Survivor reactions to traumatic events

When a traumatic event occurs, surviving the event may depend on training, experience or fast reactions. It may also come down to where you happened to be in relation to the danger as the event unfolded. If you have survived a traumatic event, whether you were injured or physically unharmed, it is important to recognise that trauma also causes emotional harm. Survival is often associated with complex emotional reactions that cause distress and make it hard to resume everyday life after the event. These are known as ‘survivor reactions’.