Major symptoms include:
Each person's experiences of RTS is and will be different, but it can generally be broken down into stages: the Acute stage, the Outward Adjustment stage, the Underground stage, the Reorganisation stage and the Renormalisation stage (sometimes, these stages may have different names). It's also important to remember that the length of each stage can vary from person to person, and sometimes people will move back and forth between the stage.
This may beging days or weeks after a rape or sexual assault, and generally last for a few days to a few weeks. The symptoms of the Acute stage tend to be experienced after the initial shock of the rape or sexual assault has worn off. These symptoms may include:
This usually begings when the Acute stage ends, and tends to last longer if it is not interrupted - from a few months to several years.
In this stage, the survivor may appear to have 'moved on', but in reality they are experiencing serious inner turmoul. At this stage, survivors may increase their dependence on coping mechanisms - some of these may be helpful (like support from friends and family, mindfulness, increased self-care), but some maye be counterproductive (like self-harm, drug and/or alcohol buse, high risk sexual behaviours or disordered eating). Other coping mechanisms in this tage may include:
Symptoms may include:
Survivors may also feel that their lifestyle is changing in a variety of ways, including:
During this stage, survivors may work on returning to their 'normal' life. This stage can last for years - while there may be limited disruptions to daily life, emotional issues continue unresolved. Survivors may:
This stage can start with an external trigger, a life transition, or another reason which may not be clear to the survivor. This length of this stage varies - it can end with a return to Outward Adjustment or Underground, or it can end when the survivor is able to resolve the trauma and move onto the next stage.
The Reorganisation stage is centred on a return to internal and external turmoil. Those surrounding the survivor, such as friends and family, may be confused by these feelings and behaviours, as they likely thought that the survivor had resolved them. Survivors may also be surprised, confused and even fearful during this stage, where strong feelings about the assault return.
Survivors may experience fear and phobias specifically related to the rape or sexual assault or they may be more general, inclduing:
In this stage, survivors are able to reprocess their experience and integrate it into their lives. The rape or sexual assault is no longer the central focus of their life, and feelings like guilt and shame can be resolved. Survivors are also able to recognise and address secondary consequences of maladaptive coping mechanisms.
While survivors may still feel sad about the rape or sexual assault they experienced, their feelings generated in other stages are no longer as overwhelming or strong as they once were.