From my country's MSM:
"What next with the freed hostages?
Psychologist explains:
'It's one of the worst experiences a person can go through'.
Being a hostage is one of the worst experiences a person can go through.
Hostages often become victims of physical violence, torture and sexual abuse.
They are often denied food and drink and live in extremely poor hygienic conditions.
They experience a sense of hopelessness because they do not know when they will be released,
what the condition of their loved ones is or what awaits them.
All this has huge
consequences - both for physical and mental health.
Trauma can lead to a variety of mental illnesses, including
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety disorders, or addiction.
However, it does not lead to permanent and irreversible diseases or mental disorders in everyone.
It depends on various factors.
The most important thing is probably how many traumatic experiences a person has experienced.
How should such people be treated?
At first they should not be treated at all.
This is a key finding in trauma research.
In the first weeks after a traumatic event, therapy is not helpful and may even increase stress levels.
The experience of trauma can be processed without professional support - provided that the person has not previously experienced traumatic events.
However,
if symptoms of trauma - such as nightmares or persistent and recurring bad memories - do not subside after six months, you should seek professional help.
What does the treatment process for such people look like?
A traumatic experience is like a wound.
Let's imagine a hand torn by a rusty nail -
the wound resulting from such an accident may become infected and may fill with pus.
It's not pleasant,
but eventually the skin will heal and the problem will go away.
It's the same with trauma.
Why are some people able to cope relatively quickly with traumatic experiences,
while for others virtually nothing helps?
The key factor here is what the person has experienced.
For those who have already been through several traumatic experiences, it is more difficult to cope with another one,
in this case as huge as being held hostage.
What the hostages experience upon release is also crucial.
If they receive a loving reception from those around them, they are more likely to be able to process what they have experienced.
Can family and friends help with this?
Yes.
The most important thing is for former hostages to realize that they need time and help - and accept it.
It may happen that after liberation they will become more nervous than before, that they will be tormented by traumatic memories or nightmares.
It is important that in such a situation family and friends provide them with a sense of security and closeness.
What should relatives of former hostages not do?
Under no circumstances should they be asked to talk about their experiences right after they have been freed from them -
unless the hostages want them to do so.
Then you should listen to them.
There are many children among the hostages.
Do they need special support?
There are several sensitive phases in a child's development, such as early childhood and adolescence.
Then the brain learns quickly and is therefore particularly susceptible to various experiences, which is why children and adolescents require special attention here.
A child's nervous system is very plastic, so traumatic experiences can have particularly devastating consequences for his or her later life.
However, under appropriate conditions, it heals faster.
Do the hostages have a chance to return to normal life?
It is very unlikely that after such an experience a person will function exactly as before.
Life will never be the same, let's face it.
After experiencing trauma, some people accept uncertainty and suffering, consider them a part of life and develop incredible strength and gratitude.
A traumatic event usually brings a lot of suffering that changes a person.
But that doesn't mean that it has to break a person."
More in the link
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