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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, series of events or set of circumstances as emotionally or physically harmful or life-threatening. Examples include natural disasters, serious accidents, terrorist acts, war, combat, rape, sexual assault, historical trauma, intimate partner violence and bullying.

People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event has ended. These are just a few stories of patients’ experience of PTSD. Jonathan was a six-footer and an accomplished rugby player for his high school.

During his initial national service stint, he was hospitalised after the first week. While on medical leave, he was sent to me by his parents. At the intake interview, tests confirmed his PTSD. Delving further into the circumstances for his mental and emotional condition, he reluctantly confessed that the shouting and rough handling of the recruits by the army’s senior ranks triggered his stress reactions.

He would freeze and his mind would go blank during training exercises in the camp. Further probing revealed that these disabling responses began during his earlier teen days, soon after witnessing repeatedly his older brother’s harsh discipline from their mother.

Jonathan’s brother bore the brunt of their mother’s beatings. No one knew of his mental health situation during his growing up years as he camouflaged them quite well. Angie was a university student in a restricted access nation. Not so long ago, several in her cohort from other Asian and Western countries have had their visa applications turned down.

The authorities raided the apartments of the remaining few who were still in the city. Whenever she arrived home, from classes or shopping trips, she described her fears on hearing people shouting or talking loudly or her neighbours running up the stairs.

These loud sounds triggered her assumption that she would be targeted next by the authorities! She had trouble sleeping and appears to be losing her interest in her studies, life, and meeting with friends and fellow students. Jim was a senior manager at an international engineering company, and he travelled extensively, consulting with their Asia-Pacific regional offices on a weekly basis.

He was scheduled to fly to Indonesia. However, there was a change of plan, and his trip was cancelled. Flight MI 185 subsequently crashed into the Musi River near Palembang. Six months later, he came for treatment. The sight and sounds of planes or discussions on flying would trigger a fear response.

He could not bear the thought of being in an airport. Nightmares of plane crashes figure prominently in his dreams. He stopped flying. Kenneth was involved in a vehicular accident late one night as a taxi slammed into his car from behind at a red-light stop.

His whiplash injuries were severe, taking over a year before some improvement to his normal upper body movements materialized. Concurrently, his fears of cars and driving became an obsessive concern for him. Crossing the road was a major hurdle as he found himself fixated on oncoming traffic.

And even when the pedestrian indicator came on for a safe crossing, he found himself riveted to the sidewalk until others took the initiative to walk ahead of him. Public transport became his normal mode of travel since the accident.

About Coram Deo

Coram Deo — before the face of God. This blog reflects on Scripture, world events, science, music, psychology, and the human mind — always through the lens of Christian faith. All of life is lived before the face of God.