Messages to survivors

These feelings are common. Many people may feel this way after having gone through something very difficult and extremely unjust. It is also possible that you do not feel this way, but that you are experiencing other difficult things. Whichever feelings and reactions you have after the abuse, these are understandable and common reactions to what happened. It is like this because of the abuse, and it is never your fault. 

In the following, we will say something about different psychological and physiological symptoms or reactions that are common after abuse. Maybe you experience some of them, maybe many of them, maybe almost none of them, or maybe you experience other types of symptoms? You are not alone in experiencing symptoms, this is common and understandable, and we want to let you know that most symptoms will go away after some time. Sometimes however, and especially when the abuse was extremely grave and maybe happened multiple times, symptoms may last for a long or very long time, sometimes for decades. Sometimes symptoms may disappear for a while and then reappear again. This is not abnormal and it does not mean that you are “crazy”. Most people will need different types of support in order to move forward. 

Possible physical and mental reactions

Some possible reactions might be depression, flash backs, anxiety and panic attachs. In the following we describe a few of the possible reactions in more detail: 

Depression

Depression is more than just a passing blue mood, a “bad day,” or temporary sadness. The most common symptom is a low mood that can sometimes appear as irritability. Often the person with depression is not able to enjoy activities that he or she normally enjoys.

With major depression, there is a profound sadness or a sense of despair. The symptoms of major depression are defined as lasting at least two weeks, but usually they go on much longer.

Click here if you want to know more.

Anxiety

Everyone worries or gets scared sometimes. But feeling extremely worried or afraid much of the time, or repeatedly feel panicky, may be signs of an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders include panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. A person has an anxiety disorder if she or he has persistent worry for more days than not, for at least several months. For some people, anxiety comes on suddenly, triggered by a crisis or tragedy.

Click here if you want to know more.

PTSD | Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Is considered to be caused either by psychological or physical trauma, more frequently a combination of both. Traumatic events that may cause symptoms of PTSD are for example (experiencing or/and witnessing) violent assault, abuse, torture, being a hostage or kidnapping – so we are talking about a wide range of settings from violence in private context up to war, conflict, disaster and catastrophes. Not everyone experiencing such events will develop symptoms. 

The most typical symptoms for PTSD are re-experiencing the original trauma through flashbacks and nightmares, avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event, increased arousal (as irritation, anger, sleep-disorders), depression and anxiety. There is a wide range in severity of symptoms, some people might even develop “complex PTSD” (with dissociative symptoms) or a kind of “multiple identity”.  

For further reading, a booklet with information about PTSD (in English) can be accessed here.  

Nightmares 

After having experienced severe abuse, many survivors have nightmares and troubled sleep. It is a way of the mind and the body to react to, and process, what has happened. Nightmares can be extremely frightening and can lead to survivors not getting enough rest and good sleep. Here are some tips that may help you to sleep better at night:  

• Practice during the day good things that you can do when you wake up from nightmares at night. For example, getting to know your bedroom well during the day can help you to orient yourself easily during the night and help you to know that you are in your bedroom. Make a plan or create a routine for what you will do if you wake up from a nightmare.  
• If you wake up from a nightmare, try to use your senses to connect with the present moment. For example, you can start by trying to move your body, first your fingers and toes, then your hands and feet, your neck and then your arms and legs. Then touch your pillow or mattress and feel the texture of it against your skin. You can sit up and feel your feet planted on the ground. You can turn on the light (if possible) and look at the objects in the room. You can also practice a grounding exercise (we explain this under the heading Self-care: grounding exercises on this page) if you have learned how to do it.  

What happened?  

What type of abuse you may have gone through and the context within which it took place may be different from one person to another. Maybe some of you knew about the threat of being abused and have lived with this fear for a while? Maybe it suddenly happened or you had not been aware of any danger? Maybe you knew that your work or activism put you in a heightened risk?  

The abuse is a violation of your human rights  

Survivors often need help to move on in life  

Individuals who have experienced severe abuse are usually referred to as either a “survivor” or a “victim”. In this letter and on this webpage, we use the word survivor. Often survivors will need help with their first steps of taking back control in their life. However, it may be difficult to talk about what happened. Sometimes it does not feel right to talk. Sometimes survivors even feel some kind of shame about what happened, and therefore do not want to talk about it to other people. Talking about what happened can also be dangerous. You might want to protect others by not telling them or having been told by the perpetrators that they will come back if you tell anyone what they did to you. Maybe it is too terrible to tell someone. Maybe there is no language that can describe it or maybe you are worried that people will not believe you if you tell them what happened. We want you to know that help and support does not necessarily mean that you need to tell someone about what happened. When it is possible, support from somebody – feeling that you have people who support you – may be important. Social support can be from a partner, family, friends, a neighbour, a colleague, a social worker, someone from a political or activist group that you were part of or just somebody in the village, town or city where you are or somebody else. This support can take many forms, and we have also written a letter specifically for people who are supporting a survivor. Some survivors are close to others who have been targeted by severe human rights violations and might give support to each other. The most important is that the support is respectful and understanding of your needs as a survivor.  

Finding ways to taking care of yourself

Sometimes, for different reasons, there may be nobody that can support you. Or you may spend time alone and find this difficult. It is important to try to find ways to taking care of yourself. There can be many different ways of doing this. Maybe you can have a flower or plant, and take care of it? Maybe some grounding exercises – as explained under the heading Self-care: grounding exercises on this page – can be of some help? Maybe going for a walk outside may help you, if it is safe outside, or listening to some music that you like or read a book that you enjoy? If it is safe to use the internet, maybe you can communicate with people there? Maybe there is something else that may be helpful to you? 

Your rights as a survivor  

As a survivor of a human rights violation, you have specific rights. These rights are the right to redress and the right to rehabilitation and include services and resources that survivors are entitled to. Internationally, a lot of people and organisations work to ensure that survivors are treated with dignity and respect, and that survivors are provided a basis from which to move on in life. These rights mean that you as a survivor should receive help and compensation in order to being able to move forward and to live a good and independent life. The forms of redress and rehabilitation can include things such as medical and psychological help, monetary compensation, assistance with housing and employment, and justice.