Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

New leaflet about Post Traumatic Stress Response, PDF available

Jed | 15.05.2011 10:10 | Culture | Education | Health

I've put together a new one double-sided A4, fold-me-in-three leaflet, about Post Traumatic Stress Response/Disorder. It describes the causes, symptoms, strategies for recovery and activist culture-conundruns, surrounding PTSR. E-mail me for a PDF to print up and scatter around squatts, resource centres, crisis centres and anywhere you think is appropriate.

This text is available as a nicely formatted PDF. E-mail  jed2f4@yahoo.co.uk for a copy.

What Everyone could know about... Post-Traumatic Stress Response

(formerly known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but now the science of labelling is admitting that it ain't no disorder, it's the norm, within its own terms...)

CAUSES
A single life-threatening incident.
Cumulative damage of many life-threatening or merely stressful incidents.
Having closely observed a life threatening incident.

PROCESS
During a life-threatening incident, the amygdala takes over from the frontal, cognitive parts of the human brain.  The amygdala is a small part of our brains, but the organ makes up a bigger percentage of the brains of other mammals, birds and reptiles*.  When it is "in charge", usual cognitive processes are suspended, and the human being has just three choices; attack, run away or freeze.
The rest of the brain takes a detailed snapshot of the incident to process later, but for the time being the amygdala overrides "thinking" to save the body.  Body-wide, normal maintenance (of the immune and digestive system, etc) is suspended, with adrenalin quickly generated to fuel one of those limited options - attack, run away or freeze.

If the person receives time, care, empathy and safety soon after the incident, in which to process and accept what just happened, then the chances of developing PTSR are dramatically reduced.  Sometimes people talk about "The Golden Hour"; if you can rest, talk, cry and feel safe and connected within an hour of the incident, then you will probably avoid long-lasting development of PTSR.
If the human does not feel safe for a long time afterwards, the brain's most common coping technique is to compartmentalise, or bury all recollection of the incident.
If you get ill shortly after the trigger incident, you might not recover your health for months or even years afterwards.  This effect is tied in to the amygdala control, as mentioned above: normal healing and immune processes were suspended during the trauma.

COMPLICATIONS
Maybe many incidents pile up, and there is no time/safety to "process" or "deal with" them.  The effect of this, is that the brain creates many compartments in the brain, each holding a different traumatic snapshot.  If we don't process these snapshots (talk through them, accept them... see CURES on the back), or only process them in a self-blaming, cyclical, unresolvable way, then complete PTSR is a possible outcome.  Many sufferers describe this as their world-view becoming shattered, and their thinking fraught. Trusting other people gets harder, and stress levels rise.

SYMPTOMS
Sleep-disorders: sleeping too much, not sleeping, or suffering bad dreams.
Flashbacks: Similar sounds, images etc trigger the intensity (of the original "incidents") to return, and the amygdala can take over again.
Hyper Arousal: Small shocks, frights or even discomforts cause a disproportionate response.  The classic example is an ex-soldier diving for cover when a car back-fires on civvy street.  More common amongst activists is a disproportionate stress response to helicopters, radio fuzz or samba drumming.
Angry Outbursts:  Another disproportionate response, particularly sad as we can alienate the people who might be around us trying to help us recover.  There are other symptoms listed in the Activist Trauma Support leaflets and website.
www.activist-trauma.net

SUPPORT
It is hard work supporting someone with these symptoms.  Those trying, will need a lot of support themselves (cakes, being taken out on trips, visits, phone-calls, other expressions of care and offers of empathy).  Supporting the supporters is sometimes easier than supporting the sufferers direct, but as important.
Without people to trust, or having alienated friends through the symptoms, sufferers of PTSR often shut themselves away, and feel profoundly isolated and lonely, when what they need to recover is to feel connected and loved.

CULTURAL HABITS
Because it is "socially unacceptable" or awkward to be bursting into tears or having angry outbursts, many PTSR sufferers isolate themselves or self-medicate with alcohol or marijuana, which can lead to further problems and often puts off the curative processing of the "incidents" in the compartmentalised brain.

CURES
Speaking about the incidents to a good listener is essential for many people recovering from PTSR.  Processing out-loud and hearing yourself as you are heard by others gives the brain access to healing, growth and recovery that many people cannot utilise alone.
Listeners should take care not to flip into their own story-telling mode, or finish sentences for the speaker, or offer solutions unless explicitly asked.  We are more likely to take action that we think of for ourselves than to take the advice of others! Comparing ourselves and our reactions with other people who were “in the same situation”can be really unhelpful in recovering from trauma or PTSR.  Understanding that every brain has an amygdala, and that this is what it is for, can help people come to terms with the fact of their retreat, attack or freeze-up in the face of danger.  Being "disappointed in ourselves" for displaying one reaction, when we believe we "should" have shown another, is shown to be unreasonable reasoning.
Through understanding this process, learning to actively listen, and changing the norms of stress and machismo we can all help each other avoid and recover from PTSR, helping to create a more mutually supportive and sustainable culture.
For more information, to organise a talk within your own community or to share advice and experiences, get in touch via www.activist-trauma.net

A Cultural Shift
I'd like more people recognising that everyone is vulnerable sometimes, and that we should not neglect each other or ourselves for “greater goals”. Also, we don't need “experts” to sort us out – we can become more skilled in looking after each other while we increase our sphere of influence though mutual aid.

This can be a radical acceptance within hierarchical, do-do-do, urgent action culture

This leaflet was inspired by my own experience in UK direct action, neuro-science research and the work of Activist Trauma Support and Seeds for Change.

www.seedsforchange.org.uk
www.activist-trauma.net

Though this leaflet was written with an activist readership in mind, NHS statistics find that in the UK, most cases of PTSR are related to rape or military service. My own experience is only informed by PTSR arising from police brutality, and other state-sponsored stress mechanisms.

*The amygdala (sometimes spelt amigdula or amigdala) is often called "The Reptile Brain", as it's the oldest piece of the brain, evolutionarily; we share it with reptiles. This fact may be the basis for the widespread conspiracy theories (eg, David Icke), that exclaim "Oh No!  Humans are being ruled by Reptiles!"  A human being living in fear and stress does demonstrate the reduced options of a "more primitive", "core" or reptile brain.  When the amygdala is in charge, our bodies have simple, self-preservation/domination prerogatives. The emphasis or even possibility of objective observation, trusting interaction,creative and speculative thought, growth, compassion or healing is temporarily lost.

Jed
- e-mail: jed2f4@yahoo.co.uk

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech