Small Steps

After Six Years of detention in Iran, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been reunited with her family. But how does someone return to Normal Life after a such a long period in detention and what comes next?

" Take it gently, " says former hostage Terry Waite , who spent nearly five years in captivity in Lebanon.

He compares The Experience of a captive adjusting to Normal Life to a diver returning to The Surface , adding: " Come up too quickly you get The Bends . If you come out gently you'll be fine. "

Mr Waite was freed in 1991 and later Set Up charity Hostage International, which supports released hostages and their families.

" It has been very difficult for Nazanin because of so many of the uncertainties - threatened with being rearrested, threatened with a longer term of imprisonment and Never Knowing , " he says.

" And somehow she's had to learn how To Live One Day at a time. "

Mr Waite says it took him about 12 Months to really get back into Life After his release.

" The whole experience they have been through has to be processed. Sometimes people need professional help from That , some do not. But they just need time. "

from Tehran After Her release was secured on Wednesday following months of negotiations.

It marked The End of an ordeal That saw Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe detained after being accused in 2016 of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government. She always denied The Claim .

Hostage International chief executive Lara Symons says the Return Home comes with lots of difficulties.

" The spotlight is on you and everybody now sees you as a former hostage, and whatever you do with your live going forward you will be remembered as That former hostage, " she says.

" You have That Label - That badge - and you have to learn to wear That , and carry it because people see you through That prism.

" That can be very difficult and it's a challenge, but can be turned into Something Positive as you see with Terry Waite . "

She says people often have to learn How To take control of their own lives again and warns That even The Most mundane tasks can pose challenges.

" People who have been in captivity whether they've been held by a criminal kidnapping group or imprisoned by a state, they haven't had The Power to make their own decisions.

" I've heard hostages say on their Return Home they were offered chicken or pasta on airplane, and they couldn't make That decision.

" The Brain has to get use to adapting to being a free person and freedom of choice. "

Lela Tsiskarishvili, psychologist and president of International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), agrees.

" Things That might seem very simple can be very difficult for them to engage in, " she says.

" Often because The Way The Brain works means they are still in The Past because of all the memories, preventing them being now and here in The Present . "

During her captivity, The Charity Redress said Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

And Ms Tsiskarishvili, who has two decades of experience treating survivors of torture in detention, says detention can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.

" It's Small Steps and small victories because The Experience can be so haunting, " she says, adding: " Sometimes I'm in awe of the clients we work with with. "

Ms Tsiskarishvili also warns it can be difficult for the families as well.

" It's difficult for children primarily. For parents it's also difficult to return to A Kid who grew up several years later That there was limited contacted with.

" It's almost getting to know each other again. There are also problems with partners. "

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe spent her first night in the UK in bed with her husband Richard and seven-year-old daughter Gabriella in a Safe House , her sister-in-law Rebecca Ratcliffe says.

Barbara Ratcliffe, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's mother-in-law, says Her Granddaughter could not remember living with her mother and her son would find it hard adjusting too.

Tulip Siddiq , MP for Hampstead who helped campaign for the release, says: " Richard is an accountant from West Hampstead . He's not A Man who expected to Go On TV on hunger strike, lobbying the prime minster and going to No 10.

" They [Richard and Nazanin] are going to be very different people, and I think there will be a huge process in which they will have to get to know each other.

" But also Gabriella has to trust her mother again as well. "

Ms Symons says she finds children often help former detainees get back into routine.

" Absolutely focusing on those small pleasures in life is a great way to start, and getting back into routine and having children in The Family helps with That , " she says.

" Children need routine so responding to That and having That to focus is really helpful.

" But yes it's a long journey and it will take time. It's all about taking it day-by-day.

" There is a positive light at The End . "

Source of news: bbc.com