\u201cIt\u2019s estimated that 50% of people will experience a trauma at some point in their life,\u201d she adds. \u201cThe defining characteristic of a traumatic event is its capacity to provoke fear, helplessness or horror. This is in response to the threat of injury or death and therefore it can affect anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think of it as splinters of trauma that embed inside you and you can have reactions with regard to what\u2019s in the present day,\u201d says Floss Knight, founder of the UK Therapy Guide<\/a> and owner of West London Therapy, Chelsea and Fulham. \u201cYou\u2019re re-living those experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, adds Suttie, PTSD remains a deeply misunderstood and stigmatised condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Labour MP Nadia Whittome revealed in May 2021 that she was struggling with PTSD and was taking time off to prioritise her mental health, she received abuse online. People were claiming she couldn\u2019t suffer from the condition as she hadn\u2019t fought in a war. Ignorance about the condition is still rife, despite a growing understanding of how everyone can be affected by mental illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In January 2013, Andy Tucker was in a heavy metal band and had his own business booking acts to play in his native Wales. Yet his life changed completely when he was knocked off his motorbike in a road rage incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Left with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, extensive muscle damage to his legs, an inverted ankle, and limited movement and permanent deformity to his right shoulder \u2013 as well as scoliosis and spondylitis in his spine \u2013 he spent the following six-and-a-half years in and out of hospital, undergoing extensive surgeries. Beyond the physical injuries, Tucker was also left with anxiety, depression and PTSD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI didn\u2019t care about myself,\u201d he says. \u201cThere were times when I self-harmed. There were times when I didn\u2019t want to know anyone. I just wanted to be on my own. And there were times where I was highly suicidal and didn\u2019t want to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having struggled to connect with the more traditional therapeutic methods of treatment, Tucker discovered he could ease his struggles with PTSD through motorsport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI found a study online when I was looking for self-help,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was a three-year study by Team BRIT<\/a>, showing the effects of motorsport on veterans. That opened my eyes up and made me think, well, I love motorsport, it has always been a passion of mine. I did karting as a kid. This could be the way to kind of rebuild my life. Not just start to rebuild myself physically, but mentally, too. It turns out it was the key.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The all-disabled Team BRIT turned out to be a lifeline for Tucker, who excelled when he tried out for them in their Racing Academy sessions in 2019. He is now looking to help the team get to the iconic Le Mans 24 hour race. Team BRIT has a track record in helping people with physical and psychological challenges access motorsport, and improve their wellbeing in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can close my eyes and think back to my first race weekend with the team whenever I have one of my triggers,\u201d says Tucker. \u201cThe triggers are definitely not as strong now,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong, I still struggle with it. But the racing has really helped to keep me level-headed and give me something to look forward to and focus on. When I do have a little trigger, I can just sit there and think, just let it go. Give it five minutes. It\u2019s going to subside, then you can carry on and focus on the next thing you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Tucker\u2019s experience shows there are varied ways of handling PTSD, treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and \u2018eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing\u2019 (EMDR) therapy are shown to have good results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latter has become increasingly popular, with patients reliving past trauma while following their therapist\u2019s fingers as they move them back and forth. It\u2019s believed that this can retrain the brain and help make past events less distressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, some therapists believe reliving traumatic events is problematic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSince there is a requirement to revisit the traumatic event in vivid detail, both CBT and EMDR can be emotionally painful for the patient,\u201d says Terence Watts, a therapist who has pioneered a new treatment, \u2018brain reworking recursive therapy\u2019 (BWRT). This, he says, is less intrusive and is less likely to lead to relapses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBWRT, or brain reworking recursive therapy, requires the patient to re-experience the traumatic situation for no more than two or three seconds. This is instead of holding it firmly in their mind as they have to with CBT or EMDR,\u201d says Watts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is a small time lag, just under half a second, between the physical brain responding to the trigger and the feeling flooding into the conscious mind. It is in that gap that BWRT does its work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A special technique is utilised that stops the response in its tracks long enough for it to be reorganised. In this way, the traumatic event is easily reclassified as a past, non-active event, and therefore is no longer seen as a dangerous situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chenoa Parr, a communications consultant from Liverpool, began suffering with PTSD after being bullied by her boss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey came in to shake things up and saw me as a target,\u201d she says. \u201cThey would ask me to stand in front of a room full of my peers and make fun of what I was saying. They’d laugh at me, tell others how pathetic I was, undermine my authority, and explain that I was not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The resulting anxiety, sleeplessness and lack of concentration led to her almost taking her own life by stepping in front of a train. She says her GP was helpful and the CBT course she undertook helped greatly. However, when the pandemic hit, it triggered memories of her suicidal feelings. It was then that she tried BWRT:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBWRT is different from other therapies I had tried, because it was fast. I didn\u2019t have to spend months talking about it and reliving my trauma or explaining in detail to a stranger what had happened. Also, BWRT has a lower relapse rate, so I feel confident that I\u2019ve dealt with that time in my life and won\u2019t be triggered again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While its efficacy is praised by those who have tried it, BWRT is still in its early stages, with widespread research not due to be published until 2023. EMDR was developed in the late 1980s but was only approved for NHS treatment in 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As with so many mental health conditions, accessing treatment on the NHS remains challenging at best and impossible at worst. It\u2019s a situation that Floss Knight calls \u2018shocking\u2019:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe waiting list right now is three years. They are having more suicides, self-harm admissions, there\u2019s nothing new available.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A proponent of EMDR, Knight is campaigning not only for mental health education to be part of the national curriculum, but also better placed funding within the NHS to help those struggling right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome people aren\u2019t lucky enough to get through this stuff,\u201d she says. She is working to develop frameworks for offering low-cost therapy, but remains concerned that too many PTSD sufferers are falling through the cracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTherapy isn\u2019t the end of the road,\u201d she adds, \u201cit\u2019s the beginning. And if we best know ourselves, then we better know the triggers for trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Education remains the key to dealing with PTSD, agrees Watts: \u201cIt\u2019s all about helping people to understand that PTSD has nothing to do with psychological strength. The main thing people should know is that it is never a sign of weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most common therapies for a range of mental health conditions, CBT for PTSD works by getting the patient to relive past experiences, while a therapist identifies and breaks down any unhelpful beliefs that may have grown from the event. These are reviewed over a number of sessions. The aim is to give the patient concrete actions to work on whenever they are triggered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By following the movement of a therapist\u2019s hand while recounting traumatic experiences, EMDR is believed to reduce PTSD symptoms, helping patients reframe negative feelings and see them in a different light. Treatment can also be carried out through the tapping of a foot or while listening to music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Used by veterans and other PTSD sufferers, EFT involves tapping acupuncture points and repeating positive affirmations, while also stating the issue that causes pain and suffering. Repeated sessions are shown to lessen the symptoms of conditions such as PTSD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently undergoing research, BWRT is said to have a low relapse rate, and requires only a handful of sessions in order to work. It focuses on the split second between a trigger response and the response hitting the conscious mind. It is not yet available on the NHS, although therapists using this method can be found online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though often associated with traumatic combat experiences, PTSD can affect anyone who’s witnessed or experienced a shocking event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":13097,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"amazon_asin_number":"","model":"","featured_image_overlay_img":"","hjpType":"","squirrel_render_by":"","squirrel_id":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[182,62],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/mensfitness.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/shutterstock_2060628203-2.jpg?w=800\")
<\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nHow a life-changing event can trigger PTSD<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Life after PTSD<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
New treatments for PTSD<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What is BWRT?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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‘Treatments for PTSD can include CBT and EMDR, although these can be emotionally painful for patients. A new treatment, BWRT, could offer new hope.’<\/h3>\nTerence Watts<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The wait list for PTSD support<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Different types of PTSD treatment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Brain Reworking Recursive Therapy (BWRT)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Three ways to get help for PTSD<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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