Silence Hurts
Alcohol Abuse and Violence Against Women

Module 5: Alcohol, Sexual Assault, and Rape - Page 12 of 15

5 Stages of Recovery

Every person reacts differently to sexual assault, however, in general there are five stages of recovery, which virtually everyone will experience to some degree. It is not unusual for different people to experience the stages in different orders or even to repeat stages several times. As you work through these stages with your client, she may also present with feelings of disorganization, despair, and fear.54,55

Stages of Recovery

Stage 1: Initial Shock

 Shock following an assault can take on many forms. You may experience emotional as well as physical shock, which in turn could be expressed as very controlled and/or withdrawn, or, highly expressive, including crying, screaming or shaking. You may or may not feel comfortable communicating these feelings to others.
Stage 2: Denial Also called pseudo-adjustment, this stage may find you attempting to go on with normal routine, wanting to forget about the assault. This denial or rationalization of what happened is an attempt to deal with inner turmoil.
Stage 3: Reactivation This stage involves a re-experiencing of the feelings from Stage 1, usually brought on by the triggering of memories of the assault. Feelings of depression, anxiety and shame increase. Other symptoms can include nightmares, flashbacks, a sense of vulnerability, mistrust and physical complaints.
Stage 4: Anger You may experience feelings of anger - often toward yourself, friends, significant others, society, the legal system, all men/women, etc. With skillful support this anger can be directed more appropriately toward the assailant.
State 5: Integration (Closure) As you integrate the thoughts and feelings stemming from the assault into your life experience you will begin to feel "back on track". As a result of support, education and the passage of time, you will feel strengthened.
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