How do you cope with the trauma of being a hostage?

THIS photo of Ben Innes grinning awkwardly as he poses next to a hijacker wearing a suspected suicide belt on board an EgyptAir flight has made headline news around the world.

Innes, from Leeds, was one of three passengers and four crew held to the end of a hostage siege after Seif Eldin Mustafa hijacked the plane bound for Cairo forcing it to be redirected to Cyprus. The explosives belt was later found to be fake and everyone on board escaped uninjured.

The 26 year-old Innes later spoke about his motives for walking up to the front of the hijacked plane after it landed and asking for a photo with the apparent suicide bomber, telling The Sun newspaper he was trying to get a better look at the device adding that he wanted to “stay cheerful in the face of adversity”.

The photo began circulating on social media before the hostage situation was over, suggesting Innes began sharing it before he was even off the plane and the image, in which the hijacker’s fake bomb vest is clearly visible, sparked a mix of reactions ranging from amusement to condemnation.

Dr Pam Ramsden, a psychology lecturer at the University of Bradford who specialises in trauma, says people react differently in hostage situations. “Everyone has their own stress response to a potentially life threatening situation where you aren’t sure what’s going to happen. The common reaction is to think of the people you are going to leave behind and any unfinished business.

“Some people close up and become unresponsive and other people react angrily. In this case his [Innes’} stress response was to get a selfie taken.”

Dr Ramsden points out that being held hostage on a plane with little or no chance of escape can be particularly traumatic. “The automatic response is flight or fight, but if you’re in an enclosed space this intensifies the stress response because you’ve got nowhere to go,” she says.

Experts say that while some people struggle to function properly in hostage situations, others try to remain calm. “What’s interesting is that nobody knows how they will react until that moment comes,” says Dr Ramsden.

She has picked up on the role social media has played. “Social media gives ordinary people a platform they didn’t have before. Ten years ago this probably wouldn’t have happened because there wasn’t the same audience.”

She believes, too, that Innes may already be regretting having had the picture taken. “He might not regret what he did but he probably regrets the response, because he’s always going to be known as the guy who had the ‘selfie’ taken with the hijacker, so it’s unlikely to be a positive experience for him.”

In this instance the hijacker’s bomb vest proved to be fake, but Dr Ramsden says hostage victims who live to tell the tale can experience a wide range of different feelings, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“Psychological trauma can manifest itself a few months later, it doesn’t necessarily happen right away. Research shows that for the vast majority of people it will always be a bad memory but not one that causes psychological damage in the long run, but some people do need psychological help.”

Alan Pike, clinical partner at The Centre for Crisis Psychology, based in Skipton, says there is not necessarily a direct correlation between the length of time a person is held hostage and the impact it has on them.

The same goes for if they walk away unharmed. “It’s a myth to assume that because you don’t have a scratch you’re ok. Just the mere thought that you could have died and never seen your family again is enough to have a post traumatic reaction. Which is why people can benefit from psychological support.”