Coping with Crime Victimization
Anyone can become a victim of a crime. If it happens to you or someone you love, here are some important points to remember:
Being a victim of a crime can be a very difficult and stressful experience. While most people are naturally resilient and over time will find ways to cope and adjust, there can be a wide range of after effects to a trauma. One person may experience many of the effects, a few, or none at all. Not everyone has the same reaction. In some people the reaction may be delayed days, weeks, or even months. Some victims may think they are “going crazy,” when they are having a normal reaction to an abnormal event.
Getting back to normal can be a difficult process after a personal experience of this kind, especially for victims of violent crime and families of murder victims. Learning to understand and feel more at ease with the intense feelings can help victims better cope with what happened.
Victims may need to seek help from friends, family, a member of the clergy, a counselor, or a victim assistance professional.
Potential Effects of Trauma
Some people who have been victims of crime may experience some of these symptoms. Seek medical advice if the symptoms persist.
Physical
Nausea
Tremors
Chills or sweating
Lack of coordination
Heart palpitations or chest pains
High blood pressure
Headaches
Sleep disturbances
Stomach upset
Dizziness
Loss of appetite
Startled responses
Emotional
Anxiety
Fear
Guilt
Grief
Depression
Sadness
Anger
Irritability
Numbness
Feeling lost, abandoned, and isolated
Wanting to withdraw or hide
Mental
Slowed thinking
Confusion
Disorientation
Memory problems
Intrusive memories or flashbacks
Nightmares
Inability to concentrate
Difficulty in making decisions
Tips for Coping
These are some ideas that may help you cope with the trauma or loss:
- Find someone to talk with about how you feel and what you are going through. Keep the phone number of a good friend nearby to call when you feel overwhelmed or feel panicked.
- Allow yourself to feel the pain. It will not last forever.
- Keep a journal.
- Spend time with others, but make time to spend time alone.
- Take care of your mind and body. Rest, sleep, and eat regular, healthy meals.
- Re-establish a normal routine as soon as possible, but don’t over-do.
- Make daily decisions, which will help to bring back a feeling of control over your life.
- Exercise, though not excessively and alternate with periods of relaxation.
- Undertake daily tasks with care. Accidents are more likely to happen after severe stress.
- Recall the things that helped you cope during trying times and loss in the past and think about the
things that give you hope. Turn to them on bad days.
These are things to avoid:
- Be careful about using alcohol or drugs to relieve emotional pain. Becoming addicted not only postpones healing, but also creates new problems.
- Make daily decisions, but avoid making life changing decisions in the immediate aftermath, since judgment may be temporarily impaired.
- Don’t blame yourself—it wasn’t your fault.
- Your emotions need to be expressed. Try not to bottle them up.
For some victims and families of victims, life is forever changed. Life may feel empty and hollow. Life doesn’t “mean” what it used to. Part of coping and adjusting is redefining the future. What seemed important before may not be important now. Many victims find new meaning in their lives as a result of their experience. It is important to remember that emotional pain is not endless and that it will eventually ease. It is impossible to undo what has happened but life can be good again in time.
For Family and Friends of a Victim of Crime
- Listen carefully.
- Spend time with the victim.
- Offer your assistance, even if they haven’t asked for help.
- Help with everyday tasks like cleaning, cooking, caring for the family, minding the children.
- Give them private time.
- Don’t take their anger or other feelings personally.
- Don’t tell them they are “lucky it wasn’t worse”—traumatized people are not consoled by such statements.
- Tell them that you are sorry such an event has occurred to them and you want to understand and help them.
Additional Resources
The FBI has a number of brochures and pamphlets for victims of crime.
National Resources and Hotlines for Crime Victims
- The website for the Office for Victims of Crime in the Department of Justice includes an online directory of victim assistance programs.
Anti-Defamation League
www.adl.org
Battered Women’s Justice Project
(800) 903-0111
www.bwjp.org
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Indian Country Child Abuse Hotline
(800) 633-5155
Childhelp USA/Forrester National Child Abuse Hotline
(800) 422-4453 | (800) 222-4453, TDD
www.childhelpusa.org
Futures Without Violence
(415) 678-5500
www.futureswithoutviolence.org/
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
(800) 438-6233
www.madd.org
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
(800) 843-5678
(800) 826-7653, TDD
www.missingkids.com
National Center for Victims of Crime
(800) 394-2255
www.ncvc.org
National Children’s Alliance
(800) 239-9950
www.nca-online.org
National Fraud Information Hotline
(800) 876-7060
www.fraud.org
National Organization for Victim Assistance
(800) 879-6682
www.trynova.org
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
(800) 537-2238
(800) 553-2508, TDD
www.nrcdv.org
National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children
(888) 818-7662
www.pomc.com
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
(800) 656-4673
www.rainn.org
Stalking Resource Center
www.ncvc.org/src