
Shock and Denial: Right after the event, you may feel stunned or in disbelief. You might feel a sense of numbness or disconnection from what has happened, and it can take time for your mind to process the experience.
Emotional Distress: Feelings of sadness, anger, helplessness, or guilt may emerge.
Physical and Emotional Drain: You might feel exhausted and overwhelmed. This can be exacerbated by what happens after the crime such as having to talk with police or medical professionals, providing statements or evidence, or if the crime has left you without a safe place to stay or return to.
Difficulty Focusing: Your concentration can be impaired, and you may have a hard time focusing or processing information.
Sleep: Many people will have difficulty sleeping after experiencing crime victimization, or find that their sleep patterns change.
In the Days and Weeks After the Crime:
Fear and Anxiety: A heightened sense of danger and vulnerability may emerge, and you may have a hard time feeling safe, even in places or with people that felt safe prior.
Flashbacks and Nightmares: As your mind and body try to process and make sense of what has occurred you may find yourself dreaming about the trauma, having nightmares, or feeling at times as if the crime is happening again. You may find that you think about the trauma often, even when you don’t want to.
Increased Arousal: It is common after crime victimization to pay increased attention to signs of danger or the possibility of danger. You might feel tense, on-guard, or be hyper-vigilant. You may be more easily startled, jumpy, or reactive to stimuli like loud noises or sudden movement.
Irritability: It is common to feel more easily agitated or angered.
Sadness, Grief, and Depression: After experiencing a crime we may feel great sadness. We might mourn the safety we used to enjoy, or other losses associated with the victimization.
Avoidance: It is common to want to avoid people, places, or things, that remind us of the trauma. We tend to do this to avoid remembering the trauma or because these reminders trigger strong traumatic stress reactions.
Self-perception: Survivors of trauma can sometimes engage in self-blame, or develop negative beliefs about themselves based off of how they dealt with the crime. Our human brains want to make sense of what has happened. It is often easiest to blame ourselves than to fully consider the many complex individual, community, and societal factors that lead to crime.
Protective Factors:
Support System: It is often not the event that leads to long-term traumatic stress reactions but what happens or doesn’t happen after the event. After trauma it is important to utilize available supports and resources, and ask for help. A strong support system that is willing to listen if/when survivors want to talk, can help with immediate needs like a place to stay or rides to appointments, and that does not blame or shame victims can be the difference between recovery and more long-term problems.
Healthy Coping: Healthy coping strategies like exercise, journaling, meditation, yoga, or deep breathing practices can help with recovery. If a person already has a history of healthy coping this is protective factor, but remember it is never too late to start. Unhealthy coping mechanisms like alcohol and substance use can make traumatic stress worse and delay healing.
Spirituality: Spirituality or connectedness to something greater than us (Mother Earth, Spirit, Ancestors, Nature) can help us to find hope and meaning after trauma.
Remember, recovery is possible. Many people will gradually improve over time, and many others benefit from support from a trauma-informed mental health professional who can support them through recovery from crime victimization.