Download Loving the Warrior Home (How to Help the Healing from PTSD)

Loving the Warrior Home:
How to Help in the Healing of PTSD
Alan Basham, M.A.
Eastern Washington University
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Disorder:
Something is not right with how the
person perceives and functions in the civilian
world; distress, upset, not at peace within
Stress:
An experience of a life-threatening
event or protracted threatening environment
Traumatic: The person is psychologically
injured by the experience
Post: Symptoms become evident after the
threatening experience has ended
Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder
is the normal reaction
of a normal person
to a devastatingly
abnormal experience.
The Body’s Response to Threat
• Arousal is mediated by the limbic system
• Autonomic nervous system (ANS) balance
– Sympathetic branch (SNS): get ready for action!
– Parasympathetic branch (PNS): rest & relax
• In threat situation, amygdala & hypothalamus
(in limbic system) activate SNS and release
corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)
• Adrenal glands release epinephrine &
norepinephrine to mobilize for fight or flight
Physiological Threat Response (continued)
• CRH also activates pituitary gland to release
ACTH, and causes adrenal glands to release
cortisol, which halts the alarm reaction &
production of epinephrine & norepinephrine
• Body returns to homeostasis after threat…..
• In PTSD, something goes wrong with this
hyperarousal axis: adrenal glands do not
release enough cortisol to halt the alarm
reaction
What is PTSD like?
• Memories & fight/flight reaction remain strong
• Traumatic event continues to invade the
present, resulting in continued hyper-vigilance
• Perception that the threat is over and that the
victim has survived is missing
• Threat level remains high (perceptually) even
when threat itself is history
• Dissociation, alienation, acting out, & selfmedication are used to relieve suffering
Why does the problem persist?
Hippocampus and amygdala (limbic system)
are central to memory storage
– Recording, filing, remembering traumatic events
– Hippocampus gives time/space context to events;
logs traumatic event as being in the past
– Amygdala aids in the processing of highly
charged emotional memories, both during & while
remembering the traumatic event
Protracted threat blocks processing of threat
Treatment of PTSD
“We didn’t know what PTSD was exactly or
how to treat it. Now we do. Unfortunately,
we experimented on Vietnam veterans for
40 years before we discovered what works.”
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy (TFCBT)
Prolonged Exposure (PE)
How can I help?
 Learn about PTSD.
 Don’t pry or push, but be ready to listen.
 Never minimize or rationalize away the
experience.
 Confront unkind behavior…..gently.
 Name isolating behavior…..& invite closeness.
 Honor the warriors, but don’t idolize them.
 Understand and accept the military mindset:
task oriented, no nonsense, minimal emotion.
 Let your warrior lead in the healing.
 Normalize her/his reactions.
 Reconnect them with nature and thus with self.
 Provide family and community support.
 Bring them home spiritually, not just physically.
What can I do to stand down?
•
•
•
•
•
Learn about PTSD.
Identify your own current fight or flight behavior.
Learn to be self-aware about unnecessary vigilance.
Tell yourself the truth about the “invisible wound.”
Hold yourself accountable for inappropriate behavior
and attitudes.
• Reconnect with nature and thus with self.
• Tell your story to family members and friends whom you
can trust.
• Take off the war paint, and let others help you do it.
If you need help (and many of us have), consider a brief
course of treatment with Cognitive Processing Therapy
or Prolonged Exposure Therapy to make sense of it all.
Landmarks on the Road Home
Baby Doll….A gift of nature to help me heal
A long trek in the mountains….
“What are you doing out here all by yourself?”
 “You will always be lethal, but you’re not dangerous.”
Grieving at The Wall…. Surrounded by love.
Accepting responsibility for my choices
Taking off the “War Paint”
Honor the Wild Man, then put him back into the inner place.
Transforming the Knife
Making peace by telling my story
Recommended Readings
Philpott, D., & Hill, J. (2009). The wounded warrior handbook: A
resource guide for returning veterans. Lanham, MD:
Government Institutes.
Rothschild, B. (2000). The body remembers: The
psychophysiology of trauma and trauma treatment. New
York: W. W. Norton.
Schiraldi, G.R. (2009). The post-traumatic stress disorder
sourcebook: A guide to healing, recovery, and growth (2nd
ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Tick, E. (2005). War and the soul: Healing our nation’s veterans
from post-traumatic stress disorder. Wheaton, IL: Quest
Books.