If you have lived through something frightening and now find yourself jumping at loud noises, reliving scenes at night or feeling oddly numb, you are not going crazy. These are common, normal reactions to an abnormal event. Recovery from trauma also follows no single timetable: two people who went through the same disaster can heal at very different speeds, and both can be completely normal.
This page explains what trauma is, why reactions vary so much, how news coverage and old memories can stir it up, and what tends to help. It draws on the experience of a crisis counsellor who worked with survivors of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, and on guidance from the American Psychological Association (APA) and the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
What counts as trauma?
The APA Dictionary of Psychology describes trauma as any disturbing experience that produces significant fear, helplessness, dissociation, confusion or other overwhelming feelings, intense enough to leave a lasting mark on how a person thinks, feels and functions. The key word is experience: trauma is about how an event lands on a person, not only about the event itself.
Traumatic events can be caused by people, such as assault, war or a mass shooting, or by nature, such as earthquakes and floods. They are not always violent. A sudden loss, a serious accident or a forced move can also shake someone’s sense that the world is fair, safe and predictable.
Common reactions include:
- shock and disbelief in the first hours or days;
- intense or unpredictable emotions, including fear, anger, guilt and sadness;
- nightmares, flashbacks and unwanted memories;
- trouble sleeping, eating or concentrating;
- strong startle reactions to sudden noises or particular smells;
- irritability, strained relationships and physical symptoms such as headaches.
The US National Institute of Mental Health notes that most people recover from these reactions over time. Feeling shaken after a terrible event is a sign that your mind is processing it, not a sign that something is broken.
You don’t have to be there to be affected
The counsellor’s piece for The Conversation appeared in 2015, as two high-profile trials were filling the news: that of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and that of James Holmes, the gunman in the 2012 Aurora, Colorado cinema shooting. Survivors gave detailed testimony, and graphic images ran again on television and online.
Research suggests this kind of exposure can matter. In a study published in 2013, people who had watched hours of television coverage of the September 11 attacks were still reporting symptoms of post-traumatic stress, along with physical health complaints, years later. The counsellor who wrote the piece saw the same pattern after Columbine: in the weeks and months that followed, people from across the Denver area, many with no direct link to the school, came in with nightmares, anxiety and low mood that they connected to what they had watched on television.
Practical takeaway: after a disaster, it is reasonable to limit how much coverage you watch, especially graphic images on repeat. Staying informed does not require hours of replays.
Why recovery is different for everybody
Years after Columbine, the same counsellor taught university classes in Denver that included former Columbine students. Some still flinched at sudden noises in the corridor. When a fire alarm went off during one class, a few students panicked and others did not. Both responses were normal.
Studies of disaster survivors show wide variation in how quickly people recover, and it is hard to predict who will bounce back fast. Several factors seem to play a part:
- Coping style. Talking with a supportive friend, joining a support group, giving yourself time to adjust and returning to routines are linked with better recovery. Giving up, denial and refusing to talk about what happened are linked with a harder path, including lasting low mood, flashbacks and emotional numbness.
- Earlier history. People who struggled with depression or other mental health problems before the event, or who had been through earlier trauma, may find recovery slower.
- The nature of the event. The VA notes that risk of lasting problems is higher after intense or prolonged trauma, sexual assault, combat, or being physically injured.
- Relationships. Trauma can put heavy strain on close relationships. Some survivors become withdrawn or irritable with partners, and marriages can suffer, which is one reason support for families matters too.
There is no correct speed. Comparing your recovery with someone else’s usually adds guilt without adding anything useful.
When new events bring old memories back
Trauma does not always stay neatly in the past. A new frightening event, even one seen only on the news, can wake up memories of an older one. Researchers who studied military veterans after the Boston Marathon bombing found that many reported combat flashbacks, heightened anxiety, emotional numbness, nightmares and anger in the following weeks.
The link can be surprising. The counsellor described a student who, after watching coverage of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, suddenly found himself reliving a childhood scene: watching his dog killed by a car when he was seven years old. He said the memory felt as fresh as if it had happened the day before. The two events had nothing in common on the surface, but they may have been tied together by the same emotional reaction.
If an old memory surfaces like this, it does not mean you are back at the start. It is a sign that the earlier experience still carries feeling and may be worth talking through.
Normal reactions or PTSD?
Most people start to feel better within weeks. According to the VA’s National Center for PTSD, if symptoms last more than a month and get in the way of daily life, it could be post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD involves four kinds of symptoms: reliving the event, avoiding reminders of it, more negative thoughts and feelings (such as numbness, guilt or seeing the world as dangerous), and feeling constantly on edge.
Only a qualified professional can diagnose PTSD, and effective treatments exist, including several forms of trauma-focused talking therapy. If your reactions feel overwhelming, last for weeks, or make it hard to work, sleep or be with people, talk to a doctor or a mental health professional. If you ever feel unsafe or have thoughts of harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line straight away.
What helps people cope
The APA’s advice for recovering from disasters and trauma comes down to a few practical habits, all backed by research:
- Stay connected. Lean on people you trust, and let them help.
- Accept that things have changed. Some parts of life may look different now, and that is not a personal failure.
- Face problems step by step. Small, concrete actions rebuild a sense of control.
- Look after your body. Regular sleep, meals and movement steady the nervous system.
- Be patient with yourself. Healing usually comes in waves, not a straight line.
A common myth is that recovery means forgetting. It does not. Healthy recovery means acknowledging that what happened was terrible while no longer letting it run daily life, even if a sudden bang still makes your heart race ten years later. Healing takes work, yet it does happen, and the reactions along the way are human responses to something no one should have to go through.
Sources: Based on an article by a former crisis counsellor published in The Conversation; American Psychological Association: Trauma; US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD: PTSD Basics; National Institute of Mental Health: PTSD.
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