| WHAT IS PTSD? | WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS? | WHAT CAN BE DONE? |
| MY EXPERIENCES WITH PTSD| DOES PTSD ACTUALLY EXIST? | FURTHER READING |
There are some in the medical community who believe that PTSD doesn’t exist but has merely medicalized the inevitable tragedies which occur throughout one’s life. This leads to treatment considered unnecessary and encourages the notion that people act like victims. Whereas there are others in the medical community who believe that the psychological consequences of the tragedies we experience force long lasting debilitation onto certain individuals, which has been named PTSD.
What is PTSD?
PTSD is short for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Certain events in our life are so traumatic they create high levels of stress and concern, especially events where an individual is put in danger or distress, quite often involving the possible loss of life. These events vary from person to person and can include: serious accidents, assault, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, torture, being diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses, rape and warfare. These events make an individual feel highly vulnerable and focus in on their sense of security and wellbeing. There is also a greater likelihood of developing PTSD if you have little social support or friendship due to the internalisation of the problems and emotions you are feeling.
After such an event some people will be able to resume normal day to day living after dealing with the incident in their own way. Others however find dealing with the event difficult and over time begin to develop the symptoms of PTSD. In Europe, PTSD is usually only diagnosed after the symptoms have been present for at least six months. Whereas in the US, only one month needs to have passed before PTSD will be diagnosed.
We all experience stress and tragedy through our lives, so it is not hard to see why some people believe PTSD to be nothing more than the individual’s inability to deal with the knocks we can all expect to occur. However, from people that I have spoken to over the years, those who have expressed this opinion seem to be the people who have never had their lives put in danger.
What are the symptoms?
There are three main types of symptoms present with PTSD:
- Flashbacks and Nightmares
These are generally so realistic it feels you are reliving the experience over and over again. It is not just the emotions which you feel but also the physical sensations of the event, which can include: fear, sounds, pain, smells and sweating. - Avoidance
Re-living the event can be so traumatic for some they will do whatever they can to avoid it. They will throw themselves into work or avoid objects, places and people which will remind them of the event. They will submerse themselves into hobbies and past-times, lose themselves in puzzles or crosswords and do whatever possible to not talk about the event to anyone. - Being on Guard
This is called hypervigilance; constantly keeping your body in alert mode so you are perpetually on the lookout for danger. Relaxation is impossible, anxiety takes over your body and sleep becomes rare.
There are also other physical and mental symptoms often present, including:
- Diarrhoea
- Headaches
- Panic and Anxiety, often in the form of panic attacks
- Using drugs and/or alcohol to numb the pain
- Irregular heartbeats
- Muscular aches and pain
What can be done?
As with all mental illnesses, medication should not be the only course of treatment. Medication for PTSD can range from anti-depressants through to mild anti-psychotics or sleeping tablets. However, the best course of treatment for PTSD in particular is talking therapy. This can range from educating yourself on the effects and reactions to trauma to a longer course of treatment such as CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) or therapy.
Overcoming PTSD can take many years, especially if treatment is sought through a psychologist or counsellor. The only way to deal with the issue is to face it head on, and this talking therapy will open up a succession of old wounds which will force you to re-live the event which caused the PTSD to begin with. Therefore once this treatment has begun it will need to be followed through to the end, otherwise the wound will remain open which could cause even greater problems in the long run.
If you know someone who suffers from PTSD (or you suspect suffers from PTSD) there are a number of things which you should and should not do, these include:
- Allow the survivor to talk about the trauma at their own pace. Once they are talking DON’T interrupt their flow or interject with your own experiences as this may cause them to close up and DON’T minimise what they have experienced with statements such as “c’mon, it’s not that bad,” or “it could have been much worse,”
- Keep an eye out for anger, depression, lack of interest, changes in behaviour (such as lateness, poor performance)
- DON’T tell them that you know how they feel – chances are you have NO idea how they feel!
- DON’T tell them they’re lucky to be alive
- DON’T tell them to “pull themselves together” or “cheer up” as this will create only anger
My Experiences with PTSD
I was told by a psychologist yesterday that in order for me to deal with the PTSD I would require an extensive period of psychological treatment which could last anywhere from twelve to eighteen months. Fine if you can afford it! But as I’ve also been told, I’m not well enough to work at the moment so I don’t quite see how this will happen.
The problem lies in that it is no longer just a case of dealing with the events which prompted the PTSD to begin with. The events of the last twelve months have been feeding into the existing PTSD and as such have thrown up a whole new bunch of issues to deal with. If I had dealt with them three years ago things may not have become this bad, but as my social and financial situation at the time was strained to say the least this wasn’t an option. After all, society deems men must keep their problems to themselves and pretend nothing is wrong in order for us to be accepted and treated as individuals. As I’ve said before, is it any wonder that so many men end up committing suicide with a societal view such as this?
The loneliness and isolation I have experienced over the last three years has amplified the flashbacks, hallucinations and nightmares I experience. Sleeping rough without safe and secure housing has only thrown its own problems into the mix, further adding to a state where avoidance is impossible. What else can you do when sleeping rough but think? Due to my social and financial situation, there is nothing I can do in order to avoid the thoughts my mind plagues me with. There are none of the things other people take for granted; no random conversations or nights out with friends, no cinema excursions, few avenues for hobbies to be indulged and even my tried and true way of blocking out the voices – my music – went the way of the dodo many months ago.
These days it is just my mind, the events and me.
I was told yesterday that I should also consider some medication for the PTSD – in addition to the bipolar medication I am supposed to be taking. This would – as mentioned above – only be a short term way to cope with the symptoms without dealing with the major issues at hand.
So how has PTSD affected me?
Over the last few years the following have been recurring issues and symptoms:
- Nightmares
On the occasions where I am able to get some sleep I will frequently dream of the events of that year. I will often find myself waking up drenched in sweat and having heart palpitations. The nightmares are vivid and detailed, often jam packed with smells, sounds and other special effects usually seen in 3D cinema screens. Always such a fun way to start the day! These dreams have been occurring since mid 2007, but notched up a gear a year later in mid 2008 when a considerable portion of the memories were drenched up by my psyche. - Avoidance
Whenever possible I avoid everything I can from that period because even the most inane of things trigger flashbacks to that time period. Examples include but are not limited to: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gin, Gridlock, Writing, Adelaide, Fitzroy, books or movies which include the word alchemy in the title (!), lavender body gel, Carlton, Lnyx deodorant and specific people and places. - Flashbacks
These have increased in severity and frequency since becoming homeless and having nothing to focus on in terms of pleasure. They run along similar lines to the nightmares I describe above and are often triggered by exposure to the things I attempt to avoid. When I was living briefly in Preston last year I attempted to return to Brunswick Street, my favourite street in Melbourne, but suffered crippling flashbacks which brought on a panic attack. - Hypervigilence
Whenever I am walking around outside I am continuously monitoring what is going on around me. Since being homeless I have been attacked both verbally and physically which, aside from being painful as a one off incident, feed into the ongoing issues developed since 2007 and amplify the anxiety and triggers. I have been known to take alternate routes to my destination if I see people who bear a resemblance to those from my events, sometimes a great distance out of my way. The most recent attack, a few weeks ago, saw me avoid the city for several days for fear of a repeated incident. - Social
The PTSD and associated anxiety issues have made it even harder for me to communicate with people than it was when it was merely the social anxiety I was fighting. It has forged in me an inherent distrust of people to the point that even trivial things such as Facebook status updates, emails and discussion boards are becoming increasingly more difficult for me to deal with. The less said about my distrust of women the better! - Employment
This distrust of people in addition to the ongoing flashbacks and hallucinations – coupled with the mood swings of bipolar – has made focussing on anything for any elongated period of time difficult, to the point of being impossible. Even in the long term my career prospects have been affected. Since writing my blog I have developed an increased interest in psychology but will never be able to become a practising psychologist due to my mental illnesses, my dreams of being a writer has been quashed due to my inability to focus and write coherently whilst lack of equipment and possibilities has affected my other dream of becoming a photographer.
The conversation I had yesterday, along with many I’ve had with myself over the last several months, made me realise that – aside from the odd psychiatrist – I have never had a face to face conversation about the events of that year. Most people find it easier to cope with traumatic events by talking about it with friends or family, but how do you do this when you don’t have any? I said above that social support can be highly beneficial in dealing with PTSD and I have spoken at length in the past about how social relationships and friendships benefit anyone with a mental health condition. This is why I would recommend to others trying to cope with traumatic events, mental illness and/or PTSD to talk about it whenever necessary with someone that you trust. Leaving it as long as I have has caused substantial damage which could have been avoided had I talked about how I was feeling at the time.
Does PTSD actually exist?
I think it is fairly safe for you all to assume that I am not one of those individuals who believe that PTSD doesn’t exist. The events which occurred in 2007 have cast a debilitating shadow across all areas of my life; from employment to social to day-to-day living, even to the point of further complicating the stabilisation of my existing health concerns.
I actually take umbrage to people who believe that those who suffer from PTSD are merely unable or ill equipped to deal with life. It paints them as malingering whingers who are somehow weaker than those who can carry on with no ill effects. The human mind is an immensely complicated organ and each is unique; what someone believes traumatic others may believe trivial.
Over the years, primarily through writing my blog, I have offered support and friendship to people who were; victims of child abuse, stabbed, emotionally abused, beaten or sexually assaulted. People who have been in earthquakes and tropical storms to those who have been car jacked and held at knife point. They all suffered from, at the least, severe depression and anxiety but not all developed PTSD. It quickly became apparent to me that those who were coping better were the ones who had a strong support network. Those that didn’t struggled, and in some circumstances, chose to end their life.
In the end it doesn’t matter whether PTSD exists as a real mental condition or not. What matters is that some people struggle to cope with traumatic events and more needs to be done both socially and in the medical community to help these people develop the strategies they require to move on with their life.
Further Reading
For more information on PTSD, have a look out for:
Overcoming Traumatic Stress: A Self Help Guide Using Cognitive-Behavioural Techniques by Claudia Herbert and Ann Wetmore
Coping with Post Traumatic Stress by Frank Parkinson
Kicking the Fear Habit by Manuel J Smith
What So You Say After You Say Hello? by Eric Berne
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook by Glenn R. Schiraldi
The Body Remembers Casebook: Unifying Methods and Models in the Treatment of Trauma and PTSD by Babette Rothschild
Trauma: A Practitioner’s Guide to Counselling by Thom Spiers
