Overcoming the psychological scars of horrors of Genocide

Healing from trauma is possible; the individual ceases to be persecuted by his story and becomes the subject of it. The case of a patient, Linda depicts the struggle of one person to use all resources possible to emerge from the effects of a traumatic experience. I will present the story of Linda as an example of the challenges faced by one person struggling to overcome the emotional sequelae of trauma. Linda is a young lady who presented with a history of great intelligence and good psychological and physical health. She was aged 16 during the Genocide. She was originally anxious and uncomfortable during conversations about the Genocide as she described wanting desperately to forget what had happened so she could go on with her life. Linda said she did not like talking about what had occurred and that was why she never attended the commemoration of the Genocide or even listen to the radio during this period for fear that there would be reminders of the events. The survivor felt she had already faced the atrocities that had evolved having had to bury her own family and she did not want to have to relive the experiences. During the Genocide, she lost her brothers, aunts, uncles, and parents. According to her, the hardest blow was the death of her father. She was the only daughter of the family and she had shared a special and strong relationship with her father. She initially felt that nobody in the world could love her as her father did. “The death of my father to this day remains difficult for me to accept,” she had said. Persecuted family Linda’s family was always persecutedand her father was imprisoned as one of the “spies” in 1990, repeatedly intimidated and at times tortured. Linda experienced all the horrors of Genocide. She was beaten, transported in a truck picking up the bodies where the corpses were thrown into tanks. She was also picked up and thrown in among the dead where she spent a night. Miraculously, people released her from a tank and she managed to hide amid horrific indescribable conditions until the end of the Genocide. “I lived in this hell during the hundred days that the Genocide lasted,” Linda said. After the Genocide, she lived in challenging conditions. She initially lived with an aunt, also a Genocide survivor, and then an uncle who had returned from a long exile and took her into his home. Linda says nobody seemed to understand the depth of her suffering; she was misunderstood and the horror of her experiences was not validated. Linda suffered abuse of all kinds during the Genocide, but she did not truly process the events until much later. Only afterwards, around 1996, when she was living with her uncle, did she come to remember and acknowledge what had happened during her “Way of the Cross.” Only then, when the crisis had ended and the danger was gone, was Linda able to get in touch with her emotions and slowly remember the traumatic events that had occurred. As the memories surfaced and the emotions became raw, Linda was overwhelmed. Linda became sad all the time and could often spend three days without speaking. She eventually developed a true mutism that lasted two years. She became weak and ill and she could not go to school. Linda’s aunt showed her much love and she made great efforts to speak to Linda with kindness. Slowly, Linda began to respond and feel relief and she recovered her speech. Linda’s time living with her aunt, being around young people her age and the opportunity to process what had occurred during the Genocide, was a great relief and support for her. The home life and emotional connections she made were all therapeutic for Linda and she gained the strength to finish high school. Later, Linda took another step forward and married. She and her husband love each other so much and she has created a happy home which will hopefully protect her from any maladjustment that could develop in response to the traumashe experienced. It is important to focus on the protective factors that can foster healthy outcomes following traumatic events such as as marriage that can provide emotional support and help alleviate trauma responses. Linda went on to have a baby and she loves her son who is developeing well and thriving. This relationship is yet another protective factor that helps Linda move forward in life despite her trauma. When she buried her family’s remains in 1995, she always had nightmares in which she saw bones everywhere, particularly her father’s. Finally, the image of the father disappeared from her memory and when she remembered him, she saw only his bones. These images were marked in her memory in an almost indelible manner. When she gave birth, Linda felt revitalised by her son who looks like her father and that the presence of her son has helped her return to the living world. The images of her father’s bones have dissipated and the attachmentto a new love object has helped Linda not be trapped in the memories of the past. Psychotherapy The improvement in Linda’s psychological condition is also attributed to the psychotherapeutic care she received at the outpatient mental health facility she was referred to by a district hospital after being treated in health centers. During the therapy, she had the chance to openly process and confront the traumatic events and associated grief. Linda came to realise how comforting it is to have someone who listens to you, understands and sympathises with your pain. The chance to explore emotions in a safe, caring and non-judgmental environment was an essential experience for Linda and her recovery. Linda has also greatly benefited form having a job where she has responsibilities and she feels useful. Having a sense of autonomy and mastery at work has been yet another healthy life experience that has fostered Linda’s ability to navigate her traumatic experiences and gain control over her emotional world. Linda cannot forget all that she experienced during the Genocide, but she has made tremendous progress and has been able to live a full personal and professional life. There are, of course, times when she is reminded of the traumatic events of her past like during the commemoration of the Genocide, but she is determined to move forward with her life. She is now able to discuss what occurredand she is no longer overwhelmed when she recalls the events. Linda instead finds the chance to put her pain into words with someone who listens and supports her as a helpful and therapeutic process. It has been interesting to follow the evolution of Linda’s mental health as she came to terms with the traumatic events she faced during the Genocide. She was initially in a state of psychological retreat during which she could not speak or connect with anyone. She then slowly healed through the connections she made with family which allowed her to develop new love objects. Linda has also found great success in her professional world, which has not only fostered her self-esteem, but has also provided her an important social role. Linda’s role as a wife, mother and a successful worker has offered her the avenues through which to healfrom the traumatic events of her youth and move to a place of psychological health and strength.