BAKEWELL AND DISTRICT PROBUS CLUB THE EFFECTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA – THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE

L-R: Ainslie Kelly, Nick Ford and Kim Rainsford

Psychological trauma, commonly known as ‘PTSD’ (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a mental health condition that can develop after a person has experienced, witnessed, or been exposed to a traumatic event. The symptoms include repeated ‘flashbacks’ and re-living the trauma to the extent that the sufferer’s daily life is severely affected by it. While many people experience stress and anxiety after witnessing a traumatic event, PTSD occurs when these feelings persist. The ways in which the condition can develop and, more importantly, be treated were the subject of a recent presentation to the Bakewell and District Probus Club by a guest speaker, Dr. Nick Ford, an Australian colleague of club member, Kim Rainsford who introduced him.

The speaker, who is a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at the University of Adelaide has made a particular study of the effects of trauma on military personnel and first responders (e.g. the police and other emergency workers) in Australia. He started his talk by describing the types of traumatic event experienced by of some of his patients. These included exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence, or combinations of any of these, resulting in many cases of suicide by the witnesses. Even if the outcome of a traumatic experience is not as drastic as suicide, the effect in terms of continuing ill-health can be devastating for the sufferer. Furthermore, there can be enormous costs to society as a whole because, when the illness strikes highly and expensively trained military and first responders, it causes them to experience a reduction in capacity for work. There may also be costs incurred through sickness payments and, in many cases, financial compensation.

Nick then explained the processes whereby the brain normally responds to external stimulae and events, and how these responses can be disrupted by traumatic experiences with the result that a person’s character and behaviour may be completely changed. However, with the appropriate treatment – be it medication, psychotherapy and/or counselling – patients can be helped to overcome these experiences and to resume their former lifestyle, albeit in a less stressful environment.

Unsurprisingly, this talk generated a large number of comments and questions from the audience. In responding to these, the speaker added his thanks to the club’s Equipment Officer, Ainslie Kelly, who had helped him in compiling his presentation.

Details of the Bakewell and District Probus Club, including reports of earlier meetings, can be found on its website at www.bakewellprobus.org