Your Best
June Is PTSD
Awareness Month
I want to start by sharing a professional pet peeve related to trauma. I feel irritated and concerned when folks use the word “trauma” for experiences that aren’t dangerous.
To backtrack a bit, when a person experiences an event that either puts their life, or someone else’s, in danger, the autonomic nervous system (ANS) engages the sympathetic nervous system, which includes responses like fight, flight, freeze or fawn, in preparation to survive.
Normally the parasympathetic part of the ANS is engaged which facilitates resting and digesting. Emotionally intense experiences, like shame or vulnerability, can also trigger the sympathetic nervous system but this does not make that experience a trauma.
And the impact on the brain is different.
I just prefer to save using the word, trauma, for truly life-threatening events to avoid confusion. It’s something to be aware of.
Which brings us to: June is PTSD Awareness Month.
Everyone who experiences a life-threatening event doesn’t always develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Generally it takes about 4-6 weeks before the diagnosis is used since it’s normal to have PTSDlike symptoms for about the first month or so.
Some of these symptoms include intrusive thoughts like flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, avoidance of triggers and anger or low irritation tolerance. Frequently folks who struggle with these symptoms will self-medicate with alcohol or other drugs.
There are changes to the brain of individuals who survive dangerous events. The limbic system, a part of the inner brain, takes over to facilitate survival. We’re wired to survive. So after an event of this type, the brain starts reviewing the event, often obsessively, to learn as much as possible to increase chances of survival if something similar should happen again.
But this doesn’t help. Those neural pathways, of memories, get reinforced each time the memory is reviewed which can also create mental habits. So as much as possible, it’s important for folks to shift their attention, very gently and compassionately, to the present moment (since PTSD symptoms typically pull us into the past). There’s a set of coping skills that help with this, called grounding exercises. Very simply, it’s focusing attention on something neutral or pleasant, in the immediate surroundings, using any of the five senses.
Taking a walk outside is a great grounding exercise where you can focus on sounds of birds or insects, what the weather feels like, any scent on the air of whatever’s currently blooming and the sensation of moving or noticing how our feet feel as we’re propelled forward.
If you have loved ones who struggle with PTSD, encourage them to spend time with supportive friends and family as well as to engage in groups and with hobbies.
Anger issues can make this difficult. Whenever possible, discuss ways to disengage when anger comes up as well as ways to re-engage after a time when everyone can talk more calmly.
For more suggestions and support, please visit the National Center for PTSD website, https:// www.ptsd.va.gov/family/ how_family_member.asp
Mona Bernhardt, LCSW, provides virtual psychotherapy for residents anywhere in Texas. You can schedule a free 15 minute consultation via https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1535742