Dissociation (feeling like one is not attached to one’s body).Flashbacks and intrusive thoughts about the assault.Sleep disturbances such as insomnia, vivid dreams, and recurring nightmares.Mood swings from relatively happy to depression or anger extreme anger and hostility (more common for male or masculine victims than female or feminine victims).Experiencing a general response of nervousness or “startle response”.Inability to maintain previously close relationships.Victims may show a wide variety of symptoms, but some common symptoms during this phase include: Flight (moves to a new home or city, alters appearance).Suppression (refuses to discuss the incident).Dramatization (cannot stop talking about the assault).Minimization (pretending “everything is fine”, or that the assault “wasn’t a big deal”).Victims may employ a wide range of coping mechanisms, including: During this stage, the victim may outwardly appear to have “moved on” from an assault, but this stage is marked by serious inner turmoil. Outward adjustment often begins when the Acute stage ends, and can last for between a few months and several years, if it is not interrupted. Thoughts of and increased risk of suicide.Acute sensitivity to the reaction of other people.Dulled sensory, affective and memory functions.Diminished alertness or hyper-alertness.Often, victims begin experiencing symptoms of the acute stage after the initial shock of an assault has worn off.
The acute stage can begin days or weeks after a sexual assault and generally lasts for between a few days and a few weeks.
Although each individual’s experience is unique, people experiencing rape trauma syndrome often process their trauma in a series of stages