Adelaide
11-15-2017, 07:14 PM
As a therapist would later confirm, Lucy's seemingly random voice loss was actually a mark of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD (http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/mandy-eagler-ptsd)). Although we tend to associate the condition with battle-scarred soldiers, studies show rape survivors have more severe PTSD, and a harder time overcoming it, than combat veterans. While between 10 to 20 percent of war vets develop the disorder, about 70 percent of sexual assault victims experience moderate to severe distress, a larger percentage than for any other violent crime.
PTSD typically takes the form of nightmares, flashbacks, and feelings of guilt and shame that can surface right away or years after a trauma. But it can also manifest in physical ways, like chronic pain, intestinal problems, muscle cramps, or, as in Lucy's case, a paralyzed vocal cord. For 94 percent of survivors, symptoms last at least two weeks; for a full half of them, they persist for years, even decades—sometimes long after the victim thinks she has laid the ghosts to rest. Consider the women, some now in their sixties, still grappling with the effects of decades-old alleged assaults by comedian Bill Cosby (http://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/bill-cosby-article-new-york-magazine). German researchers found a third of women raped during World War II had PTSD symptoms nearly 70 years later.
Any trauma can lead to PTSD, but sexual assault (http://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/us-gymnastic-coaches-sexual-abuse) is a particularly potent cause. Although rape is, at its core, about power, sex is analogous with pleasure and connection. Violating that intimacy can shatter a victim's trust in all relationships, fracturing the bonds with family and friends that are critical for healing. And since 75 percent of victims are attacked by someone they know, every person they meet and every situation they're in can feel dangerous, making sexual assault difficult to cope with, says Ananda Amstadter, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry and psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Life after rape: the sexual assault issue no one's talking about - Women's Health (https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/ptsd-after-rape)
First, I am not too keen on comparing PTSD in veterans to PTSD in survivors, but I found it interesting that sexual assault is more likely to cause PTSD... the VA may be a total mess, but it does, in theory, have the funding to help Veterans (even if it needs a complete overhaul); whereas, sexual assault and domestic abuse centers are being defunded in a lot of places and there is not some version of the VA for survivors to seek help. So, psychologically, functionally, financially, sexual assault survivors may experience decades of issues related to their assault. The survivors from WWII are an interesting example, although you would have to adjust to consider the stigma associated with getting help for mental illness that would have been worse in the past.
So, the person who assaults or abuses another person may not take their victim's life in the physical sense, but decades of suffering and mental health problems and potential substance abuse problems and problems with forming relationships, and on, and on... what is a fair punishment? How many months or years of prison?
PTSD typically takes the form of nightmares, flashbacks, and feelings of guilt and shame that can surface right away or years after a trauma. But it can also manifest in physical ways, like chronic pain, intestinal problems, muscle cramps, or, as in Lucy's case, a paralyzed vocal cord. For 94 percent of survivors, symptoms last at least two weeks; for a full half of them, they persist for years, even decades—sometimes long after the victim thinks she has laid the ghosts to rest. Consider the women, some now in their sixties, still grappling with the effects of decades-old alleged assaults by comedian Bill Cosby (http://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/bill-cosby-article-new-york-magazine). German researchers found a third of women raped during World War II had PTSD symptoms nearly 70 years later.
Any trauma can lead to PTSD, but sexual assault (http://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/us-gymnastic-coaches-sexual-abuse) is a particularly potent cause. Although rape is, at its core, about power, sex is analogous with pleasure and connection. Violating that intimacy can shatter a victim's trust in all relationships, fracturing the bonds with family and friends that are critical for healing. And since 75 percent of victims are attacked by someone they know, every person they meet and every situation they're in can feel dangerous, making sexual assault difficult to cope with, says Ananda Amstadter, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry and psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Life after rape: the sexual assault issue no one's talking about - Women's Health (https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/ptsd-after-rape)
First, I am not too keen on comparing PTSD in veterans to PTSD in survivors, but I found it interesting that sexual assault is more likely to cause PTSD... the VA may be a total mess, but it does, in theory, have the funding to help Veterans (even if it needs a complete overhaul); whereas, sexual assault and domestic abuse centers are being defunded in a lot of places and there is not some version of the VA for survivors to seek help. So, psychologically, functionally, financially, sexual assault survivors may experience decades of issues related to their assault. The survivors from WWII are an interesting example, although you would have to adjust to consider the stigma associated with getting help for mental illness that would have been worse in the past.
So, the person who assaults or abuses another person may not take their victim's life in the physical sense, but decades of suffering and mental health problems and potential substance abuse problems and problems with forming relationships, and on, and on... what is a fair punishment? How many months or years of prison?