After a traumatic event, the ways we see the world, ourselves and our relationships with others are dramatically shifted. Even though the situation itself has stopped, it seems as if we were taking the effects the situation had everywhere with us. We are made into a moving scar. If the concepts of victim and perpetrator can be applied to the traumatic situation, one could say that the perpetrator has taken over a big part of our inner life, this way, taking a lot of our sense of mastery away from us. Regaining mastery over our life can be compared to the phenomenon of decolonialization.
The process of healing will entail the reconquest, one by one, of areas of our own identity that have been taken away from us. We will not let the perpetrator and his or her actions define us anymore. We will little by little reconnect with our true self, relearn to interact with others and come to realize that fortunately the world is not limited to this person that hurt us and that every day the possibility is given us to start meaningful relationships that enhance our world.