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Victims may experience shock, disbelief, and/or denial. Many victims will find it difficult to believe (or know) that they became the victim of a crime, or they may pretend that it did not happen at all. This may last for only a few moments or it may go on for months — even years. Victims often assume a more "childlike" state, and may need to be taken care of by others, at least for a little while. To some people, the crime will seem like it happened in a dream.

Once some of the shock has worn off, many victims will experience a variety of strong, confusing emotions (feelings). They may include:

• Anger or rage – anger may be directed at God, the offender(s), service providers, family members, friends, the criminal justice system, or even at oneself. It may become confused with the desire to "get back" at the person or persons who hurt them (revenge). Some people may feel anger because now they "hate" someone, and they didn’t hate anyone before. It may seem as though they have lost some of their innocence. The strength of the anger is often new to victims and is often disapproved of by society. Victims have the right to be angry after someone has hurt them.
• Fear or terror – after a crime that involved a threat to one’s safety or life, or to someone else a victim cares about, there is usually a sense of fear or terror. The fear may cause the person to experience "panic attacks" in the future if they are in a place or with people who remind them of the original crime. Some people may be afraid for a long time, which is not unusual after they have been harmed by an offender.
• Frustration – frustration often results from feelings of helplessness and powerlessness during the actual crime. This is especially true if people were not able to fight off the offender or run away or call out for help. After the crime, frustration may continue if the victim is unable to obtain information or help, if he is refused help, if he is discriminated against, if other people take the perpetrator’s side, or if he is rejected or isolated by his family and friends. It is important not to underestimate how painful frustration is for crime victims.
• Confusion – confusion often results when victims ask themselves "why did this happen to me?" ­-- a question that bothers many victims. It is a question that usually has no answer. Victims may be able to figure out "what" happened, but it is often impossible to explain "why" someone else wanted to cause them pain. Crimes often occur quickly and are chaotic, so confusion may also be caused when victims honestly are not clear about what actually happened.
• Guilt or self-blame ­– it is not unusual for a victim to blame herself when she becomes a crime victim, especially if she thinks she was doing something wrong at the time. For example, she may think, "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, so it was my fault." Or, "If only I had gone straight home, this would not have happened to me." Self-blame is especially common when no offender is found, and the victim cannot figure out who is to blame, so she blames herself. Some victims may feel guilty if they think they should have done something differently while the crime was happening, like yelling for help or running away. Many victims do not know that they do not have any control over what their bodies do when the crime is happening. Some victims experience "survivor guilt" – they feel guilty that they survived while someone else was injured or even died
• Shame and humiliation – some victims may think that they "deserved" to be hurt. Some offenders try to "degrade" the victim on purpose by making them do things that are embarrassing, especially if the crime involves sexual acts. Victims of rape, for example, may have long-lasting feelings of "being dirty," and those feelings won’t simply "wash away." If the offender is a service provider or a family member, the victim may feel self-hatred because he thinks he is so unlovable that even his own caregivers or family members don’t care about him. He may feel betrayed by those he trusted.
• Grief or sorrow – intense sadness is not uncommon, and is often the most powerful long-term reaction to a crime. Many crime victims become depressed after a crime occurs.

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