Historic Trauma and Aboriginal Healing

Chapter 2
There is often the feeling of guilt associated with the conflict of saving oneself or saving
others. Maladaptive psychological reactions during a disaster include paralyzing anxiety,
uncontrolled flight reaction and group panic (Wig, 2001:3).
Different emotional reactions may occur after a disaster.
In the beginning, many people feel numb. Some may even feel elated or relieved that
they have been saved, but soon the enormity of the tragedy becomes obvious [and]
[t]he effects of mental stress start showing. Post-disaster reactions include an intense
feeling of anxiety, accompanied by “flashbacks” or frightening memories of the painful
experience. Nightmares are usual in which the person wakes up with a frightening
dream and the feeling of panic. The suffering individual remains tense all the time and
fearful that something terrible may happen again. He or she tries to avoid any reference
to the events of the disaster. Other common symptoms are the loss of sleep, poor
appetite and social withdrawal. Some become very sad and depressed, losing interest in
all activities. Various kinds of bodily symptoms also appear (Wig, 2001:3).
In two types of cases, the symptoms can last for many months and even years.
These [two types] are: (a) prolonged grief reaction and depression after the death of
close relatives; and (b) Post-Traumatic Stresses Disorder (PTSD). In the case of PTSD,
a person continues to get “flashbacks” of painful events; the mood is anxious, irritable
and depressed. In addition, there may be multiple bodily symptoms like headache and
giddiness. The patient complains of poor sleep, bad dreams, poor concentration and
the inability to work. Such symptoms can last for a long time (Wig, 2001:3).
The development of characteristic symptoms following a psychologically upsetting event occurring
outside the range of normal human experience is the key feature of post-traumatic stress disorder
(American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Typically, the traumatic event may be re-experienced in
several ways. Based on the clinical categories listed in the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM-IV), several psychological symptoms may be displayed:
• the person may have recurrent and intrusive recollections of the event or recurrent distressing dreams.
There are dissociative states during which the components of the event are relived, and the person
behaves as if he or she is experiencing earlier events at that moment;
• there may be intense psychological distress when the person is exposed to events that resemble an
aspect of the traumatic event or that symbolize the traumatic event;
• there may be persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, or a numbing of general
responsiveness that was not present before the trauma;
• the person may commonly make deliberate efforts to avoid thoughts or feelings about the traumatic
event and about activities or situations that arouse recollections of it; and
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