: It's very difficult to find a universal experience that everyone would find traumatic. It entirely depends on ones experiences and values. For example, I wouldn't be massively affected if I

@Martha805

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It's very difficult to find a universal experience that everyone would find traumatic. It entirely depends on ones experiences and values. For example, I wouldn't be massively affected if I lost a leg because everything I enjoy doing I can do sitting down, whereas a professional athlete might have their life crushed by even breaking their leg and having it weakened permanently.

I can't imagine there are very many bad experiences that can occur to a woman that cannot happen to a man, so I will simply suggest what can happen to any human, that would be traumatic to most if not all.

My first suggestion would be to signify the trauma from watching her family die. Everyone has loved ones, and everyone would be upset if they lost them, so everyone can relate to that pain. So in order to magnify the horror of that happening, the worst thing that can happen to her is nothing at all.

Survivor's Guilt is a form of PTSD that is very powerful, as one must deal with the fact that they have been spared whilst others have not. It is very difficult to move past emotionally, as whilst the person continues to live, they will continue to suffer because of their very existence.

Every happy occasion will be tinged with the fact that whilst they are experiencing something wonderful, they may be doing it in the place of someone else who cannot experience these joys.

If it needs to be someone who is not part of the family, then perhaps it could be someone else who was close (such as one of her father's political aides) that helped to hide her when the attack started, who was then subsequently killed, or perhaps she was hidden and made a noise that caused the attackers to find someone else who was hiding and ended up being killed instead of her.

For a symbol that represents this, perhaps a locket with a picture of the family (although that is very clichéd), or another item of jewellery (such as a bracelet) containing charms that represents each of the family members that died. If it was another person who she feels guilty about getting killed, then perhaps they gave her a gift such as a bracelet that she wears in their memory.

My other suggestion would be that her dominant (likely right) hand gets injured during the attack, and rather than it being lost entirely, she simply loses some of her motor function. This could be magnified if her hobby or passion was something that required the use of her hand, such as intricate calligraphy, tinkering with electronic circuits, or playing a sport such as tennis or basketball. Everyone can relate to using their hands, so it would be sad to see someone struggle to do something most people take for granted.

This would be worse than losing her hand entirely, as it would serve as a reminder every time that she tries to use the hand that it she cannot quite use it properly, whilst still retaining some function. This may give her false hope that she may be able to regain the skill that she previously lost, but then when she fails she is reminded that the extent of the injury is permanent.

A physical symbol of this could be a single glove that she wears over that hand in order to hide any scars/ injuries that were sustained. This could provide a very good contrast when she looks at her hands together, as she can see her good hand free and exposed, whereas her injured hand is covered and hidden from the world.

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