Why did Khmer Rouge years cause emotional trauma in some people and not in others?
Posted date : 22-07-2008
Source : Center for Social Development
Number of Visitors : 1127 
It is important to emphasize that not all survivors of traumatic events respond to their experiences in the same way. While some Khmer Rouge survivors developed serious mental health issues due to the pain, devastation and loss they experienced, others say that living through these traumatic events also made them re-evaluate their priorities in life (acquire new values) and change their lifestyles, thus bringing about substantial change and renewal in their lives. This doesn’t mean that such people never had symptoms such as nightmares, sleep disturbances, or sudden outbursts of grief and sadness.
Although there have not been any comprehensive studies of survivors of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, a study of Cambodian refugees who resettled in the United States revealed that 62% suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and 51% from depression.(33)
Every person in Cambodia who lived through the Khmer Rouge atrocities responded with immense and often endless grief, anger and deep suffering.
Whether a person will respond with prolonged traumatic symptoms or with normal emotional reactions during a process of integrating traumatic events depends on several factors, including the individual’s ability to cope with the traumatic event.
This applies not only to victims of the Khmer Rouge regime, but also to perpetrators. Case studies from therapists have shown that perpetrators often develop strong tendencies and patterns of memory suppression, numbing of their feelings and other kinds of unconscious coping mechanisms. The result is that they often suffer less consciously and feel depressed less often than victims, and therefore fail to develop healthy compassion. (34)
It is likely many factors are involved in explaining why responses to traumatic events are so different in different people. Much of the variation relates to the various circumstances and personalities involved.
Some factors determining different responses to traumatic events:
Circumstances which may influence or intensify the response
-Stability and security of the socio-political context (e.g., during KR years: Civil War, fear of authorities, suspicion of fellow villagers).
-Severity of the events (KR years can be described as “extreme traumatization”)
-Duration of exposure to traumatic events (the KR years were a prolonged exposure for many people)
-Situation of peer group of family (during KR years people were in a state of permanent fear, families were torn apart, there were spies in the neighborhood)
-Support from family, friends, and / or professionals (during KR years there was no professional support available, and little support from family members because everybody was struggling with the same situation; but sometimes, family members gave heroic support to one another.
-Access to supportive and secure contexts (during KR years: no adequate access to hospitals, or safe places to relax, rebalance, regain inner peace; but in some cases: family members, friends and villagers helped to create a healthy atmosphere.
Aspects of PERSONALITY which may influence or intensify the response
-The individual’s personal history: e.g., whether a person grew up in a healthy, emotionally stable, and supportive social context; whether a person developed a balanced personality; whether they received inner strength from his or her former life experiences; whether s/he learned to be flexible and to adapt quickly to changes in circumstances.
-Individual’s personality pattern: e.g, whether the person was emotionally stable before the event, was a relaxed and balanced person, was a person who never gave up, was someone who could gain trust from other people.
-Values and beliefs held by the individual: e.g., whether the person had deep general trust in life, had inner strengths developed though Buddhist or other religious and spiritual approaches, had faith in overcoming horrible events, possessed the motivation to seek relief even where the situations seemed hopeless.
-Coping skills: e.g., ability to manage extreme situations, survival techniques, good instincts; ability to deal with difficult and overwhelming feelings, and to manage anger, sadness, grief; ability to anticipate the thoughts and behavior patterns of the perpetrators; ability to keep inner distance from the overwhelming events; ability to maintain mental control; ability to dissociate for a while (creating a support inner world, “leaving” the body, numbing).
33 RF Mollica, R.F., Wyshak, G., Lavelle, J. (1987): The psychosocial impact of war trauma and torture on Southeast Asian refugees. Am J Psychiatry 1987; 144: 1567-1572.
34 Experiences of the author during his work as a psychotherapist at the Psychiatric University Hospital in Switzerland.
Extracted from:
-Understanding Trauma In Cambodia. “Why did Khmer Rouge years cause emotional trauma in some people and not in others?” Page 111-113.
