What is trauma?
Trauma can be defined as an
incident or event involving an Actual or Perceived threat of
harm, injury and or death.
Examples
They are many and varied; some
of which are rape, physical assault, armed robbery, unarmed
robbery, hijackings, combat in war, domestic violence, car
accidents, near death experiences like being washed out to sea,
near-drowning, shark attacks and other natural phenomena like
storms, lightening strikes, volcanoes etc.
What to do?
It is very important that after
a traumatic experience, the individual or group seeks
psychological assistance to work through the frightening
experience.
However in the first 24 hrs the
person will be in shock, depending on the nature and intensity
of the trauma. It is important that at this time the person
receives support physically and medically [if necessary] from
family members and friends and is kept warm and safe. Debriefing
at this time is not usually productive due to the natural
defence mechanisms of the body kicking in to play.
When to seek psychological
intervention and how can it help?
Between 24 and 72 hours after
the trauma is considered a good time to see the psychologist.
Debriefing helps survivors deal
with the negative and uncomfortable, often very painful feelings
and behaviour that comes to the surface after a traumatic event.
The survivor will be helped to explore everything that affected
him/her during the trauma and be given information and tools to
help through the difficult time ahead
At the first session you will
be encouraged to ‘tell the story’ to help you deal with the
emotional impact it had on you. Using all the senses to see,
hear, smell, taste what you experienced will help to reconnect
with the ‘images/experience’ and release them over time.
How many sessions will be
needed?
Rule of thumb says between 4-6
sessions but everyone is different and therefore it depends
entirely on the individual and the severity of the trauma. It is
however often unrealistic to think one session will suffice as
it is a process and needs time to be worked through.
If you don’t seek help it may
be that you ‘suppress’ that experience in an unhealthy way
and it adds to the emotional ‘straws’ that finally ‘break
the camel’s back’ metaphorically. Post Traumatic Stress
[PTSD] can then also develop over a period of time and is harder
to treat psychologically than the initial traumatic stress.
Symptoms of PTSD
There are many symptoms and
duration, intensity and severity are important factors to
consider. They will still be happening 4-6 months after the
trauma. Some of the more common symptoms are mood swings,
feelings of fear and/or helplessness, feelings of loss of
control, exaggerated startle response, hypersensitivity to
potential danger, recurring nightmares, changes in eating and
sleeping habits, depression.
Tel: 011 803
4913 for an appointment
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