Witnessing violence leaves scars. How to cope with the aftermath of traumatic events

Therapists advise people who have witnessed violence to begin processing it immediately after the incident. Nadija Pavlovic/iStockphoto/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

Cars came to a screeching stop on Interstate 495 near Washington, DC, after a man stabbed four people in an attack that left a woman and a dog dead on the highway.

The chaotic moment unfolded in Fairfax County on March 1 shortly after 1 p.m. when a Virginia State Police trooper responded to a call about a road rage incident following a car crash, as CNN previously reported.

At the scene, the trooper was met by a male suspect carrying a knife who he then shot in self-defense, the agency said in a statement.

“A trooper got out and immediately shot him — from what I saw, at least two to three times,” an eyewitness, who didn’t want her name used to protect her privacy, told CNN. “At this point, I was screaming and hung up with my cousin. I called 911 as I processed what I was seeing.”

Witnessing a violent and horrific event firsthand may seem rare. However, 64 per cent of adults in the United States have had some form of exposure to in-person gun violence, a June 2025 study found. The report also showed that Black and Hispanic adults face significantly higher risks than White adults.

Moreover, 70 per cent of American adults have experienced some traumatic event at least once in their life, according to the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

What the driver saw left her deeply shaken. “I was terrified another person was involved, or this was a bigger operation than a deranged person,” said the mother of two, adding that she couldn’t unsee the suspect’s slumped body.

Encountering violence or other harrowing events could leave one struggling in the aftermath, according to experts, who say it’s critical to take steps to process trauma right away.

How to process trauma now

Philadelphia-based trauma therapist Shari Botwin advised people to speak and write about the experience immediately after a traumatic event because it allows them to begin processing what happened.

“As soon as someone has experienced trauma or witnessed something, it is so important to talk,” said Botwin, who has been in private practice for 30 years and is the author of “Stolen Childhoods: Thriving After Abuse.” “Tell the story and tell it every day. Tell three people what you saw, then when you wake up the next day, think about other people you can tell it to.”

Botwin added it’s crucial to describe what you saw, heard, smelled and sensed.

Since not everyone will have access to a therapist, she recommends sharing your story with a partner, best friend or trusted family member.

During the first month after the event, journaling can play a key role in helping to overcome psychological turmoil. Write down words, thoughts or feelings about what happened for 15 minutes each day, Botwin recommends.

“By doing that, what you’re doing is you’re going to ward off the more long-term consequences, which oftentimes, for people, can be post-traumatic stress disorder,” Botwin said.

The woman who witnessed the fatal stabbing said that her company offered her eight weeks of paid leave to process the incident.

“I am in therapy, but I do still have moments that are simple to the average civilian that make me wince and I have to give myself some self-compassion,” said the eyewitness, adding that she’ll stop to take some deep breaths.

Other methods of treatment

Practices such as basic self-care, nutritious meals, sufficient sleep, exercise and social connections can also help people begin to recover from traumatic experiences, according to Ricky Greenwald, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Trauma Institute and Child Trauma Institute in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Greenwald and Botwin both agree that getting therapy will also help.

“What I would say to people in an ideal world is, go do some short-term counseling, meet with a therapist eight to 10 times,” Botwin said.

“When you’re processing and talking and naming the experience, you’re less likely to have flashbacks or become hypervigilant, or sort of go into that fight-or-flight mode.”

Botwin explained that this occurs when the body senses any danger or stress associated with past trauma. The moment the brain detects a threat, the body triggers a physiological response, which could be freezing up, shutting down or running away.

“Anything can trigger this response, as it’s a survival mechanism we use to survive,” Botwin said.

She added that the problem is that, once the event has passed, people may continue to experience triggers or reminders that elicit the same response.

“The trick is to gain awareness of when our body is going into fight-or-flight mode — and have a host of grounding techniques or tools we can use to get our bodies and minds back in the present,” Botwin said.

One effective trauma therapy Greenwald recommends is EMDR, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing — a treatment currently viewed as the leading approach that’s been around since the late 1980s. This therapy targets the traumatic memory directly, so it can be stored differently in the brain to reduce or even eliminate distressing symptoms linked to the trauma, according to the American Psychological Association.

“When you focus on the traumatic thoughts that are kind of repeating themselves over and over, and what happens is, in the EMDR, the therapist helps you to speak about that image, that thought, that feeling, and then over time, the emotional response gets quieter,” Botwin said.

Other established trauma therapies include cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure, and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. However, these treatments are generally slower and more challenging than EMDR, Greenwald said.

The eyewitness said the one thing that is left out of the recovery process is how lonely it can be. “It makes people uncomfortable hearing what I witnessed,” she said.

People need to accept that many are facing mental health challenges, the eyewitness added.

She said that now, whenever she sees news about horrific events, she thinks of the bystanders. After being trapped in a car for hours, the adrenaline rush was overwhelming, and she felt its effects for weeks.

The eyewitness added that she relives the experience every day, and it’s been difficult to avoid police cars, ambulances, fire trucks with their lights and sirens, or helicopters, as they bring back memories of that day.

Key steps to recovery

While trauma is unavoidable, Botwin said each person’s journey toward healing is different.

“We have this tendency as human beings to want to minimize trauma, because we don’t want to have to think it’s going to affect us,” Botwin said.

“But the reality is, is that if you’re a human being and you have a conscience and you care about what happens to people, you don’t have control over what happens. Nobody can control how they deal with trauma.”

Botwin emphasizes that while there is no cure for PTSD or trauma responses, the key to managing them is to face the trauma, avoid self-destructive coping strategies, process feelings and practice self-compassion.