“It’s a very, very commonfinding,” says Dr Patricia
Watson, senior educational
specialist for the National
Center for PTSD. “No matter
what trauma they witnessed,
people often don’t seek
treatment because they
compare their lives to the
lives of others who, from their
perspective, are worse off.”
In fact, in a recent review of
PTSD research, Watson found
it took 10 years on average for
someone with PTS symptoms
to seek treatment. The effects
of this kind of delay are
potentially devastating.
“For instance, people start to
withdraw,” she says. “They
lose jobs. They miss pleasurable
and rewarding activities
because they’re stuck in their
house. They start to drink
more or do other addictive
things to try to manage their
anxiety or their depression.”
And not coping effectively
with the trauma can actually
increase PTS symptoms.
Being far away from the
event doesn’t preclude an
emotional response. In fact,
the actual physical distance
from a terrifying incident
makes less of a difference
than you’d think. A wealth of
new data even shows you can
suffer from watching terrifying
incidents shown on TV.
Powerful playback
Patricia Frost* was a 32-year-
old music publisher living six
kays from Ground Zero. Like
so many others, she spent the
whole day watching the news.
“It’s a hell of a thing to see on
television,” she says. “To try
to connect that it’s actually
happening in real life is not
easy. But then the news plays it
over and over, so it connects
it for you. The news programs
won’t let you forget it.”
In the week that followedSeptember 11, New Yorkers
saw the Towers fall an average
of 29 times. Nearly 20 per cent
of them saw footage of people
jumping more than seven
times. And research has shown
that New Yorkers who saw the
most coverage of the attacks
were 66 per cent more likely
to develop PTSD than those
who watched minimal TV.
Dr Sandro Galea, an
emergency doctor and
epidemiologist says the most
important thing is to be aware
of the traumatising power of
this kind of coverage. “If theSIGNS OF
P O S T-
TRAUMATIC
STRESS
People with clinical PTSD
have symptoms from all
three of these diagnostic
categories. But you don’t
have to have a full-blown
disorder to seek help. If
these issues burden you
for longer than a month,
talk to a healthcare pro.(^1) Intrusive
recollections
Vivid flashbacks and
nightmares that make
you feel as if you’re
reliving the event.
(^2) Avoidance
Pulling away from close
relationships; feeling
emotionally numb, with
no desire to do activities
you used to enjoy.
(^3) Hyperarousal
Difficulty sleeping; easily
startled or frightened;
feelings of anger or
irritability; memory
problems; trouble
focusing/concentrating.
FEBRUARY 2017 womenshealth.com.au 107