Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is thought to occur only when there has been a violent or physically traumatic event, for example, a hi-jacking, home invasion or assault.
While this is true, it isn’t necessarily the whole truth. Sometimes the event can be the death or even the birth of a loved one, or even something seemingly innocuous like being lost for 5 minutes as a young child (even when your parents didn’t even know you were missing). We all experience things differently and are affected differently by the things we experience. PTSD can also be attributed to an ongoing series of events, like social or emotional bullying, or continuous exposure to a manipulative partner.
The emotions from each event can be and often are, felt on and off for a very long time – unless you can identify and work on the triggers reminding you of those overarching emotions. And even then, you may never be rid of the trigger – but your reaction to these triggers can be dramatically reduced.
Let me give you two examples of PTSD events and the courage shown by my clients in reducing their PTSD trigger response.
Ivan*
Ivan came to me suffering from “delayed urination”. What does this mean, and how did it affect him? He had difficulty urinating in public toilets, at the urinal and also in an enclosed stall. It took him several minutes before he was able to empty his bladder. Occupying a stall and keeping the next in line waiting increased his fear and anxiety and made urinating even more difficult.
Because of this, he never drank anything before going out to a party, movie theatre or public event. He wouldn’t even drink anything at the event. He would keep it in until he was at home, where he had no problem urinating. This was PTSD which originated from somewhere. Our task was to find where. Asking for help was Ivan’s first step in his recovery. Aware that his behaviour was unusual and understanding that he was ill-equipped to do this alone, he reached out.
Using Hypnosis, we worked together to find the ISE (Initial Sensitizing Event). This is a single main event that, in this example, was long forgotten and buried – but the feelings and emotions around the event were remembered and triggered this uncommon and debilitating reaction within Ivan.
What was the ISE? When he was 5 years old, he and his parents drove a long way to go and visit his uncle. When they got there, he was unable to get to the toilet before he wet his pants. He recalled his uncle shouting at him and calling him a big baby. He was the centre of attention at a time when all he wanted was to be invisible. What Ivan’s uncle had done, was to embarrass him so much, that over time he developed all the symptoms of having experienced severe trauma, even when there was no physical trauma.
Ivan and I worked together through several sessions to unpack and understand this event and how it had affected him and worked successfully to significantly reduce his physical and emotional response to the ISE.
Etienne*
Etienne had a major car crash late one night, crashing headfirst into a concrete pillar after falling asleep at the wheel. He had severe trauma to his aorta and needed immediate surgery. He spent two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit, with another week being monitored in hospital, after which he was discharged.
His life, however, didn’t resume as he and everyone thought it would. He became reclusive, lost a lot of weight in a short period of time and was extremely resistant to leaving the house. When forced to, he would feel physically ill and vomit. There was no physical reason for this reaction, and medical doctors weren’t able to offer an explanation.
When Etienne arrived as a client, it was seen as a “last resort”. His ISE was already known and we tailored the sessions to help him come to terms with his car crash, and to help him reclaim his life. After 2 months of working together, Etienne was able to return to work, and slowly but steadily started taking interest in his life again.
Each person, and each case of PTSD is unique. In both these cases, we were able to identify the underlying, or blatant cause of the event. Identifying the trigger is critical to the process of healing for the client. We work with the logical brain to ‘re-set’ the response to the trauma. This is gently managed whilst the client is in a perfectly safe place.
You should also understand that your response or coping mechanism is just that, a coping mechanism and working through it ensures an improved and adjusted behavioral reaction for successful results. This takes time and practice and soon becomes automatic.
Should you or anyone you know experience an event that falls into the PTSD category, please seek immediate and urgent counselling. The benefits are enormous when working through the trauma as soon as possible after the event.
Modalities that have a high success rate in treating PTSD include Hypnosis and CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). Hypnosis guides you gently back in time to the event and helps you to re-set your responses in a way that gives helpful and authentic coping skills. CBT is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps you to identify and change destructive or negative thought patterns.
*not their real names.