Trauma fractures comprehension as a pebble shatters a windscreen. The wound at the site of impact spreads across the field of vision, obscuring reality and challenging belief (Jane Leavy).
Leavy’s analogy is good because most of us have experienced rocks hitting our windscreen, both metaphorically and literally. Most rocks will bounce off the windscreen but eventually, it will break. Chances are, around 5% in fact, that someone close to you is suffering PTSD right now and is looking at the world through a shattered windscreen. If you’re surrounded by people who are first responders, the chances are two-fold. Once the proclivity of war veterans, and identified as shellshock, it is now recognised PTSD can strike anyone.
People deal with trauma in different ways. Some chose to talk about it, to debrief and meditate on what they’ve experienced. As a police first responder I didn’t, I kept things to myself, but I avoided PTSD, although I don’t recommend this approach.
I was saved by moving from attending traumatic events as a first responder to investigating traumatic events. The shock of finding someone who had blown his head off with a high-powered firearm or sitting with a father who had just lost his 14-year-old son in a drowning accident, tears streaming down both our faces, eventually faded from view. PTSD seldom strikes on the first traumatic event, but it builds up over repeated exposure.
Statistically speaking, the more exposures you have, the more likely you are to suffer PTSD. The good news is, like all diseases, the earlier it is detected and treated the greater the likelihood of recovery. Half of all the people who suffer from PTSD will recover in six to twelve months. Physical activity, and strong social support (such as the Man Walk), are ideal but occasionally, staying with Leavy’s windscreen analogy, you may need to let a clinician take the wheel.
If you’re thinking you can beat PTSD by self-medicating with alcohol: stop.
PTSD can be a baffling cipher of mixed emotions and what is known as subsyndromal symptoms – those that are yet to manifest in a clinical diagnosis of PTSD but if you are: reliving traumatic events: avoiding situations and events that remind you of traumatic incidents: or suffering anxiety or depression to the extent it impairs your daily functioning, you need to seek out a professional. Failure to do so can result in substance abuse, anxiety, depression and health morbidity.
If this article raises concerns for you reach out to your trusted health professional or call Lifeline on 13 11 14
Author Dan Talbot is the board director of MenAble Aust Inc. He is a 37-year veteran of the WA Police Force. He holds a Master's degree in Preventive Medicine and has recently completed his PhD in health and criminology. At the present time, Dan is the principal researcher on the Blue Poppy Study, a research project into PTSD in the WA Police Force.