Megha Aryan, OP
A person suffering from Post-Stress Traumatic Disorder needs to be handled with love and concern. Family and friends play a major role in the healing process.
“I meet patients with depression and trauma often. For me, Shreya’s story was no different from that of others,” says Dr Sushmita Misra, a clinical psychologist in the Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar.
Shreya (name changed) was first brought to neurosurgery OPD. Her parents were confused with the regular instances of her fainting. The thirteen-year-old had no physical injury, and neurosurgeons could detect nothing wrong in the functioning of her nervous system. She was then treated for depression. But when the anti-depressant medication failed and the fainting episodes increased, she was again brought to the hospital.
The doctors thought that she may have some personal problem which was putting her body into a stress mode. She was thus sent to a psychologist. She was asked if there was something or someone troubling her, but the little girl said no. The first session did not yield any result.
“However, we were sure that she was hiding something out of fear or some other reason. During the second session with the child, her father told us that there might be a man responsible for her condition. That was something to begin with,” says Dr Sushmita.
When Shreya was asked if she was abused by a man, she said ‘‘yes’’ and cried inconsolably. She named her cousin living in the same house.
“We don’t know when the incident occurred and other details because she never fully opened up. She did not want to recollect as it only brought back the horror. The good thing is her health started improving soon after she told us about the abuse. She is now a healthy girl who loves going to school,” says Dr Sushmita.
“About 50-60 per cent of women who come to us for treatment have been sexually abused at some point in their lives and present a case of Post Stress Traumatic Disorder (PSTD). If the trauma is not treated properly in time, it returns to haunt the victim no matter how old the incident is. Such memories can be disastrous for a healthy life,” she adds.
How essential is it to erase traumatic memories? Psychiatrist Dr Samrat Kar says, “The memory of abuse can impact a person positively or negatively. If the victim learns a lesson from the incident and decides to move on, his or her life will go forward. But if the incident continues to haunt the victim like a nightmare, then he (or she) feels traumatised. In this case, it becomes essential to remove or suppress the memory of the abuse through therapy or medication.”
“We learn from bad days, no matter how bitter the days are. But if the memory of a particular incident keeps tormenting a victim making him even suicidal, then he needs urgent medical attention,” Dr Samrat adds.
As memories are related to one another, it is not possible to completely erase a particular memory. But in future, scientists may discover a way to completely eliminate selective memories from the brain. This method may raise ethical questions. “I personally won’t support its use, if ever it is discovered,” he says.
Inducing false memories in the brain just to improve the condition of a patient is not ethical either, and no matter how bitter the truth is, it should not be deflected by lies.
Dr Sushmita says, “We can’t erase the memories of the person but we can help them to disjoint the emotions linked with the events. In such cases, the person will remember the event but will feel no emotions like grief or sadness while remembering it. We try to remove the emotional baggage.”
Dr Samrat spoke about his experience with PSTD patients. “The people undergoing trauma often have a suspicious nature. They confess that they don’t trust anyone around them. For example, if a man has raped a woman, that woman would never look on any other person as a good person. They have trust issues with everyone around them. In individual therapy, we have one-on-one interaction with the patients and try to resolve the issues of fear and mistrust.
“We also have group therapy for patients dealing with similar issues. They share their story with others in a group and listen to similar experiences. Then they feel they aren’t the only ones going through pain, there are many like them. That thought is comforting.”
“There was a patient who had lost all her family in a cyclone. After a few years, when she heard of super cyclones heading towards Orissa, her fear returned and she panicked. She came for treatment again. This is a severe case of PSTD where the haunting memories are linked with some specific events. The patient asked again and again if the cyclone will once more kill many people. The trauma after natural calamities stays long. It only subsides after taking proper medication,” says Dr Samrat.
“The mind is always attracted to negative thoughts quite easily. So whenever the mind is idle, it brings up traumatic incidents from the past. It is important for us to keep the mind engaged in productive work. For the traumatised brain, it is very essential to have positive vibes around. If you can bring a smile on people’s faces through your work, then your pain can be automatically healed. It is the best therapy,” says Dr Sushmita.
“Family and friends play a vital role in healing a traumatised mind. The person suffering from PSTD needs to be handled with concern and love and not with sympathy and pity. The acceptance of society and people’s positive behaviour towards them can help them make a faster recovery,” she points out.
Psychologists believe when a trauma survivor takes an initiative to cope up with stress reactions, they put themselves in a position of power. Only after overcoming trauma they feel ‘less helpless’. When a person accepts the impact of trauma in his/her life then he/she is directly improving things which are going wrong. This is active coping which is a way of response to everyday life.
Here are a few tips experts suggest to overcome trauma:
- Recovery as a process: Remember, recovering from trauma is not a one-day process. It takes time to heal, little by little and there is no overnight cure. People need to understand the situation which involves patience over a period of time.
- Healing isn’t forgetting: It is wrong to think that a healed brain will forget every traumatic incident along with recovery. Because a brain doesn’t forget, therapies can strengthen confidence and the power to cope up with troubled memories.
- Don’t isolate yourself: Every problem has a solution and one can find it if there is an effort to comprehend the situation. Isolating yourself is not a solution. Share your problems with others and it may help. Choose the people who care for you and discuss how you feel and what you need to get over the mental stress.
- Relax: Exercises may sometimes be boring, but they help to keep the body fit. Meditation, yoga and other muscle relaxation exercises help lessen the inner brawl of the brain that keeps pushing you to negative thoughts. A few relaxation techniques such as listening to music, spending time in the midst of nature may reduce your contact with outside world which eventually help you to handle negative emotions.
- Distractions: Engage yourself in recreational activities which may help distract a person from the past or its reactions. Try art and painting. Art has been a way for many trauma survivors to express their feelings in a positive and creative way. Pleasant activities can improve the mood, limit the harm caused by PTSD, and help you build your life afresh.
