Victims of Crime.

Trauma, in the dictionary definition the outline uses, is a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury. The normal human response to trauma follows a similar pattern in everyone. That pattern is called the crisis reaction, and it has physical, psychological and behavioral parts.

The physical response is based on animal instinct. It starts with physical shock, disorientation and numbness, called “frozen fright”. Then comes fight or flight: adrenaline pumps, the heart rate rises, the person may hyperventilate or sweat, the body may relieve itself of excess materials such as ingested food, and one or more senses may become very acute while others shut down. That level of arousal cannot last, so it ends in exhaustion.

The mind’s response parallels the body’s, in three stages. Stage one is shock, disbelief and denial. Denial here means truly believing the event did not happen, or was not as bad as it was. It is a defense mechanism that protects the person from the full impact. Stage two is a cataclysm of emotions: anger, fear, grief, confusion, guilt and self-blame, violation, shame. Stage three is reconstruction of equilibrium, an emotional roller coaster that eventually becomes balanced.

Other psychological responses include slowed thinking, memory problems, distressing dreams, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, blaming, illogical thinking, poor judgment and difficulty making decisions. Behavioral responses include crying spells, withdrawal, hyperactivity, being easily startled, conflicts with others, changes in appetite, sleep, hygiene or productivity, increased smoking, drug or alcohol use, avoiding reminders of the event, and being unable to stop focusing on it.

None of this means the victim is lying or unstable. A victim who cannot remember, cannot decide, or seems flat is showing you the crisis reaction.

A victim’s reaction to crime moves through three phases: impact, recoil and reorganization.

Impact comes immediately after the violence of the crime. Victims feel as if they are in shock. Some cannot eat or sleep. Others express disbelief that it happened. Many feel exposed, vulnerable or helpless. This is the phase a patrol officer usually meets.

In recoil, victims try to accept or adapt to the violence and begin to reintegrate their personalities. Expect a wide variety of emotions, including guilt, fear, anger, self-pity and sadness. Some victims struggle to accept the painful feelings, and others deny having them at all.

After a period of time recoil gives way to reorganization. Fear and rage diminish in intensity. The victim puts the experience in perspective and commits energy to the task of living in the present.

The ripple effect describes how the impact of crime spreads beyond the immediate victim, like rings from a stone dropped in water.

It progresses in order. First the immediate victim. Then the secondary victims, who are family and friends. Then the service providers, EMS and police. You are in the third ring, which is one reason this chapter matters to officers and not only to victims.