Psychological Stress Times X = PTSD

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - Two incidents during last week caught my attention for the causation of PTSD.

The first was the Chilean mine disaster. Those miners were trapped in something like an artillery barrage, only worse, for 69 days. The first 17 days were by far the worst with starvation and/or a further mine collapse which could have killed them all. It is miraculous that they even survived those 17 days with less than a few spoonfuls of tuna fish, daily or every other day. This will rank as one of the miracles of survival.

The aspects of claustrophobia in such a dangerous situation are almost torture to even contemplate. It is fortunate that they had a strong deliberate leader to control things. The X in the title equation means just that, nobody knows how many events, how severe they are or how many days is “required” to produce PTSD nor how severe and disabling the PTSD will be. I will personally bet a nickel that few of those miners will even go underground again and some of them have apparently said so already. They shouldn’t have to. Apparently the Chilean Government has concluded that mine safety has too low of a priority and serious corrections are now in view. Miners do have the highest rate of mine disasters and deaths.

The second example was the highly rated T.V. series Grey’s Anatomy which is a medical/surgical show of the life of interns and surgical residents which to me is so true to fact that it is almost painful for me to watch. It brings back my own experiences as a medical intern which I have stated is much like Infantry Combat. The enemy in both cases is death itself. The psychological tension is sometimes super intense. Running an Emergency Room over night with no staff doctors available was really scary. My infantry experience with death and destruction helped me during my internship.

The last Grey’s Anatomy show of the 2009-2010 season was about a dead patient’s irate husband who was accusing the surgeons of killing his wife. He pulled out his semi-automatic pistol and nearly wiped out the entire surgical staff. It is/was remarkable that so few surgeons or residents were killed. The doctors who literally saved the lives of the wounded were even more stressed than those who were wounded. This is not unusual. Trauma nurses, Trauma surgeons and EMTs have a large amount of “burn out” which is also a form of PTSD with many resorting to alcoholism or “mining” the narcotics locker. These are all similar to the military PTSD victims. They have found that the Army doctors drugs such as Morphine and Oxycontin or the much worse anti-depressant drugs are even worse and more dangerous and disabling than PTSD itself.

These two are real examples of the causation of PTSD. It can be ONE horrific event or a long-term slow wearing down of psychological defenses much like Infantry Combat.

I think the Chilean miners had access to “mota” (Marijuana). In the final scenes of Grey’s Anatomy the survivors were killing a bottle of scotch.

HOORAH FOR SCOTCH & MOTA!!!

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Amanda October 19, 2010 10:08 pm (Pacific time)

Yes, it was a miracle. What stands out however, is the President's allowance of complete media coverage, for all the world to see (even if it had turned tragic). We can take a lesson from a Commander, who commanded the rescue efforts from beginning to end. He did not just fly over the site on occasion!!! He, and all the world was there. Bravo Mr. Pinera.

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