The 7 July London bombers killed 52 people in 2005 and inflicted life-changing injuries on dozens more. But hundreds caught up in the blasts walked away that day – only to experience delayed emotional effects.
One survivor told the BBC this week that while his physical wounds healed, his psychological ones grew worse.
He suffered vivid flashbacks triggered by the slightest noise or smell, recurring nightmares that he was back on the train, overwhelming anxiety that it would all happen again. This is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
PTSD is a condition which develops after someone has been involved in, or witnessed, a serious trauma such as a life-threatening assault. During the trauma that person will feel intense fear, helplessness or horror. In some people PTSD develops soon after the trauma. However, in some cases the symptoms first develop several months, or even years, after the trauma.
Psychologist Patricia d’Ardenne, head of the NHS’s Institute of Psychotrauma in east London, told the BBC she knew on the day of 7/7 there would be hundreds, if not thousands, of people at risk of developing future mental health problems. The problem, she said, was tracking survivors down. In the intervening 10 years, many people have been helped. Others have not.
Dr D’Ardenne said: “On the day, the focus was evacuating people. People were told, ‘Go, get away as fast as you can’, because no one knew whether there would be more explosions. No names were even taken. We recognised that we needed to screen a large number of people. We knew what we’d lost.”
Symptoms of PTSD include recurring thoughts, memories, images, dreams, or flashbacks of the trauma which are distressing. Sufferer may try to avoid thoughts, conversations, places, people, activities or anything which may trigger memories of the trauma, as these make them distressed or anxious.
People with PTSD often feel emotionally numb or detached from others. Their outlook for the future is often pessimistic.
Up to 4 in 5 people with PTSD also have other mental health problems; for example, depression, persistent anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, drug or alcohol abuse.
Counselling is often mooted as the treatment for PTSD with medication in some adult instances. Hypnotherapy, too, has a success rate in treating this disorder.
The National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) has representation across the UK and is well placed to offer assistance to PTSD sufferers.
A fully qualified NCH hypnotherapist will help a client to understand their current thought patterns. This is so they can identify those that are harmful and unhelpful. Through this process sufferers can come to terms with their trauma and gain a sense of control over their fear. By focusing on realistic thoughts, they can avoid falling back into negative thinking patterns whenever they encounter a trigger.
After sessions with a hypnotherapist that person may feel more confident and more relaxed in situations that have previously been challenging. Many people say that they are calmer and that they have more clarity of thought – able to make decisions more easily.
People who have experienced side effects of PTSD such as insomnia, find that they are sleeping much better and as a result are able to work more effectively.
For help in coping with PTSD, use the NCH directory, by clicking here, to find a hypnotherapist near you.