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TRAUMA & HEALING

Conference Paper · August 2014

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 TRAUMA & HEALING
PTSD, mTBI, TBI, MST:
Recreation and nature in recovery
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TRAUMA – DIFFERENT EXPERIENTIAL

SOURCES
• Natural disasters – flood, hurricane, tornado, earthquake,
tsunami, fires, etc.
• Man-made unplanned – car accidents, surgeries,
industrial accidents, birth, fires, other accidents, etc.
• Man-made purposeful – rape, criminal behavior, riots,
war, combat experience, sexual abuse, emotional and
physical abuse, bullying, occupational stresses, etc.
•

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HOW DO WE RESPOND TO TRAUMA?

PHYSICAL/EMOTIONAL RESPONSE

• What happens in our bodies and brains ?

• Shut down of parts of our brains
• Primitive brain takes over – 20 times faster than rational brain
• Amygdala – triggers hormonal cascade
• Blood pressure and re-ordering bodily functions into survival
responses
• Flight
• Fight
• Freeze (or collapse)
• Person can get “stuck” in any of these

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THE BIOCHEMICAL BLAST

The body and brain contain a highly attuned,
primitive system that can sense danger, which
triggers a body-wide response.

• The job of the amygdala – prepare for survival, remember this event
• The biochemical cascade: hypothalamus is triggered, pituitary and adrenal glands
flood the blood stream with stress hormones (epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol)
• Release of norepinephrine increases alertness, focus, short term memory, pupil
dilation, increased muscle tone (fight or flight response)
• The impact of the meaning of the situation as dangerous and life threatening.
• The impact on the hippocampus (memory) and the orbitofrontal cortex (problem
solving and planning).

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FLIGHT, FIGHT OR FREEZE

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PTS, “PTSD”, MTBI & MST

• PTS – different in different wars
• WWI – shell shock – non-physically based blindness, deafness,
etc.
• WWII – battle fatigue – chronic cardiac and intestinal problems
• Vietnam Era – PTSD, domestic violence, despair, homelessness,
suicide, etc.
• Iraq-Afghan Veterans – PTS, suicide, emotional numbness
• TBI & mTBI – more now due to modern (Kevlar) body armor
• MST – misplaced aggression – power – destruction of trust

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“POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS
DISORDER” IN THE MILITARY
• PTSD is often considered a soldier’s illness, since those who have
served in combat are much more likely to develop it.
• Even so, there are no qualitative differences between military and
civilian Trauma Victims when it comes to seeking and receiving
adequate treatment.
• There is controversy over “PTSD” as a true scientifically based diagnosis
• Movement to re-label as “PTS”

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“PTS” SOURCES – ONE EXAMPLE

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JUST 5 MINUTES

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PTSD & CHRONIC PAIN

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TBI – AT ITS SOURCE

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MTBI

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 MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA - MST
13

• MST Statistics - Are judged to be under-reported

by many. The DoD estimates that of the 19,000
sexual assaults in the military in 2010, only 13% of
those were formally reported.
• 1 in 4 women and 1 in 100 men respond “yes,”
that they experienced MST.
• MST is an experience, not a diagnosis or a
mental health condition, and as with other forms
of trauma, there are a variety of reactions that
Veterans can have in response to MST.
• Race/ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and
other cultural variables can also affect the
impact of MST.
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TRAUMATIC MEMORIES AND TIME

• Disjointed – no narrative – kaleidoscopic recollection
• Sensory – sounds, smells, “flashbulb” sights, feelings, sensory
overload
• Speech and cognition – “struck dumb”, “awe struck”, making
sense of the nonsensical
• Rational versus emotional – diminished interconnectivity
• Peritraumatic dissociation - immediate dissociation at the time of
the traumatic event

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“SNOWFLAKES” – NO TWO ARE

ALIKE –

• Cultural- ethnic differences

• Prior life experiences
• Previous trauma – or not
• Male vs. Female
• Genetic predispositions
• Epigenetic preconditioning
• These factors impact diagnosis and treatment

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DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPIES – RESET

THE BRAIN AND BODY – HOW?
• PTS is a whole body (organismic) condition – not a mental state
• Drugs – abate symptoms – do NOT reset the brain
• Exposure therapy – revisit the event to the point of “numbness”
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Yoga, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Meditation, mindfulness, etc.
• Reintegration of the memory into “normal” responsiveness
• Regaining emotional/psychic balance
• Habituation of symptoms of stress

•
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RECREATIONAL SERVICES AND

NATURE
• Nature
• Biophilia and Topophilia – love of nature and place
• “Greening”
• Water, wind, sun, smells, colors, sounds
• Re-set senses (not just 5!!)
• Reset mind-body connection

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RECREATIONAL SERVICES AND

NATURE
• Recreational experiences
• Primordial – thousands of years of evolution
• Activities demand focus - immersion
• Teamwork – others depend on you
• Gear & equipment –
• Shared experiences – “familial” - “tribal”
• Bilateral physical & mental activity – resetting activity

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IN THE WORDS OF THE VETS

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 REFERENCES 20

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