They may feel numb, anger easily, or cry often.

NPR: Anger, Fear, Tears Normal Response To Disasters

Patients suffer flashbacks, feel emotionally numb or become irritable or easily startled.

BBC: Ecstasy

David Perez, a 23-year-old student at Yale Law School, where Sotomayor attended, said many people in the Hispanic community feel such excitement about the nomination that they're almost numb.

CNN: Latinos rejoice in Sotomayor nomination

And so at some point, patients become numb to the messages, and they do become fatalistic because they feel like it doesn't really matter what I do, because it's going to be wrong in a week.

NPR: Confronting Misconceptions About Cancer Prevention