Victims are frequently preoccupied with the crime, experiencing nightmares and flashbacks, living in constant fear of re-victimization from another attack. Forty percent indicated they had suffered emotional problems after the incident, including depression, insomnia, anger, frustration, headaches and loss of appetite. Another British study of 55 assault victims revealed that only slightly less than half had recovered emotionally after six months. It's normal for them to feel violated. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, almost 6 million Americans suffer from PTSD in any given year.
Women are two times more at risk than men, and their symptoms last four times as long.
Nearly one in seven people will experience trauma dysfunction at some at some time in their lives. But the disorder frequently occurs after rape, assaults, terrorism, natural disasters, accidents, and the single biggest cause - death of a loved one. Almost half of those who are seriously injured will manifest symptoms, while one in five non-injured victims will be afflicted. The classic symptoms of PTSD are similar to those of short-term trauma, but they don't go away. Especially for people whose injuries are not life-threatening, there's a tendency to wait because you're just so grateful at first to be alive.