David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Multiple Deaths and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
by Harriet Hodgson, The Grief Blog
May 26, 2009
Death is part of life. It is easier to understand this if you?ve had one death in the family. Understanding takes longer when you have had several deaths. Your responses are affected by the nature of each loss and your relationship with that person. Life taught me this lesson.
In 2007 my eldest daughter died from the injuries she received in a car crash. Surgeons operated on her for 20 hours, but could not save her life. Two days later my father-in-law succumbed to pneumonia. Eight weeks later, my brother died of a heart attack. Then my former son-in-law was killed in another car crash. My husband and I are raising our twin grandchildren.
Accepting my daughter?s early and sudden death has been a challenge. Dr. Nathan Kollar, Professor of Religious Studies at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York thinks a loss of this kind shatters us like a tree struck by lightening. ?Our world is broken by suffering and we will never be the same again.?
Traumatic death ? a death that is sudden and anticipated ? can cause PTSD. Kirsti A. Dyer, MD, MS, FT examines traumatic death in ?Dealing with Sudden, Accidental and Traumatic Loss and Death,? published on the About.Com Website. Dyer says a traumatic death may be ?violent, mutilating or destructive, random and/or preventable.? All of these words apply to my daughter, who died of blunt force trauma.
Thankfully, I have good coping skills. Still, I have wondered if I have PTSD. A few weeks ago the phone rang at 2 a.m. and awakened me from a sound sleep. It was the police, checking on my grandson, who was out too late. Though the call was over quickly, my feelings were not. My mind flashed back to the night my daughter died. I saw family members in the waiting room, crying grandchildren, a sad expression on a surgeon?s face. No wonder I couldn?t get back to sleep.
What is PTSD? The Help Guide Website defines it as ?a disorder that can develop following a traumatic event that threatens your safety or makes you feel helpless.? The National Institutes of Health lists the symptoms of PTSD on its Website and groups them into three categories: flashbacks, bad dreams, and frightening thoughts. Other symptoms include emotional numbness, feeling ?on edge,? and sleep problems.
According to Mayo Clinic, resilient people can recover from the disorder. In a Website article, ?Resilience: Build Skills to Endure Hardship,? Mayo Clinic defines resilience as ?the ability to adapt well to stress adversity, trauma, or tragedy.? That does not mean the person with PTSD ignores his or her feelings. ?Resilience does offer protection for you ? and your family ? against developing such conditions as depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder,? notes Mayo Clinic.
I had a mild case of PTSD and have almost recovered from it. Being a grandmother, someone with life experience and coping skills, has helped me. Proactive steps, such as learning about grief and getting a physical exam, have also helped. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it can take months for the symptoms of PTSD to appear.
Have you suffered multiple losses? If so, watch for the symptoms of PTSD. Get a physical exam and ask your doctor if you need counseling. PTSD is a normal response to trauma and most people recover on their own. You may be one of them.
Harriet Hodgson has been an independent journalist for 30 years. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Association of Health Care Journalists, and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief,? written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from Amazon.
Centering Corporation in Omaha, Nebraska has published her 26th book, Writing to Recover: The Journey from Loss and Grief to a New Life. The company has also published a companion resource, the Writing to Recover Journal, which contains 100 writing prompts. Please visit Harriet?s Website.
by Harriet Hodgson, The Grief Blog
May 26, 2009
Death is part of life. It is easier to understand this if you?ve had one death in the family. Understanding takes longer when you have had several deaths. Your responses are affected by the nature of each loss and your relationship with that person. Life taught me this lesson.
In 2007 my eldest daughter died from the injuries she received in a car crash. Surgeons operated on her for 20 hours, but could not save her life. Two days later my father-in-law succumbed to pneumonia. Eight weeks later, my brother died of a heart attack. Then my former son-in-law was killed in another car crash. My husband and I are raising our twin grandchildren.
Accepting my daughter?s early and sudden death has been a challenge. Dr. Nathan Kollar, Professor of Religious Studies at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York thinks a loss of this kind shatters us like a tree struck by lightening. ?Our world is broken by suffering and we will never be the same again.?
Traumatic death ? a death that is sudden and anticipated ? can cause PTSD. Kirsti A. Dyer, MD, MS, FT examines traumatic death in ?Dealing with Sudden, Accidental and Traumatic Loss and Death,? published on the About.Com Website. Dyer says a traumatic death may be ?violent, mutilating or destructive, random and/or preventable.? All of these words apply to my daughter, who died of blunt force trauma.
Thankfully, I have good coping skills. Still, I have wondered if I have PTSD. A few weeks ago the phone rang at 2 a.m. and awakened me from a sound sleep. It was the police, checking on my grandson, who was out too late. Though the call was over quickly, my feelings were not. My mind flashed back to the night my daughter died. I saw family members in the waiting room, crying grandchildren, a sad expression on a surgeon?s face. No wonder I couldn?t get back to sleep.
What is PTSD? The Help Guide Website defines it as ?a disorder that can develop following a traumatic event that threatens your safety or makes you feel helpless.? The National Institutes of Health lists the symptoms of PTSD on its Website and groups them into three categories: flashbacks, bad dreams, and frightening thoughts. Other symptoms include emotional numbness, feeling ?on edge,? and sleep problems.
According to Mayo Clinic, resilient people can recover from the disorder. In a Website article, ?Resilience: Build Skills to Endure Hardship,? Mayo Clinic defines resilience as ?the ability to adapt well to stress adversity, trauma, or tragedy.? That does not mean the person with PTSD ignores his or her feelings. ?Resilience does offer protection for you ? and your family ? against developing such conditions as depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder,? notes Mayo Clinic.
I had a mild case of PTSD and have almost recovered from it. Being a grandmother, someone with life experience and coping skills, has helped me. Proactive steps, such as learning about grief and getting a physical exam, have also helped. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it can take months for the symptoms of PTSD to appear.
Have you suffered multiple losses? If so, watch for the symptoms of PTSD. Get a physical exam and ask your doctor if you need counseling. PTSD is a normal response to trauma and most people recover on their own. You may be one of them.
Harriet Hodgson has been an independent journalist for 30 years. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Association of Health Care Journalists, and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief,? written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from Amazon.
Centering Corporation in Omaha, Nebraska has published her 26th book, Writing to Recover: The Journey from Loss and Grief to a New Life. The company has also published a companion resource, the Writing to Recover Journal, which contains 100 writing prompts. Please visit Harriet?s Website.
