The water level signifies the degree of society’s misrecognition or misunderstanding about trauma.

The water level is low if victims can give voice to their injury and be listened to, understood, accepted or supported rather than being blamed or doubted. It reflects the relative nature of intelligibility[i]. If the water level is low, the area covered by the inner sea is small and the skirt of the inner and outer slope is wider.

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What affect the water level are the ethos of society, and the sensitivity and responsiveness of those around the victimized. Life is full of unexpected misfortunes and accidents.

No one is immune to the deep wounds they cause. So if this island exists in a society which recognizes and shares these human vulnerabilities, and highly values caring for and sensitivity to others’ pain, the water level is low.

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Egalitarianism regarding gender, ethnicity, and class, among other differences, would significantly lower the water level.

Conversely, if the society is one in which competition has priority, the strong prey upon the weak, self-reliance is the central idea, members are generally used to cruelty and are ranked and classified in hierarchy, the water level rises (Galtung, 1990).

In a patriarchal society, the water level is high on women’s suffering especially in the ‘personal’ sphere. A taboo against publicly speaking about sexual issues also makes the water level high for those sexually traumatized. A society biased against minority members views their traumatic experiences as normal and insignificant.

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Political and ideological conflicts make the water level high for those who are on the opponents’ side and low for those who are on the same side.

However, any collectivism, such as nationalism, sectionalism, fundamentalism, makes it difficult for trauma caused by members of the same group to be brought .above the water level.

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Cultural richness is another very important factor.

Receptivity not only to logical discourse but to fragmented screams or poetic expression; a tradition not just of language but of arts such as dance, song, and painting; respect for the sensitivity which finds meaning and value in silence and absence; rituals which incorporate this sensitivity; a world view which values not merely the visible and known but also the invisible and unknown; shamanistic and other spiritual activities that try to converse with those perished in the inner sea and mourn their death.

All would be valuable for recognizing and listening carefully to the voices at the water’s edge, and lower the water level.

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The water level also changes according to areas of specialization and their social function.

For instance, clinical psychiatry/psychology and law each posit a totally different water level.

Mental health professionals can and should be receptive to the voice of a victimized individual amidst mumbling or mourning in a room behind closed doors.

They can drag back the ‘diseased’ and the ‘insane,’ about to drown in the inner sea, from the water’s edge, and translate their mumblings into understandable words[ii].

But law requires a victimized individual to speak in a rational language to persuade doubters, and to present material or objective evidence in a public space.

A large part of the confusion I noted earlier in the legal use of PTSD might be explained by this.

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Technology and media affect the water level as well.

The development of computer or communication technology has been effective in lowering the water level, particularly for physically disabled persons, in terms of accessibility to information, meeting with the like-minded, and disseminating their opinions.

The birth of disability studies might not have occurred without such technological advances. However, those who do not have access to technology to start with or who cannot keep up with its advances are excluded. Thus, the water level rises for them.

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The bias in contemporary technology toward the visual and auditory may have led to insensitivity to tactile, olfactory, and gustatory senses, and to inaudible or invisible things.

Also, detailed reports and dissemination of information on occurrences by the media can lower the water level, unless repeated so much that people become numb (-----, 2001).

And if cases are not suited to the visual and audio media, are deemed not as ‘catchy’ as visual images, or make those who hold power in the international economy uncomfortable, they will not be covered, raising the water level for those affected and silencing their voices.

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[i] On the intelligibility and credibility of clinical narratives in the refugee’s asylum seeking process, see (Kirmayer, 2007). In a different vein, Butler’s work on intelligibility in relation to body and society (Butler, 1993) is also very stimulating. 

[ii] Emphasis on evidence-based medicine and the notion of trauma symptoms as solely pathological, and the current PTSD treatment paradigm which values disclosure, memory and meaning, might raise the water level (Rousseau & Measham, 2007).