Re-experiencing traumatic events

After my daughter was born, Rwanda caused a lot of challenges for me because I remembered all those little kids I didn’t save. It haunted me. Memories came flooding back of all the dead, sick, and dying children. I’d be holding my daughter and having these crippling thoughts about how I should have helped those kids, questioning who I am as a person and what it meant about me that I didn’t find a way. - Military Veteran

Working in child sexual exploitation, you can have an offender who is a teacher, a coach, a neighbor. And you start wondering who you can really trust, you know? I began seeing “bad guys” everywhere… I didn’t want my kids going on sleepovers, or hockey tournaments… I saw potential threats everywhere. - RMCP Veteran

When events are traumatic, you can begin to re-experience them, with memories and vivid images that invade your life. You may experience flashbacks, where you might lose awareness of time and place. It can feel as though you’re reliving the events in real time.

Sometimes our trust in the world has been so dramatically shaken that we start seeing danger everywhere. We start looking over our shoulder constantly and expect betrayal around every corner.

These can be symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTSD). If you are experiencing this, it is critical to seek help.