Traumatization in Survivors of Multiple Aids-Related Loss

Abstract

This article intends to demonstrate that surviving multiple AIDS-related loss can be traumatizing. Certain characteristics of AIDS as a disease combine with the cumulative impact of multiple loss to heighten traumatic stress in a combined environment of helpless uncertainty and ongoing distress. The focused, community wide impact of AIDS, especially in the gay community, fosters both collective and individual traumatization. Classic symptoms of traumatization arise in survivors of multiple AIDS loss including emotional and social withdrawal and disturbing intrusive recollections. Lifton's conceptualization of the “death imprint” and Seligman's theories of learned helplessness are applied. Implications for treatment and recovery are explored.