Coping with Trauma Angela Rose Diana K. Riser
Everyone reacts differently to trauma
Main Issues Victim Blaming Society Vastly Under-Reported Re-traumatized by institutions Lack of support
After a Sexual Assault… • Withdrawn or depressed • Laughing • Crying • May Not be a Linear Story: •
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May Focus on Small Details
Cognitively Demanding •
Time consuming and taxing
Parts of the Brain effected by Traumatic Events
HPA axis: Hypothalamus
Pituitary gland
Adrenal gland
Neurobiology of Trauma • The brain will release different types of hormones in response to a sexual assault. • Catecholamine: fight or flight • Cortisol: providing energy • Opioids: pain preventative • Oxytocin: good feelings Rebecca Campbell, PhD. Professor of Psychology Michigan State University
Tonic Immobility • Incapability of physically and vocally responding • Insensitivity to intense pain • Why? • Typically occurring during overwhelming fear and physical restraint. • May occur when one feels there is no winning the fight. • If one is confronted with sharp weapons (to keep from escalating injury) • Physiological response (women & men response)… body response is not consent
Hippocampus and corpus collosom • According to a study conducted by Martin H. Teicher, M.D., Ph.D., by looking at brain images of subjects that had been sexually abused as children there were major differences/ abnormalities to the left hemisphere of the hippocampus and the corpus callosum compared to subjects who had not been sexually abused as children. • The hippocampus and corpus callosum were dramatically smaller in size when compared to those brain who had not been abused.
Secondary Victimization • 90 percent of victims encounter at least one secondary victimization in their interactions with law enforcement during that first reporting process.
False Reports • False report rate for SV? 2% • Guilt and shame can lead to missing or embellished facts • Frustrating reality of false allegations - though not the norm • Innocent until proven guilty….
Justice for Patty -Legally blind woman named Patty
-Raped by an armed intruder -Disbelieved by police and pressured to recant, then charged with a crime for insisting she was raped -After an intense battle, DNA corroborated her story
Stockholm Syndrome • Complex reaction to a frightening situation • Hostages identify and sympathize with their captors • Positive feelings about captor • Negative feelings about police
Emotional Aftermath •
Eating Disorders
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Self-Mutilation
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Depression
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Suicidal thoughts and tendencies
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Alcohol and drug abuse
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Hyper and Hypo Sexualization
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PTSD
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Trust Issues – Multiple Victimizations
Silence and Shame
Who did you first tell? • Studies show that if the first person a survivor tells reacts well, it can greatly impacts the healing process! • Personally and Professionally • How did the first person you told react? How did it impact you?
Promoting Resilience • Tell survivor stories • Focus on survivor not perpetrator • The cycle of violence is not inevitable • Promote protective factors • Reduce risk factors • Resilience made visible