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PART III: THEORY aches and pains. Headaches and pains in the stomach and muscles are very common. Some people may not be able to recall what has happened.
Acute stress reactions may include all the crisis reactions mentioned above, including‘ psychic shock’( strong reactions that follow immediately after a traumatising event), and‘ combat fatigue’( reactions after participating in or witnessing armed conflict).
The severe symptoms of acute stress reaction tend to diminish after some weeks, and many individuals recover without persistent or long term( mental) damage.
Anxiety
A survivor may experience anxiety alongside other symptoms of trauma. Traumatising events usually generate anxiety, panic, and sensations of fear. When anxiety is very much more apparent than other symptoms, however, the survivor can be said to suffer from an anxiety disorder. This has two major characteristics: the reaction to threat is both very intense and disproportionate. When a survivor becomes anxious apparently without reason and even without being in danger, her anxiety can be disturbing to herself and others.
In such circumstances, it is important to find out why the person has become so anxious. If her anxiety is trauma-induced, a different approach to helping the person may be required.
Depression
Depression often occurs alongside other symptoms after rape( and other traumatising events), especially in the first months. It is frequently due to blame or rejection by family and social networks. It can be so pronounced that it requires distinct and separate treatment. If a depression is deep and severe, it may induce suicidal thoughts.
Dissociation
Dissociation is frequent after trauma and occurs when the mind‘ withdraws’ from the body. It is an instinctive survival and defence strategy that humans and animals adopt when faced by a severe threat. It explains why survivors may not remember what happened to them( partial amnesia). In conditions of acute stress, some mental functions may not work properly, including feelings and emotions. This may explain the emotional numbness that some survivors of traumatic events experience afterwards. Helpers may find a survivor distant, not really present, unfocused and silent. She may lack feelings of thirst, hunger or pain, even if she is injured, and may lose control over her movements( motor control), at least for a period. The re-experiencing of a catastrophe( for example in flashbacks) may also be understood as a dissociative state of mind, because flashbacks represent a partial or complete disruption of the normal integration of a person’ s emotions and memories.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder( PTSD)
As defined by the WHO, this condition“ arises as a delayed or protracted response to a stressful event or situation( of either brief or long duration) of an exceptionally threatening or catastrophic nature, which is likely to cause pervasive distress in almost anyone”( ICD-10).
PTSD may start as an‘ acute stress reaction’, which is followed by a full PTSD syndrome; however, survivors may sometimes show few or no symptoms for several weeks or months. They may exhibit acute stress, then be stable with almost no distress, then develop PTSD.
If an individual already has a background of emotional illness or insecurity, her reaction to new traumatic events may be exacerbated. But pre-existing factors do not predict the development of PTSD.