ABSTRACT
That first victims in an accident like this-the passengers, along for the ride with no control over the outcome-experience trauma is not hard to imagine. But is the experience of the second victims, the captain and his crew, also traumatic? And if it is, what makes it so, or perhaps especially so? Second victims do not often apply the characterization of “trauma” to themselves, even though it might well capture what many of them feel and experience. Flashbacks, dreams, intrusive thoughts and memories, physiological responses, and stress reactions long after the original event has faded out of sight-all of these belong to a group of symptoms associated with trauma and posttraumatic stress. It can lead to depression, social isolation, a loss of sense of self, and even suicide. These effects may show up even in the wake of a trauma that is not as obviously destructive as an accident like Gottrora, but which is highly salient for the person undergoing it and has the ability to upset a variety of psychological balances.
