An Oversimplified Series of Questions and Answers

Survivors of criminal acts are nearing a majority within our society. Survivors include a person directly targeted, as well as family, friends and associates.

A person who disregarded and violated personal rights of another person.

You were caught unaware of an immediate danger and placed into a personal crisis. During the incident, terror was your ruler, and the perpetrator was in command. When you survived the circumstance, you were mentally and emotionally displaced from yourself, family, friends and your previously familiar environment. A shattering within your mind began and continues. Your feeling of helplessness will later excuse itself temporarily for rage, revenge, and hate. Blame interchanges with the image of the perpetrator to yourself, bouncing back and forth. Embarrassment and shame become unwanted companions, as well as lack of trust in yourself and others. What you feel is the extreme of every definable emotion. This is normal for your experience and you have a right to each and every feeling.

Your body is continuing to react to the extreme stress it suffered. Be kind to yourself. Provide regular periods for inactivity and solitude.

Feelings are heightened after trauma. Go to a place of quiet where you are comfortable. Wearing clothing, which fully covers your body, may help you feel less exposed. Additionally, a blanket or cover may be a source of privacy for your body.

Because you are a living, human being.

You weren' t looking for disaster. The perpetrator recognized an advantage -- your humanness, and grabbed the opportunity to compensate him/herself at your involuntary expense.

Maintaining a professional status, i.e., counsellor, physician, social worker, psychologist, law enforcement officer, lawyer, doesn' t make you immune to being human. Being human carries with it pluses and minuses. The event does not reflect you were or are incompetent within your profession.