Richards is 34-year-old man living in the country side. He had recently returned from his term in the Army which was 7 years. He has seen the country go through many wars. When the wars would happen, the soldiers would be called in for military combat. He has seen death happening right in front of him. He has lost a lot of friends to the war. He asked for early retirement and he went back to his family. On his arrival at his home, his wife noticed that he is withdrawn and aloof. His personality has changed dramatically. Richard used to be very energetic and fun to be around but now he seems to be in his own world. He is quite and very thoughtful. During the day, he is busy in the warehouse, always building some gates or fences for the house. He speaks in a curt manner and often finds himself lost in a sentence without knowing what the next thought. At night, he often he wakes up screaming and sweating all over and his body is always tensed, ready to fight. He actually dreams of being in the battle ground. Once he gets up, he has to check all the doors in the night many times till he is exhausted and then he just drops on to the bed. He is not at all rested at night but he is high alert mode. He hears any loud noise and he jumps and wants the family to run back into the house and wait till he has searched the house and the area surrounding it and declare it safe to re-enter. His wife Lois has been finding it tough to manage with Richard. Their daughter feels afraid to be with him. She is confused with this behaviour of the father.
Here are some questions to consider:
1. What are some characteristics Richard is engaging in that denotes fear?
2. How did Richard handle death?
3. Did he get any counselling care for the nightmares and dreams of the battlefield?
4. The response to noise makes him heightened about the danger that could affect his family. Does this cause a difficulty with the family? Is the family given the necessary care that is needed for healthy living?
5. Does his high alert mode drain his energies, so much that he is not useful to the family in the morning?
6. What is a consequence of his time with the army?
7. What are some aspects that a counsellor could recommend as part of self-care to an individual who is going through this difficult phase?
8. What are some activities that Lois can do to help Richard through this phase?
As much as these are reflective questions for us to understand the impact, the maladaptive behaviours that the individual adopts and the consequences of that on the individual as well as the family. Post-traumatic disorder is real and is a condition that people experience a variety of symptoms following an exposure to a traumatic event. Of course, the case study deals with war, this can be for individuals who experience an accident or have lost a member in the family.
An estimated 6.8% of US adults experience PTSD. When a trigger happens there are a lot of frightening thoughts that can bring up negative thoughts and beliefs.
Some ways that they can be helped is the CBT therapy model. Debunking the distorted thoughts may help the individual greatly to replace irrational thoughts with rational thoughts. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) as well as eye movement desentization and reprocessing (EMDR) are therapy models that greatly assist in helping the individual get back on track with healthy living coping mechanisms.
Click here to read the second article on post traumatic stress disorder
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