"..individuals may keep going over the event again and again so that it takes up valuable thinking time. It is as if the mind has been temporarily taken over with no headspace for normal daily function.
They may experience a sense of overwhelming fear, intrusive images, thoughts, colours, smells and memories connected with the incident. Avoidance plays a part with some people – carefully avoiding talking, thinking or allowing triggers into their life to remind them of the trauma. This acts as a short-term safety mechanism but can lead to isolation from others.

This can lead to ruptured relationships while the individual stays trapped with a sense of numbness and prolonged shock. Having a continuous startled response is another common symptom causing the individual to jump at every noise or sound.
Often individuals trapped in this way may seem as if their personality has changed, as they become irritable, have bouts of increased moodiness and episodes of ‘flying off the handle’. An inability to sleep properly or waking up regularly in the early hours may affect concentration and memory.

All symptoms are normal reactions to an abnormal situation; it is the body’s response for keeping the individual safe from further danger, a primeval instinct, more profound and highly developed than any of us give it credit for."