Reactions of crime victims

Being the victim of a crime can trigger a number of physical and behavioural reactions.
You may experience a combination of thoughts and emotions that are difficult to deal with sometimes. Even though these reactions are completely normal, you may feel that you cannot cope and that you are losing control, which can be quite frightening. It is important to remember that in most cases these feelings will fade and that, over time, you will gradually regain a feeling of control over your life.
It is possible that you will identify with many or none of the reactions described here.
What is important to understand is that there is no pre-established way for how you may feel or react.

When we are victims of a crime, it can affect us in many different ways.
We all have our own strategies for coping with difficulties in our lives. Usually, these strategies work quite well and help us in many different circumstances. However, as a victim of crime, we are faced with a situation in which we react differently and the strategies that we normally employ may not be enough.
Often we feel that our personal integrity has been violated and we are in a state of shock. In addition, we may experience problems such as difficulty in sleeping, depression, anxiety and guilt. We may feel guilt even though we know that we are not to blame for what happened. It is this very situation of not recognising or understanding our own reactions that is quite uncomfortable for most people.
What is in fact a completely normal reaction to an abnormal situation makes us feel as if we have lost all control and the world may appear to be a very dangerous place.

Feeling out of touch with reality

When we are victims of a crime, everything may seem surreal at first. We know what happened and yet it is hard to believe. Many people feel a kind of emotional emptiness and may have difficulty remembering what happened in detail. We may find it hard to talk about the incident and to take in any information given to us. It is at this time too that severe reactions can occur, for example, bouts of crying, or feelings of shock or of anger at the offender. However, after a while, everything becomes clearer and it gets easier to talk about what happened.

Open

Flashbacks

After being subjected to a crime, some people think constantly about what happened. For the majority of us, these symptoms disappear over time. In some cases, memories of the incident can remain for longer, triggered by a certain image, smell or another memory, which may temporarily cause the same reactions as the crime itself. The images may be so clear and so strong that it feels as if the crime is being committed all over again. These recurring memories, known as flashbacks, can be very distressing. If these reactions do not disappear after a few months, it is important to seek help.

Open

Anxiety and difficulty concentrating

Being a victim of crime can make us feel anxious and vulnerable. Often our reactions become more obvious when we relive what happened through memories and flashbacks. This anxiety may lead to difficulty in concentrating and being easily irritated.

Open

Sleeping problems

For some time after a crime, many victims have difficulty in falling asleep because they lie in bed going over what happened and, even after they have fallen asleep, it is not unusual to have nightmares about the incident. It is also common for people to wake up several times during the night. These sleeping problems may also make us more easily irritated.

Open