What to do in the face of Trauma

We are back with another blog, and this time it is written by another member of the 180 community, Jess Hay! We asked her to write this off the back of our "The Mental Health Pandemic" podcast (if you haven't already check it out here). Jess is here to tell us all about what trauma is and how to help our friends out that have experienced PTSD. Give it up for Jess! *Claps*

What is trauma:

Trauma is a deeply distressing or terrible event/experience – for example, Bullying, Abuse (including physical, emotional, psychological and sexual), Violence, War, Natural Disasters, and Neglect. Trauma can affect anyone at any time; however, it can often be misunderstood. All humans have an in-built response to threats and trauma that can materialise on any given day. There are many misconceptions attached to trauma and trauma-related mental health difficulties. For example, when people say the words: Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder (PTSD), most people automatically think of soldiers and war victims. Though this is not wrong, trauma can affect a multitude of people. In fact, living through the pandemic has meant we have all gone through a period of trauma that we will all experience in different ways. It is therefore crucial to understand what Trauma is and how to help both ourselves and others.

Trauma Responses

A core response we all have is the Fight or Flight response. When we feel as if we are under threat, our bodies release chemicals (including adrenaline and cortisol) to help us react. It is an in-built protection system. Many people will react to threats in these two main ways, however there are also other responses that are less well-known: Freeze, Flop, and Fawn:

· Fight – respond by fighting the threat. Could be physical, or simply yelling/arguing

· Flight – respond by escaping the threat, could be literally running away, or simply excusing yourself from a situation by taking a break. Could also be seen in trying to change topics of conversation.

· Freeze – unable to act against the threat. May lose the ability to move, speak, or make decisions

· Flop – Become entirely unresponsive, either physically or mentally or both. Some may physically faint for example

· Fawn – respond by people-pleasing to avoid the threat completely, trying to appease the threat

PTSD

Living with PTSD can be scary and challenging and can manifest itself in many different ways for different people. This can include:

· Flashbacks – Flashbacks are vivid experiences in which someone relives aspects of a traumatic event (in their mind)

· Dissociation – when you feel disconnected from the world or yourself

· Difficulty controlling emotions

· Physical symptoms such as stomach cramps or headaches

· Panic Attacks

· Hyper-vigilance – being on constant alert to danger, always on edge

Flashbacks are often caused by triggers – these can be known or unknown to the person which adds to the stress and scariness of living with PTSD. They are an emotional response to a person, thing, event, sound, feeling etc, that causes the person to feel the same thing they felt when they were experiencing trauma. They can be things that relate to the trauma or can appear entirely random.

How to help someone with PTSD:

It can be really hard to know what to do if someone you know is experiencing PTSD and many of the symptoms, here are a few tips to keep in mind. It is crucial to remember that everyone is different, and everyone’s trauma is different, therefore some of these tips may work and some of them may not be helpful for an individual. It’s also helpful to know an individual person’s preferences in advance as sometimes a person may not be able to respond or answer questions – this is especially good if it is someone you know really well.

If they are experiencing a flashback:

· Stay with them and tell them that you aren’t going anywhere

· Remind them they are SAFE

· Tell them that it is not happening again

· Get them to touch or hold an object that reminds them of the present

· Try to learn their triggers to help for the future

Some people like physical touch, some don’t – try to ask in advance but if you don’t know in the moment and it seems that they can respond, ask them whether they would like you to hug them/place hand on shoulder/hold their hands etc….

Help for those disassociating – grounding exercises such as:

· Ask them if they want to sit on the ground/ plant their feet on the ground if they are sat down for example. Get them to really focus on feeling the ground beneath them

· 5,4,3,2,1: Ask them 5 things they can see, 4 things they can touch, 3 things they can hear, 2 things they can smell, and 1 thing they can taste

· Box breathing (Breathe in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4)

· Weighted blanket

Next Steps - Offer to help them book an appointment with the doctor/go with them if they feel this is something they would want to do. Crucially make sure to look after yourself as well. The MIND website is also really helpful to look at for further advice.

love Jess

Note from 180: What a read! Hope you learnt as much as we did!

Love

M and G x