Revenge fantasies can empower individuals and aid emotional recovery after trauma. However, survivors should feel safe before engaging with these fantasies. For some, these thoughts persist for long periods, providing a means to regain lost control and ease feelings of powerlessness. While some individuals may benefit from embracing these fantasies to process their trauma, it is not universally helpful for every survivor, emphasizing the need for a personalized approach in healing strategies.
"I want him to die," Abigail said during her therapy session. "I know I'm not supposed to say that, but it's how I feel." In 2022, a shooter fired into a crowd during an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, killing seven people and injuring another 48. Abigail was sitting along the parade route in the line of fire with her grandchildren.
"Can you imagine his death? The death that you want him to have?" I, her trauma therapist, responded. "I imagine it often."
"It's not that hard to have someone killed in jail. You only need to get to an inmate or a guard who wants money and either believes they can get away with it or doesn't care if they get caught. I would pay someone to have him killed. I don't care how it's done. I'd just want him to know that I was the one who paid them. I was the one who killed him."
Revenge fantasies can restore feelings of empowerment. Embracing revenge fantasies can help you recover from trauma, as these fantasies can reestablish feelings of empowerment after feeling persistently powerless. Trauma researcher Judith L. Herman writes, "The revenge fantasy is often a mirror image of the traumatic memory, in which the roles of perpetrator and victim are reversed."
#trauma-recovery #revenge-fantasies #psychological-empowerment #emotional-processing #survivors-strategies
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