PTSD a Case Study

28th August, 2010 - Posted by L. John Mason -

This is a common problem that often goes unnoticed or untreated in our society. Many of our heroes who have spent time in combat zones experience some amount of PTSD. For many, the effects of PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, seem to gradually evaporate as these heroes return to a more normal life stateside. But for many, the bad dreams or the hypervigilance continue. A common, but poor, choice to deal with the impact of PSTD is to “self-medicate” by using alcohol or drugs to regain a calmness and a “feeling of normalcy.” The anger/rage, irritability, fearfulness, loss of focus/concentration, and aggressiveness can also be the hallmarks of a reaction to PTSD. The heroes returning home from a tour of duty in a war zone are “changed” people. They can not ever go back to the naive style and behaviors that they had before deployment. The genie is out of the bottle. Pandora’s box has been opened and the innocent past will never be exactly as it once was. This happens to many people who have lived through severe or dangerous experiences. Our policemen and women are not the same after visiting their first fatal MVA (Motor Vehicle Accident), especially if a child has been involved. The same is true for our fire-personnel and our emergency medical responders. Even with training and support, these life changing experiences will have their impact.

One example that illustrates this situation relates to the story of my father-in-law. My wife’s father was 17 when he entered the military around 1940. He was a young radioman whose job in the beach landings in the Pacific during World War II was to be one of the first men on the beach to set up communications. He and his buddies would quickly dig a foxhole, jump in, and radio the commanders on the ships relaying information about the invasion. He did this on at least 3 or 4 of the major campaigns as we fought to retake islands lost to the Japanese early in the war. On 3 of these occasions, he was the only one of his team who was not killed or wounded. Not a physical wound to show for these dangerous assignments, but the survivor’s guilt and the fear took a major toll on him. He was never the same. My mother-in-law said she saw it in his eyes. Many nights he would get violent in his dreams as he struggled with memories and vivid re-living of these assignments. He drank too much for a long while. He would never talk about the war and never got the real support he needed. He died with his secrets and trauma but the family knew that he had demons in his history that he could not shake.

With the war in Vietnam, and more recently in the Balkans/Kosovo and the Middle East, our heroes have returned home with symptoms from their exposure to combat and life in the combat zones. I am told that suicide rates have gone up significantly with the re-deployments of our military personnel. These are our young people who are serving to help keep this war from happening in the United States. It is very difficult to understand what they have experienced and what it can do to impact their bodies, their minds, their emotions, and their spirits. Our heroes still have difficulty talking about their experiences, even to those who they know have shared this experience. They do have a strong bond with their “fellows-in-arms” but every one of them has their own unique response, and if lucky, will find their own unique solutions to dealing with their PTSD.

Motivated heroes often do not where to turn for help and support. They often do not who to trust. They do not know who they can talk to without emotionally harming their family and friends. They need trained peers or trained, supportive professionals. One young marine came to me knowing that I work with PTSD. He was young to me but he was not young anymore. He had finished his 3rd deployment and though he loved his work and his buddies “in country” he knew that he was a changed person. He did not know if he could trust me or what I was going to ask him to do. We talked and I described PTSD symptoms, of which he had many, and I told him about my protocol for minimizing his PTSD. He liked what I said, but he went away to think about it for 2 months before he asked to begin the work. He was motivated and this motivation came from both within himself and from his family. The team was supportive, open, and ready. To get started, which is the hardest part, I had him listening to two guided relaxation techniques on CD 1 to 3 times per day. He committed to using these 20 minutes relaxation exercises 1-2 times per day for 10 weeks. After 2 weeks, I had him add temperature training biofeedback (described in an article on the “articles” page of the website.) He was asked to tape a thermometer to his index finger during 1 of his relaxation sessions and to write down the starting temperature and the finishing temperature. With practice he would find his hand temperature going up to 93-95 degrees at the end of a successful relaxation session. After 9 weeks he was consistently getting to 93-95 degrees. With this mastery, he was already beginning to feel a difference. He had more awareness of stress and anxiety and felt he was developing some control over his body and his life. We began the next phase called systematic desensitization. This was designed to help him learn to live with his past memories without being a “victim” to their anxieties. This process began to work nd we refined it with regular coaching until his symptoms were greatly reduced and manageable. It was a lot of work. It was not easy, but it was of value to get “back in control” of his body and his life. After he learned to be aware of PTSD and its symptoms, he could really process his past experience and to separate its memories and fears from his daily life. He could get back to work and most importantly, he could get back to his family and friends.

Symptoms of PTSD can be triggered by dreams, memories, sounds associated with the past trauma, smells can trigger it, as well as seeing people or objects that may have been related to trauma. PTSD can manifest as anger/irritability, guilt/shame/self-blame, substance abuse, depression/hopelessness, flashbacks, nightmares, intense distress or anxiety, suicidal thoughts and feelings, feeling alone, feeling mistrust or betrayal, and physical symptoms like: headaches, stomach problems, and chest pain. You do not have to suffer alone. These are very common and you can get positive assistance and support. There are trained professionals, clergy, and peer counselors that can be helpful to get started. There are programs tailored for military veterans, law enforcement, and emergency responders. Contact Hero Talk at www.herotalk.com or the Stress Education Center at www.dstress.com for more information, support, or coaching to help you minimize your PTSD. If you know someone who suffering from PTSD AND who is ready to do something positive to control it, please share this article and the links to these websites so they can begin to move forward toward regaining their health and happiness. Thank you for passing this article along!