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Modern hypnotherapy and PTSD
We’ve read in this section about the early understanding of Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder as “shell shock”, in the wake of the First World War. We’ve
also read the story of the WWII sailor who was able to heal himself of war time
trauma by using self-hypnosis, after decades of suffering. But how is
hypnotherapy in the modern world helping those traumatized by war and other
forms of violence?
Some facts about PTSD
PTSD was first recognized as a treatable anxiety disorder in 1980. It was added
by the American Psychiatric Association to its manual of mental disorders, even
though there was some controversy surrounding its diagnosis. Some in the
clinical community even resisted naming PTSD as a disorder. 

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One of the most important diagnostic criteria for medical professionals is the
presence of a traumatic event, triggering the syndrome. Not an inherent
psychological reality for any given patient, PTSD arises when catastrophic
trauma is experienced, thus changing the quality of the patient’s life and the
ability to function normally.
Trauma is the key word in understanding the nature of PTSD and this effect may
be experienced in numerous ways. As an event which causes PTSD, the trauma
must be seen to have resulted in sustained dysfunction in the person suffering the
trauma for no less than one month and is characterized by some or all of the
following symptoms:
·
A sustained inability to concentrate for any length of time and memory
loss.
·
Irrational fears and jumpiness.
·
Trouble sleeping.
·
Anxiety.
·
Chronic pain.
·
Irritability and outbursts.
·
Having the same nightmares/dreams repeatedly.
·
Flashbacks to the trauma.
·
Lack of self-regulation; out-of-proportion reactivity
·
Phobias (fear of particular objects, situations, people, animals).
War veterans are those most commonly associated with PTSD, but the syndrome
can manifest in people who have experienced trauma resulting from a wide
variety of violent acts, including terrorism of all kinds, as well as bombings,

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serial bullying, rape, stalking, home invasion, robbery, kidnapping, natural
disasters or other civil upheaval.
PTSD victims often respond to triggers which return them to the site of the
traumatic event by eliciting a psychological identification, or parallel. A combat
veteran may respond to a sudden, loud noise by feeling as though suddenly
returned to the battlefield. A rape victim may over react to being approached by
a man in certain situations, because the appearance or behavior of the man
reminds her of the attacker. A victim of bullying may see the threat of being
bullied again in events in the workplace, or in something a colleague has said
that’s triggered a memory of the previous bullying. Triggers can be many
different things, depending on the nature of the original trauma, but the effect is
that the PTSD sufferer will feel as though they’ve returned to the incident and
that it’s occurring again.
The disorder can manifest itself in numerous ways, including substance abuse,
inability to work (resulting in eventual job loss) self-harm and domestic abuse
and violence. Soldiers returning from both Gulf Wars have displayed an
overwhelming tendency to domestic violence, to the point of family murder-
suicides, vehicular mayhem and extreme social dysfunction. The effects of the
disorder are debilitating and isolating and, left untreated, can result in years of
mental illness for those who suffer from it.
In the USA alone, it’s estimated that more than seven and a half million people
suffer from PTSD. Those who experience mass violence (as in combat, terrorist
attacks, or sustained, genocidal actions) suffer from the disorder at a rate of 67%,
much higher than the rate of those who live through natural disasters. Women
have a greater tendency to suffer from PTSD than men do (at a rate almost
double that of men), and children may also experience the disorder. While many
who experience trauma are able to recover over time and return to normal life,
those who suffer from PTSD require clinical intervention in order to function as

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they did prior to the traumatic incident.