Initially this numbing out or repressing memories is an adaptive response that helps the individual cope. Unfortunately, humans appear unable to numb out selectively, so in numbing or stopping the pain of trauma, other feelings or emotions, like the capacity to feel joy or peace, may also be numbed or stopped. Although dissociation or repressing memories helps the brain and body store the memory of the event in the body in a compartmentalized way, these experiences may never be integrated into the individual’s consciousness. To complicate the situation, traumatized individuals learn dissociative survival skills or strategies like drug and alcohol abuse to numb themselves further (SAMHSA, 2017). Approximately 84% of those suffering from PTSD may be diagnosed with comorbid conditions including drug and alcohol abuse. Armed forces members are the more likely population with PTSD to additionally develop drug and alcohol abuse tendencies. A work-related PTSD diagnosis is common among health and social service workers, deployers in combat specific occupations, emergency service workers (such as emergency medical, police, and fire), and journalists (Javidi & Yadollahie, 2012). The following factors are also correlated with a greater likelihood that a person will develop PTSD (Javidi & Yadollahie, 2012): ● Increased severity of the trauma. ● Increased length of trauma. ● Increased proximity to the trauma. ● Increased danger. ● Increased incidence exposure to trauma. ● If the trauma was inflicted deliberately by other people. ● If the person gets negative reactions from friends and relatives (this is why support for victims is so important). ● The longer it took to get into safe and supported circumstances afterward. It is evident that certain occupations and types of traumas experienced directly affect the probability of someone developing PTSD. We will now look a little further into specific populations that have a greater likelihood of developing this disorder and how therapy can be impactful for these patients. Although PTSD was first recognized officially as a psychological disorder in Vietnam war veterans, you are now far more likely to see trauma from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars these days in your practice. A 2021 case study discussed mental health and other conditions that can present in veterans with reference to how manual therapies, massage, exercise, and wellness routines helped the overall health of the veteran, specifically post-traumatic stress disorder in accompaniment to combat injury. Veterans who were present with combat injury were at significantly greater risk to present with PTSD, depression, pain, and disassociation than other veterans. Some may also be surprised to know that many of these veterans sought out alternative and complementary medicine to treat these disorders (Rosenow & Munk, 2021). The case study showed that therapeutic manual therapy techniques have meaningful benefits, such as improved range of motion and decreased environmental comfort behaviors, in a veteran with PTSD who experienced a combat shoulder injury. Techniques used on this patient were trigger point therapy, myofascial release, and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (Rosenow & Munk, 2021).
Someone suffering from PTSD is more likely to experience dissociation than a flashback during a therapy session as this is a much more common manifestation of PTSD. According to the DSM-V, “dissociative disorders are characterized by a disruption of and/or discontinuity in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation, motor control, and behavior” (APA, 2022, p. 291). While minor dissociation is a common coping mechanism (we all tune out certain experiences by daydreaming, for example), severe dissociation may manifest itself in the inability of the individuals to feel; he or she may be unaware of physical sensation or may mentally “check out” from his or her body during the period of dissociation. Probability of PTSD Not all people who experience trauma end up having PTSD. Why it appears in one person over another involved in similar traumatic experiences such as rape, war, or an accident is not clear. Some factors that may make one more prone to PTSD include: ● A personal or family history of mental illness. ● Severity of the traumatic event. ● Lack of proper treatment. ● Lack of support structures in place for the individual following the event. A 2012 study looked closely into occupations and correlations between types of traumas that have persisted and resulted in PTSD. The study also observed the correlation between substance abuse and development of other anxiety conditions as a result of misdiagnosis or nondiagnosis of PTSD in the individual. Research showed first responders (police and firefighters) make up 21% of the population of rescue workers that report PTSD symptoms. Victims of disasters made up 30-40% of the population will be diagnosed with PTSD. Beyond the differences in occupations and how the trauma was experienced, this study also showed us information about age, gender, and accompanying mental health conditions that may affect the likelihood of one being diagnosed with PTSD. Children experiencing trauma are more likely than adults to develop symptoms. As we already noted, women also are more likely than men to do so. Populations Veterans For many veterans, forms of manual therapy, such as massage, physical or occupational therapy, and chiropractic adjustments have proven a useful and effective treatment option for addressing some of their symptoms. In the great majority of cases, combat veterans can peacefully receive therapeutic touch bodywork, which can play a useful role in treatment of PTSD. In some cases, however, veterans have experienced powerful reactions such as crying, sweating, shaking, or even, in rare cases, flashbacks during a session. Flashbacks, defined as the mental re-experiencing of a traumatic event, are as terrifying each time they occur as the original time. Unlike other memories, they do not fade with age. Veterans may be surprised at the intensity of their own responses to massage—that memories of traumatic events that had happened so long ago were brought back so vividly in the massage session. Indeed, touch has a powerful ability to trigger vivid memories.
EliteLearning.com/Massage-Therapists
Book Code: MLA1225
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