Trauma, Shock & PTSD

Mr Bevis Nathan on Trauma, Shock and PTSD

I have a particular reason for being interested in the treatment of trauma ? I and my family were down on the beach in southern Sri Lanka on Boxing Day 2004 when the tsunami arrived. Miraculously, incredibly, we all survived. But thousands didn?t. But I had first-hand experience of what a human being has to go through when faced with a life-threatening situation. I felt the animal in me take over, while I kind of looked on.

Anyway, later, I read how the technique Somatic Experiencing (SE) was used to help the tsunami survivors in Thailand and India (see below for the research articles), and I started to train in it.

We?re becoming more and more aware of patients who have symptoms that are left over after traumatic events. These are often the kind of symptoms that are difficult to explain in ordinary medical terms, or seem resistant to treatment, or for which there seems not to be a suitable treatment. Sometimes a symptom will resolve with treatment, only to be mysteriously replaced with another symptom somewhere else in the body.

Whether the traumatic event was something global like war or a natural disaster (tsunami, earthquake), or something more close to home such as a road traffic accident, sexual or other physical abuse, severe illness or injury (including surgery), emotional trauma, or neglect or abandonment during childhood; the fact is that the body and its nervous system can react to these events in basically the same way.

But sometimes symptoms can be caused by events we may think ought to be trivial ? medical and dental procedures, for example, especially where there is restraint or immobilization, ?minor? falls, watching a horror movie, sudden loud noises, and even the stress of birth. The fact is, trauma does not have to stem from a major catastrophe.

And it?s very important to realize that what is traumatic and harmful to one person may be thrilling or stimulating to another. You might go hang-gliding for fun, whereas I might feel sick at the thought of it. What makes an event cause debilitating symptoms depends upon many factors; for example - history of previous trauma, genetic make-up, childhood experiences.

Here are a few examples of post-traumatic symptoms:

• Over-alert and easily startled or ?frozen?, feeling ?on-guard?
• Reacting irritably to trivial things, restlessness
• Exaggerated emotional reactions, and extreme mood-swings
• Sleeping poorly
• Panic attacks
• Flashbacks and nightmares
• Numbness and lack of feeling
• Feeling ?spaced-out? (dissociated)
• Unexplained medical disorders, including; muscle tightness and pain, headaches, chronic fatigue, psychosomatic illnesses, fibromyalgia, asthma, skin problems, digestive problems.

These and other symptoms can be caused by the body being so overwhelmed by the traumatic event, that it is unable to utilize the enormous amount of energy that it originally generated in order to cope with it (the ?fight or flight? response). This ?frozen? energy has to do something, so it causes body dysfunction. I use a technique called Somatic Experiencing (SE), sometimes in conjunction with osteopathy. SE is a gentle and effective method of resolving such symptoms, by gradually allowing the body to complete the cycle of biological events needed to turn off the reaction to the trauma. The body can then return to a more relaxed state and allow you to engage with life again, feeling more settled, present, comfortable and liberated.

I?ve been studying SE for three years. I use it in conjunction with osteopathy which I?ve been studying, practising and teaching for the last 26 years.

To read more about SE, have a look at the website www.traumahealing.com, or read Peter Levine?s books; Waking the Tiger; Healing Trauma. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, 1997, and Healing Trauma. Sounds True, Boulder, 2005. Also see the articles Somatic Experiencing Treatment with Tsunami Survivors in Thailand: Broadening the Scope of Early Intervention. Leitch M L, Traumatolgy 2007;13:11, and Somatic Therapy Treatment Effects with Tsunami Survivors. Parker C, Doctor R M, Selvam R. Traumatology 2008;14:3.

Mr Stefan Chmelik on Trauma, shock, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

Our understanding of trauma has increased massively over the last decade, due to the use of real-time scanning of the brain, which has shown the way in which people deal with traumatic experience. The main finding is that trauma is in located as much in the body as it is in the mind, which fits perfectly with the holistic concept of the body-mind.

We can also say that you do not have to have had an obviously overwhelming experience to be ‘traumatised’. An even relatively minor event, at a time when you are vulnerable may be enough to create a subconscious traumatic image. This image creates a sense of perceived ongoing danger, locking the body into a flight-flight-freeze response, which explains most of the symptoms that are experienced, and which may not previously have been attributed to a trauma.

We offer support, guidance and treatment to people who know or feel that trauma may be an issue for them. We are one of a small number of clinics worldwide to be able to offer the body orientated counseling approach known as Somatic Experiencing, and we use Mindfulness , breathing training, bodywork and acupuncture as well.

Dr Brian Kaplan on Trauma/Shock, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) Victims of Torture and Abuse

This is a specialist field and Dr. Kaplan is in touch with various individuals and organisations (eg. Medical Foundation for Care of Victims of Torture) who specialise in helping people overcome the after affects of trauma. He will endeavour to ensure that you get the best possible treatment for you particular situation.

In his own experience, an appropriate homeopathic remedy can be very helpful and in some cases a course of Autogenic Therapy can help deal with long term anxiety. Other methods of dealing with PTSD such as Somatic Experiencing will also be considered and appropriate referrals will be arranged for you if necessary.

David Peters on Trauma

After something extraordinarily stressful has happened, a person’s sense of security may be shattered, leaving them feeling defenseless and vulnerable. Suddenly you feel you’re in a world that’s become more frightening and unsafe. It might have involved an actual threat to life, but any situation causing extreme fear can be traumatic, even if no physical harm was involved. For example any major loss, a betrayal, bullying or verbal abuse, can be potentially traumatising. This is especially so during childhood, and the after-effects can endure lifelong.

So it’s not what happened that makes an experience traumatic, but rather how you responded emotionally during the event. Consequently not all extreme experiences do lasting emotional harm, and some people quickly bounce back even from the most potentially shocking experiences. Yet events which from an outsider’s point of view might not seem very upsetting can be devastating.

A traumatising experience (whether it threatens the body or the mind) is one that seemed overwhelming. If something made you feel helpless and profoundly threatened, in danger and unprepared then in order to cope with the overwhelming terror you felt you may have disconnected your conscious mind from what was happening and how you felt at the time. Many other mammals freeze in the same when they are faced with the danger of pain or death. Though by defending you from these feelings this automatic freezing or numbing was a very helpful automatic response in that it in the longer term it can prevent you from ‘getting back to normal’. The awful feelings, which arose in your body at the time, can linger on with all their initial power even though you aren’t consciously aware of them (its even common for people to have forgotten the experience entirely). Yet even so it’s as though the experience has reset the sensitivity of your internal alarm systems and naturally if they stay high, this will shape how you see the world, respond to everyday circumstances, and relate to people. And this of course may result in post-traumatic problems, which in my experience can include panic, fatigue and persistent pain.

In our experience, a trauma-related problems can express themselves through the body or as psychological difficulties. The trauma itself could be a physical one (a car accident) or emotional. Either way, the resulting symptoms could be physical or psychological. Generally it is more difficult to help someone who is unaware of the nature of the traumatising event(s), and this calls for specialised help.

However, many people do recognise that their physical or mental health and wellbeing has been undermined by a particular experience, though they have not found ways to deal with these effects. Sometimes ‘talking therapies’ are helpful for post-traumatic problems. I find though that often they are not, and I believe this is because the event and the feelings involved are not available to the parts of the mind that ‘do the talking’. However, I find that there are ways of working through the body and with the imagination that can help reduce feelings of overwhelm, helplessness and panic. The methods I prefer to use are based on Cranio-Sacral Therapy, and Somatic Experiencing.