Looking after yourself

Vicarious trauma

When hearing about someone's experience of sexual misconduct, it is common to feel sadness, anger and frustration.

Having a secondary experience to someone else's trauma is called vicarious trauma. You could also be at risk of being retraumatised when managing or hearing a disclosure of sexual misconduct due to your own personal experiences.

Signs that you might be experiencing vicarious trauma include:

• experiencing shame, guilt and worthlessness

• experiencing flashbacks or negative thoughts from your own traumatic experience

• dissociating or feeling disconnected from reality

• difficulty sleeping, eating or concentrating

• anxiety, panic, low mood and/or depression

• avoidance of activities or using alcohol, drugs or substances

Looking after your own wellbeing