Survivor Guilt
Survivor, survivor's, or survivors guilt or syndrome is a mental condition that occurs when a person perceives themselves to have done wrong by surviving a traumatic event when others did not. It may be found among survivors of combat, natural disasters, epidemics, among the friends and family of those who have committed suicide, and in non-mortal situations such as among those whose colleagues are laid off. The experience and manifestation of survivor's guilt will depend on an individual's psychological profile. When the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) was published, survivor guilt was removed as a recognized specific diagnosis, and redefined as a significant symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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Famous quotes containing the words survivor and/or guilt:
“You’re looking, sir, at a very dull survivor of a very gaudy life. Crippled, paralyzed in both legs. Very little I can eat, and my sleep is so near waking that it’s hardly worth the name. I seem to exist largely on heat, like a newborn spider.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)
“I respect guilt. It is a dangerous but sometimes useful beast. The guilt that made me want to solve all my children’s problems meant trouble. The guilt that made me question my role in our mother-daughter squabbles proved helpful. Yes, I care about my kids’ problems, and I long to make suggestions. But these days I wait for children to ask for help, and I give it sparingly. Some things can’t be fixed, and I tell them so.”
—Susan Ferraro (20th century)