ABSTRACT
The victim runs the risk of being rejected, developing a sense of estrangement from others, and losing the support of significant others. In contrast, a national trauma is shared collectively and frequently has a cohesive effect as individuals gather in small and intimate groups to reflect on the tragedy and its consequences. Personal feelings of sadness, fear, and anger are confirmed when others express similar emotions. An event becomes a collective trauma when it appears to threaten or seriously invalidate our usual assessments of social reality. Under such conditions, doubts emerge about the future as an extension of the present, and social events are perceived as discontinuous. Although social were abrupt disruptions of the social order, they were not isolated events. A great deal of collective stress and tension preceded each of them. Extraordinary disruptions gain attention and arouse widespread public responses.
