Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Social Support Networks
Stress
There are various theoretical approaches to understanding the cause and the process of stress. Generally speaking, stress is understood in terms of an imbalance between a perceived demand and the perceived ability to cope with that demand. It is significant to reitify the word 'perceived'. It allows for individual interpretation. For instance, a person may greatly overestimate the demand they are faced with, or equally underestimate their own abilities. It may not necessarily be a realistic appraisal that leads to stress, but a negative style of thinking, a lack of confidence, or a feeling of helplessness.
It is generally acknowledge that the notion of control is a significant mediating factor in stress i.e. the extent to which an individual feels in control of their environment greatly influences the probability of whether they will suffer from stress.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Wikipedia entry - Read more about the definition of stress and port traumatic stress disorder here.
The perception of control is equally applicable to individuals suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD often involves a traumatic event that leads to the belief that things can happen which are not within your control.
PTSD occurs after experiencing or witnessing an event that has been in some way terrifying or traumatic. The most sited examples are those who suffered from shell shock. Other common causes of PTSD are cases of abuse and rape, distressing experiences as a fire-man, surviving or witnessing a car-crash, the death of a family member.
The disorder itself tends to appear approximately three months after the traumatic event.
PTSD manifests itself in the following symptoms:
- Anxiety - a persistent feeling of fear, threat and alert
- Flashbacks, Nightmares, thoughts that cause anxiety
- Disrupted sleep patterns
- A reluctance to discuss the traumatic experience or deal with emotions
- Hyper-arousal - high blood pressure, increased sensitivity, over-awareness, panic-attacks
- Detachment- an emotional numbness and a distance from other people
- Depression and/or guilt
- Restlessness and inability to concentrate
- Drug and alcohol abuse - often as a method of self-medicating
- Unstable relationships
An individual is not likely to experience all of these symptoms at once. Also, PTSD tends to come in waves where it appears very intensely and then there is a period where the symptoms disperse.
Like other forms of stress, PTSD affects an individual both psychologically and physically.
PTSD is characterised by a persistent reliving of the traumatic experience. Often PTSD is agitated further by media footage of similar events that may trigger a flashback.
If the traumatic event is in the public eye then the individual with PTSD may be exposed to comments and judgments that make them feel isolated.
Social Support Networks as a Method of Managing PTSD
A social support network is simply a group of family or friends that can be relied upon to offer guidance, understanding or encouragement. This is particularly beneficial in alleviating stress because the alternative perspectives offered can lead to a reappraisal i.e. a correction of faulty or negative styles of thinking and the subsequent adoption of a more realistic assessment of the situation. This in itself may annihilate the cause of stress.
Further, learning strategies and thinking styles to cope with PTSD will increase the individual's feeling of control over their disorder. Control itself is a significant factor in mediating stress.
In relation to PTSD, it is important to note that individuals suffering from PTSD often experience negativity and stigmatization from others due to the nature of the trauma that triggered their disorder. For instance, if an individual has developed PTSD due to rape or abuse, others may feel uncomfortable in their presence, or even make severe judgments about if they were 'asking for it' or if they were lying. A social support network will only work for PTSD if it is free from such judgments that may impede the individual's recovery.
A social support network should aim to make the individual feel less isolated. It also helps if people are able to share similar experiences, and their personal techniques for coping with them.
If an individual with PTSD does not have a social network, in which they can discuss their experience, then it is advisable that they see a therapist. Central to the recovery from PTSD is the ability to recall the details of the experience and describe them without feeling anxious. In this way the individual suffering from PTSD can being to store away the memories and feel free to reflect on them without the fear of stress.
To summarize, individuals who have developed PTSD often tend to avoid discussing the event that triggered the disorder or any activity that might remind them of it.
Some individuals may seek some form of self-medication such as alcohol and drugs in order to deal with feelings of anger, guilt and depression.
It is also characteristic of PTSD to withdraw from relationships and activities, which may contribute to a feeling of isolation in managing the grief.
A social support network, whether it be friends, family or a support group of those who have survived a similar experience, is beneficial in reducing these negative reactions to the stress.
The individual is encouraged to face the traumatic event and discuss it with others which will help them to digest the difficult elements of the event in a supportive atmosphere and consider different approaches to reflecting upon and managing the distressing memory.
It encourages social interaction rather than isolation, which relieves the feeling of being burdened and suffering alone. Often, having more contact with others will bring about more optimism and satisfaction with life, and enhance the individuals feeling of agency and control.
More guidance available here
UK Trauma Group has links to a selection of materials which helpful information for the general public and for health professionals about Post Traumatic Stress Reactions.
www.uktrauma.org.uk
David Baldwin's Trauma Pages website. The latest information about trauma including leading articles www.trauma-pages.com
More support
ASSIST (Assistance Support & Self-Help In Surviving Trauma) Help line is 01788 560800. A support organisation for people suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
