RETURNING FROM WAR

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine determined that six out of every ten soldiers returning from Iraq are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  These numbers are likely to increase since PTSD symptoms may sometimes take up to two years or more to manifest themselves. This is an alarming percentage of soldiers with mild to severe PTSD. Many of these soldiers may not seek help because of:

1. Fear of bring stigmatized
2. Seen as having psychological weaknesses
3. Fear that their careers may be jeopardized if they seek help.

Increasing numbers of reports in the media are revealing the painful stories of family tragedies, deaths and suicides resulting from unacknowledged and unresolved PTSD symptoms. What is unfortunate is that tragic incidents such as these can be avoided and even eliminated with proper education and medical attention. Since our nation sent these men and women to war, we as a nation, should be responsible and willing to help these individuals recover from their internal war of post traumatic stress disorders. We have a responsibility to protect the men and women who are defending our country from any and all illnesses created as a result of their exposure to trauma inducing environments. If we address the trauma recovery process correctly our military personnel and their families could be assisted in their recovery process in a constructive manner that could actually bring families closer together rather than damage the very core of their existence.

There are three major areas of concern that should be recognized in military personnel returning from a trauma zone.

BIOLOGY OF TRAUMA
During war and violence, the body protects itself by producing large quantities of adrenaline. This produces a hyperarousal response in the individual which is necessary to protect the person during war time. Additionally, the body reduces its production of serotonin which is a drug that inhibits impulsive behaviors. Decreased serotonin in humans has repeatedly been correlated with impulsivity and aggression. And, on animals a decrease in serotonin produced an exaggerated emotional arousal and/or aggressive display.

The combination of increased adrenaline and decreased serotonin is precisely what causes an otherwise normal person to act out of aggressive emotions. If the levels of adrenaline and serotonin were properly balanced, they would be able to refrain from acting from a defensive, hyperarousal response.

The difficulty arises when we withdraw the individual from the danger environment and immediately return them to normal environments. Their biochemical responses are still highly activated so that minor, everyday stressors create an exaggerated reaction. Thus, normal family issues that would otherwise not disturb the individual now become extreme problems with a life/death intensity associated to them.

Symptoms to look for which may indicate chemical imbalances are:

• mood swings
• hyperaroused reactions
• exaggerated startle responses
• social withdraw or depression

NEUROLOGY OF TRAUMA
Numerous studies have already demonstrated that the thinking processes are significantly changed when individuals are exposed to prolonged or repeated experiences of trauma. During war, the thought patterns of the brain are dramatically rerouted to engage a more primitive survival thought process used only for emergencies. The longer an individual is in a trauma inducing environment or the more intense the traumatic experiences, the more deeply engrained these defensive thought processes become. When the individual leaves the trauma environment, this more deeply engrained thought process now becomes the preferred pathway of even minor stressors. As a result of this temporary neural readjustment, the individual suffers from what is known as a loss of neuromodulation. They are unable to regulate their neural responses to an appropriate level. Their responses to minor stressors are still regulated to the same intensity of someone in a life/death situation of war.

Symptoms to look for which may indicate neurological changes are:

• uncontrollable anger or rage
• irritabiity and restlessness
• disturbing memories or nightmares
• difficulty concentrating

ANATOMY OF TRAUMA
Because the body is a living organism it has certain protective mechanisms built into it that react instinctively during times of danger. These mechanisms contract the body pulling the muscles tightly together for protection. However, is an individual must live with tightly contracted muscles, after a while the body learns to live in the contracted state even though the danger has subsided. General exercises usually do not rid the individual of these deep chronic tension patterns. However, a unique series of exercises called Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) have been developed to relieve the individual of very deep chronic tension patterns created during the time of severe stress or trauma. If individuals do not attend to their bodies after living through traumatic events, they will usually carry with them deeply embedded patterns of tension that will eventually take a toll on the body’s structure and function.

Symptoms to look for which may indicate a chronic contraction in the body are:

• lower back pains
• neck and sholder aches
• gastointestinal problems
• chronic headaches

SOLUTION
Traumatic environments and experiences are unavoidable realities for our military personnel. However, as the war on terrorism continues we should respond by protecting our service men and women from their inevitable, internal war of traumatization. When properly understood, military family members, friends, colleagues and medical professionals would recognize that not only should the military require debriefings for these soldiers but recognize that their chemical balance and thought processes should be given time to readjust from war zones to civilian life. This does not take place over night. Depending on the severity of exposure to trauma, this rebalancing may take months or even years. This assistance to our soldiers will not occur however, until Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is recognized as a serious, normal and natural response of the soldiers during times of severe danger. Understood correctly as a natural physical response, it becomes both a natural and predictable process of recovery.

CONCLUSION
Traumatic environments and experiences are an unavoidable reality for our military personnel. However, as the war on terrorism continues we should respond by protecting our service men and women from their inevitable, internal war of traumatization. If we address the trauma recovery process correctly our military personnel and their families could be assisted in their recovery process in a constructive manner that could actually bring families closer together rather than damage the very core of their existence.

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SOLDIER ASSISTANCE
There are two excellent web sites that provide information for soldiers about recovery programs. Any soldier who is having difficulty with combat stress related issues should seek professional assistance. The two sites that are listed below.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: Information on this site is for information purposes only and not intended to constitute professional advice as circumstances will vary from person to person. Likewise, the results and the performance of Trauma Releasing Exercises and the additional trauma information is assumed by the user, and in no event shall TRAPS or David Berceli be liable for any consequential, incidental or direct injuries suffered in the course of using the exercises or information in this web site. Use of the information contained in this web site may contain restrictions on use.