Columbus Psychologist Speaks On Therapist’s Possible PTSD
Alternative content
Columbus Psychologist Speaks On Therapist's Possible...
An army spokeswoman says Major Nidal Malik Hasan was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan with an army reserve unit that provides behavioral counseling to soldiers in combat.But what about the counselors themselves? Who counsels them? Doctor Harold McRae deals with Fort Benning soldiers on a daily basis.
He says 25% of the soldiers coming back from war struggle with this post traumatic stress disorder. But could someone suffer from PTSD without ever being deployed? Doctor McRae says it is possible.
“It’s more of a brain problem than it is an emotional problem,“ says psycho-therapist Doctor Harold McRae.
He explains what goes on with soldiers who are dealing with the after effects of war.
“Angry, difficulty sleeping, loss of interest in pleasurable activities, emotional numbing,“ he says.
His job is to help patients find the root of their problem, which often times means listening to horror stories from the war over and over again.
“It is easily in this profession working with the severity of PTSD, that people can start suffering from something referred to as compassion fatigue.“
McRae recalls one soldier he counseled.
“His post came under fire and they were under fire for 90 days and that’s 24/7 so that constant ongoing stress the brain just gets exhausted.“
Now imagine festering on that event for hours, or constantly hearing about even worse scenarios.
“Typically if you get caught up in their stories, it triggers some unresolved emotional issues inside of you.“
Which could potentially become dangerous.
“They start showing signs of secondary post traumatic stress disorder.“
Doctor McRae says over the years he has developed ways to detach himself from getting caught up in the soldiers stories.
“I eat right,I sleep right, I have a marvelous social life, and I get away, I take vacations.“
But he says there are times, when even those steps are overpowered by human nature.
“I have a feel for these guys, because it is really tough on them.“
Doctor McRae says many times those suffering from PTSD try to numb their problems.
We want to make it clear, authorities are not saying whether PTSD is what led to the shooting rampage.
Advertisement
Advertisement