Citation

Orfanos SD. Traumatology 2011; 17(3): 30-34.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Green Cross Academy of Traumatology, Publisher APA Journals)

DOI

10.1177/1534765611421965

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

People now seem to live in an age of trauma. Hardly a day goes by when either by direct or indirect experience people are not engaged with war, terrorism, natural and environmental disasters, devastating human error, and mass misery. These particular "real-world" traumas certainly differ from the traumas of childhood such as emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. They also differ from the existential trauma of meaninglessness and mortality. No doubt, there is some overlap among the childhood, existential, and real-world traumas, perhaps in the fear of annihilation and disintegration and in the development of dissociative processes. Moreover, psychological distress and physical disturbance, incoherence, and decreased reflective functions are part of what can often develop. But differences exist, and they may have to do with the sequelae of what happens to victims and those who suffer and how they come to think and feel about their lives. This article is about a man who experienced the extreme trauma caused by the terrorism of September 11, 2001, and his search for recovery by way of psychotherapy.

Language: en