wfn.org | Commentary: Soldiers may need help in coping with war trauma

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Nov. 5, 2003 News media contact: Linda Green7(615) 742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
7 E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org7 ALL-AA {530}

NOTE: A head and shoulders photograph of the Rev. Kennard Murray is available

A UMNS Commentary
By the Rev. Kennard Murray

As our brave men and women begin returning from their tour of duty in Iraq
and Afghanistan, all Americans should welcome them as heroes for their
courage and patriotism. 

As they return with a sense of pride and honor, some will, unfortunately,
return with physical wounds and scars. Hopefully, a small percentage will
return with unseen wounds from experiencing combat and witnessing the horrors
of war. Even noncombatants, such as reporters and relief workers, could
return with the unseen wounds of war. I am referring to a condition called
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 

I remember when I first saw PTSD. At that time I did not realize what I was
observing. I was a shift supervisor with a staff of about 7 psychiatric
technicians at a state operated institution for people with mental
retardation in 1971. During that time it was not uncommon for the many young
men working there to be former soldiers or recently discharged from military
service. I had several discharged soldiers on my shift.

One young, tall, quiet, but friendly, man whom I will call Todd had been
working with me for nearly a year. One afternoon the building we worked in
was under renovation and the workman was using a nail gun. A nail gun in use
sounds like a firearm being discharged. Todd began jerking, covering his head
with his arms, breathing very fast, and pacing the floor. There was a look in
his eyes that was both excited and frighten. His unusual behavior continued
until I asked the workman to stop. 

Todd shared with us that he was in Vietnam in 1967 and hearing the nail gun
reminded him of being in combat. Todd was having flashbacks, reliving a
stressful combat event. He stated he felt unarmed and frighten and his
reaction would not have been so intense if he had a gun.

Everyone on the shift that evening felt sorry for our coworker and friend. We
did not know what to do for him, nor did Todd know he was experiencing a
treatable anxiety disorder. We had no idea what he had been through or what
he was experiencing at that moment.

My friend was experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. It was because of
symptoms like his and other symptoms manifested among Vietnam combat veterans
that the American Psychiatric Association formally identified PTSD as an
anxiety disorder characterized by a pattern of symptoms caused by a traumatic
event. Unnamed, these symptoms have been present in service men and women who
served in combat in every war.

The Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counseling note that the symptoms include
re-experiencing the traumatic event, emotional numbing, and any of a variety
of autonomic, cognitive, or behavioral symptoms. PTSD can occur at any age
and may begin immediately following a major trauma or may not emerge until
months or even years later.

In Todd's case, his symptoms were still manifesting years after returning
home from Vietnam. PTSD can occur after natural disasters, human actions
whether accidental or deliberately inflicted such as rape, incest, military
combat or concentration camps. There are symptoms we can look for in our
loved ones returning from harm's way. Some include:
7	 Events being re-experienced in a number of intense ways.
7	 Recurrent, intrusive, and painful recollections or dreams of the
event are present; and also a person may behave unpredictably and violent
outbursts occur in some cases as they relive the trauma.
7	Diminished interest in once-valued activities and decreased
interpersonal involvement, and impairment of the ability to feel emotions of
any kind.
7	Sleep disturbances and hyper-alertness or an exaggerated startled
response that may contribute to a diminished sense of personal control.
7	Difficulties with concentration and memory.
7	Preoccupation with the themes of guilt.

What can be done for those effected by PTSD?

It is very important for those who do have a difficult time readjusting after
experiencing the trauma of war to have the opportunity to ventilate his or
her feelings about the traumatic event. In severe cases, a referral should be
made to a mental health professional experienced in treating PTSD. In milder
cases, an individual may become better by supportive pastoral counseling. A
pastoral counselor may use the biblical perspective of God's grace in
assisting the individual in restructuring their mental processes of
perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning as it relates to their religious
beliefs.

Individuals undergoing post-traumatic stress disorder need a safe,
confidential environment to share their story. The pastoral counselor should
have the ability to listen with the mind and heart, and be empathic, genuine
and respectful of the journey they are traveling with the counselee. A
professional pastoral counselor can help an individual restructure his or her
life to see that the love of God means God cares for and engages with those
who draw near to God, even after experiencing the trauma of war. 

Some 30 years later I wonder if Todd suffered alone with the memories of his
experience in that war in a far away land, or if he found help from a
pastoral counselor or some mental health professional.

It is my prayer that he found a Balm in Gilead for the unseen wounds of war.

# # #
* Rev. Murray is a pastoral counselor and the pastor of Seay-Hubbard United
Methodist Church, Nashville, Tenn.

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
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