Being a victim of crime sometimes means you have experienced trauma. Your reactions are normal and are a natural part of dealing with a crime.
There are many different types of crime – but every crime has a victim.
Ways of coping
Everyone has their own way of coping with crime. You may find it helpful to:
- talk about how you feel with someone you trust
- structure your life as much as possible
- defer major life decisions where possible
- accept that you will have good days and bad days
- do nice things for yourself
- eat regularly and nutritiously
- maintain or increase your physical exercise
- limit the use of alcohol and drugs
- keep a journal
- be kind and gentle with yourself.
Professional support
It is important to look after yourself, and get the support you need.
Sometimes it is hard for family and friends to understand, respond to and provide the support you need.
There are many support services that can help you manage the effects of crime, including:
There are also services that specialise in supporting certain groups, like Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the LGBTQIA+ community, culturally and linguistically diverse groups and people with disabilities.
See our list of support services for more.
Other types of therapy
As a victim of crime you might consider Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.
This can be an extremely successful therapy for a range of issues including panic attacks, complicated grief, sexual or physical abuse, disturbing memories and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
However, it may not be advisable to have this treatment if the criminal proceedings are still underway - particularly if you are required to give evidence in court. EDMR can impact on memory recall.
Make sure to speak to the prosecutor in your case if you are considering having EMDR therapy.
See the EMDR Association of Australia website for more information about EMDR, including what an EMDR session is like.