Childhood Trauma & PTSD

The film “40 Years of Silence” is based on the largely untold history of the mass-killings in Indonesia in 1965 under the Suharto regime. However, this film is more than a tragic story of a genocide and its victims. The deeper theme in this film is the story of how children perceive, cope with, and ultimately come to terms with this violence, fear and loss throughout their life course. The characters’ narratives illustrate that such violence creates tears in the social and political fabric of society, which can take generations to heal.

This film provides a unique window into long-lasting effects of childhood trauma. It also provides insights into how best to understand and treat this trauma. It further stresses the importance of understanding the local history and local contexts and meanings of how people are affected by violence, fear and loss. The film makes the point that, in order to understand how best to treat victims of trauma, we need to have a clear understanding of their culture and history.

In modern psychiatry, the characters in this film would be given the diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can occur after a traumatic or life-threatening event. These events can include combat or military exposure, child sexual or physical abuse, terrorist attacks, serious accidents, and natural disasters. These symptoms can be very disruptive of the subject’s ability to perform basic functions of daily life. However, all four characters in this film find different ways to cope with their trauma without medication. These methods range from religion and spirituality, political activism, and martial arts to a slow but steady reintegration into society via community service. This highlights the importance of sociocultural and psychological differences between subjects coming from the same social and political contexts.

This film goes beyond recounting the tales of Indonesians affected by the events of 1965. It speaks to the countless others who have suffered across the world from childhood violence and trauma, and whose lives will continue to be affected by their tragic history. In the 20th century alone, several genocides and mass killings have taken place whose aftermaths have gone largely unnoticed. It is essential that we bring awareness to the long-lasting effects of such violence. This film has particular relevance in light of the current troubles confronting the United States - in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, and other societies dealing with long-term violence, fear, oppression and loss. There are generations of people throughout such societies who will endure the same struggles as the characters in this film, and it is crucial that transcultural psychiatry, as a discipline, bring this issue to the forefront of trauma research.

Read Robert Lemelson's book:

"Understanding Trauma: Integrating Biological, Clinical, and Cultural Perspectives"

To learn more about childhood trauma and PTSD, visit:

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