In World War I, they called it shell shock. In World War II they called it battle fatigue. Now it's known as post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can describe some of the experiences of Vietnam Veterans. Many movies have demonstrated the symptoms of vets waking up in the middle of the night with flashbacks, the blocking out of memories, and refusals to discuss the details of the war.

Many of us have also been familiar with the startle response and sleep difficulties that many vets have. War has taught us a great deal about the effects of trauma on adults and the data is still coming in on the effects Desert Storm had on us.

The world had a constant view of the what was happening. Many a military wife and child were glued to the TV unable to stop watching to hear about their loved ones. A question is what was the affect of this close-up coverage on real lives and families involved?

In addition to understanding war trauma, we are also learning a great deal about the effects of trauma on children and adults who experienced it as a child. Very frequently they are in need of treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Trauma is an event that is outside the range of usual human experience, an event that would be distressing to most of us. It can be experiencing, as well as witnessing, violence, especially to one's loved ones. The trauma can either be a physical threat or a threat to one's integrity. Examples are: The sudden destruction on one's home, witnessing a serious accident, or being a victim of an act of violence. A person will become more traumatized to the degree he or she feels helpless during the event(s).

After a traumatic event, "fear of further fear" can emerge, says Lenore Terr, M.D. in Too Scared To Cry. This is frequently why some sexually abused children tend not to talk about what is happening while it's happening. Human beings are like animals in that when frightened they prepare for fight or flight but often can't move.

Massive denial and numbing may affect children subjected to repeated horrifying incidents at home. When abuse becomes a predictable event then psychic numbing may be the result. A numb child may be polite yet hard to know. Humor may not exist at all. Psychic numbing may be the result. Psychic numbing may become a way of life, in a place beyond expression, beyond feeling with absent eyes. Also, time can go awry. When wonderful things happen, time is too short. When bad things happen, minutes can feel like hours. People who have experienced trauma can have their sense of the future destroyed and may live only in the here and now.

Tori Amos' song "Me and A Gun" on her Earthquakes release captures how she coped while being raped. Her ability to put her mind elsewhere helped her survive her ordeal.

Dr. Terr suggests that adults who have experienced trauma tend to deny their feelings and have interruptive flashbacks. Children do not tend to have flashbacks but they may have day dreams and we may see no problems with their school work or activities.

A important indicator for identifying someone who has been traumatized is a major change in personality after the event. Someone maybe quieter, bossier, or more immature after a trauma. They are different in some way.

Unresolved trauma also tends to reappear in the form of re-enactments. In Stephen King's movie Stand By Me there were three incidents regarding trains. The first was the adventures of three pre-pubescent boys searching for the body of a boy hit by a train. A second incident was when the boys fooling around on the tracks almost got hit by not getting out of the way of an oncoming train. The third incident was where one of the boys got stuck on the track and again almost got hit by an oncoming train. Dr. Terr reports that at about age five Stephen King witnessed the death of a childhood playmate who was hit by a train. Stand By Me may be a post traumatic re-enactment for Stephen King.

A client of mine now realizes why she had frequent migraines when others would help her in the kitchen. She was re-living the blow she received from her mother that resulted in a cut that needed several stitches when she was a child. Another woman shuddered and re-called the smell of sage brush when offered a job in an rural town as the memory recalled her rape.

Traumatic events can alter one's personality and way of living drastically. People who do the healing work realize that with the right circumstances issues resurface from the trauma later in life for them to deal with. The effect of trauma never ends: Each of us will deal with the symptoms and effects of trauma according to our own time table. In another article I will address the strengths that emerge from the experience of trauma or hardship.

4/15/98

This brief article cannot provide a comprehensive description of this area. It is only one article of many that provide a voice to survivors of trauma. The answers will come from clinicians, researchers, and survivors. Let us know what you did to help yourself so that we can pass on our collective wisdom and help one another. Trauma long past can still control more of our lives than we wish. We will continue to discuss this topic and look forward to your input too. Let us hear from you.