Collective trauma

A collective trauma is a psychological effect on an entire society. Traumatic events that emotionally touch nearly every member of said society will often induce a collective trauma. Symptoms are often that media?, politician?s and in some extreme instances the general public, will start looking for scapegoat?s. Collective traumas often give rise to more or less credible conspiracy theories.

In hindsight, collective traumas will often be watershed?s of history and signify or initiate times of change in the society affected.

Well known collective traumas include: The John F. Kennedy assassination? in the United States, the Estonia disaster in Sweden and various others.

In all likelihood, the destruction of the World Trade Center in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack will induce a severe collective trauma in US society, and indeed affect the entire world through primary and secondary reactions.