Violence, whether born from intimate betrayal or state-sanctioned terror, leaves a mark not only on bodies but deep within the psyche. It fractures the world into before and after, into safe and unsafe, into known and unknown. Yet, in the wreckage left behind, healing is not only possible—it can also be transformative.
The journey from trauma to recovery, though often arduous and nonlinear, is a profound reclamation of power, identity, and belonging. This article explores the core themes of trauma recovery across two seemingly disparate realms: domestic abuse and political terror—and highlights their shared emotional, psychological, and neurological impacts.
Understanding Trauma: What Unites Survivors Across Contexts
At its core, trauma is not just the event that happened—it’s what happens inside us as a result. Whether the violence is experienced in the home or on a national scale, survivors face common emotional wounds: terror, helplessness, and disconnection.
The late psychiatrist Dr. Judith Herman, in her seminal work “Trauma and Recovery,” made this critical connection: the experiences of political prisoners and survivors of domestic abuse were not just metaphorically similar—they were structurally and neurologically aligned. Both sets of survivors endure:
- Powerlessness and captivity
- Chronic fear and hypervigilance
- Loss of trust in others and the world
- Disintegration of self-concept
In both cases, trauma ruptures the individual’s ability to feel safe in their body, safe with others, and safe in the world. What follows is often a haunting sense of fragmentation—of the self, of memory, of time.
The Aftermath of Domestic Abuse: The “Invisible War”
Domestic abuse is often a slow erosion of self, built not only on physical violence but on psychological manipulation, coercive control, and gaslighting. The abuser may isolate the survivor from friends, financial resources, or even their own sense of reality. Over time, many survivors describe feeling “crazy,” “unworthy,” or “invisible.”
The aftermath can include:
- Complex PTSD (C-PTSD): Characterized by emotional dysregulation, dissociation, shame, and relational difficulty.
- Nervous system dysregulation: Living in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn responses long after the danger has passed.
- Loss of voice: Many survivors feel voiceless, having been silenced or disbelieved for so long.
Yet, the journey toward healing often begins with telling the story—first to oneself, then perhaps to others. In reclaiming narrative, survivors begin to rebuild what was taken: their truth, their voice, and their agency.
Political Terror and Collective Trauma
Survivors of political terror—such as war, genocide, forced displacement, or torture—face a similarly devastating aftermath, but one that often unfolds in public, collective spaces. The violence is sanctioned, normalized, and often denied by authorities, making recovery not only a personal struggle but a political one.
These survivors often experience:
- Mass displacement and loss of homeland
- Historical amnesia or denial by governments
- Collective grief and generational trauma
- Exile, identity loss, and alienation
In many cases, the path to healing requires truth commissions, memorialization, and collective acknowledgment. As with interpersonal abuse, truth-telling is foundational—not just to personal healing, but to restoring justice and dignity.
The Common Ground: Safety, Connection, Empowerment
Despite the different contexts, the pathway to trauma recovery—whether from domestic abuse or political terror—follows a shared map. Trauma expert Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of “The Body Keeps the Score,” outlines how trauma lives in the body, and thus must be healed not only through cognitive understanding, but through body-based practices, safe connection, and restoring agency.
Three Pillars of Trauma Recovery:
- Establishing Safety
Survivors must first find environments—internal and external—that feel safe. This may mean creating boundaries, finding supportive communities, and learning to self-regulate nervous system responses. - Reconnection and Remembrance
Healing involves telling the truth about what happened—not for the sake of reliving, but for the purpose of integration. This might include therapy, writing, art, or advocacy. For communities, it might mean truth commissions, survivor-led storytelling, or cultural rituals. - Empowerment and Rebuilding the Self
True recovery is not a return to the pre-trauma self—it’s a transformation. Survivors begin to make meaning from their pain, often becoming advocates, healers, or leaders. They reclaim their voice, their identity, and the right to live fully again.
Post-Traumatic Growth: More Than Survival
Though trauma leaves profound scars, many survivors experience post-traumatic growth—a deepening of compassion, purpose, and strength that emerges not despite the trauma, but through the process of surviving and healing.
From women who escape coercive partners and rebuild lives of peace, to communities rising from the ashes of genocide to demand justice and reconciliation—these stories remind us that the human spirit is not only resilient but capable of extraordinary transformation.
From Silence to Solidarity
Whether the violence is private or political, personal or public, recovery is never a solo act. It requires compassionate witnesses, safe spaces, and systems that acknowledge the depth of the harm. It is in community, advocacy, and mutual recognition that healing truly takes root.
Let us never diminish the courage it takes to survive—and let us work collectively to build a world where survivors are not only believed, but empowered to live whole, meaningful, joy-filled lives.
— Linda C J Turner
Trauma Therapist | Neuroscience & Emotional Intelligence Practitioner | Advocate for Women’s Empowerment
