Victim Response Stages

  1. Warning Phase
    Some traumatic events may give the victim a short warning period, as occurs when we see another car careening at us or we smell smoke. Warning signals usually cause feelings of anxiety or fear, causing us to get ready to fight or flee. We also may choose to ignore or deny the warning signs.
  2. Alarm Phase
    This is the stage when we realize that a traumatic event is upon us. This will cause anxiety, increased activity in an effort to escape, and fear. If we are unable to escape, fear will escalate to panic.
  3. Impact Phase
    This is when the traumatic event actually occurs. Human reaction during the impact phase is to feel stunned, numb, wander aimlessly, and be in shock. About 25% of victims become hysterical at this stage.
  4. Inventory Phase
    The initial part of this phase is confusion, disorientation, and a desire for safety. This is the point at which we assess our loss and safety, the level of danger, and the best way to cope with the immediate after-effects of the trauma. Initial emotional reactions will be denial, anxiety, and anger if someone has died.
  5. Rescue Phase
    In this phase survivors begin to take action to assist others who are more critically impacted or to search for missing loved ones. Initially the victim may have short-lived feelings of elation because they survived and are happy to be alive and able to help others. However, as the enormity of the trauma is realized, the victim’s emotions may turn to anger, depression, or disillusionment.
  6. Recovery Phase
    Survivors begin to recover from the traumatic event. They will feel relief and may have difficulty focusing on anything but their loss or the event. They may make life-style changes to prevent another trauma, may continue to feel anxious or fearful, or may begin to take charge of their altered life.
  7. Reconstruction Phase
    In this phase victims actively engage in activities which will help them move beyond their grief and trauma. This may include helping to rebuild after a natural disaster, seeking counseling to help overcome emotional reactions, and so forth. The reconstruction phase may literally take years. Some people may never reach this phase, and others may be diverted from this phase by the triggering events of other traumas.

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There are specific aspects of a traumatic event that can impact how a person deals with it. These aspects are as follows:

  1. The severity of the crisis compared to a person’s normal life
  2. The intensity of the crisis
  3. The responder’s preparedness to handle a crisis (people who have been trained in how to handle a crisis feel more in control and are able to take quicker action in a crisis)
  4. The mental attitude and health of the victim (if the person is already suffering from a mental illness such as depression or has other stressors in their life such as being in the midst of a divorce, the traumatic event will have a more severe impact on this person)
  5. Previous crisis experience (this can be a positive or negative impact depending on whether a previous traumatic event is triggered, causing distress, or whether the victim is trained on how to deal with trauma)
  6. Available resources (whether the victim is given the availability to emotionally process the traumatic event with a trained professional soon after the event and is given ongoing support).

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It is normal for people to have difficulty controlling their emotions after a traumatic event.  The National Mental Health Association lists the following common reactions to trauma. 

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