PTSD AND SPIRITUALITY

PTSD and Spirituality Rachel Hudson Psychology 365 Liberty University Fall 2011

PTSD AND SPIRITUALITY September 11, 2001 forever changed the normality of the lives of all Americans, but for those that were there and for those that serve and are still serving in the military, new problems have arisen. Post-traumatic stress disorder is by no means a new diagnosis; sometimes referred to in earlier times it was referred to as combat fatigue or being shell shocked. The current

times however, or the current war that America is now 10 years into, has brought the diagnosis to the fore front. The studies are being conducted more and more on combat veterans and the researchers are from many different backgrounds; Research considering religion, spirituality, and health (physical or mental) comes from diverse fields including cognitive and social psychology, neuroscience, epidemiology, and medicine (Baetz, 2009, p. 293). With so many different disciplines with an interest in the study of PTSD and spirituality, the research is crossing boundaries and beginning to show promising signs. As stated before there are many studies being done on the topic of PTSD and spirituality, the three that were focused on the most in this research used the following samples, the first one used a sample of Presbyterians exclusively who were involved in the attacks of September 11, the second used samples of 95% Vietnam Veterans, and 5% WWII veterans and the final one used Medline to cross reference PTSD/Religion/Veterans, that were both inpatient and outpatient. The studies are first look at the symptoms or issues facing patients diagnosed with PTSD. The problem is that there is no simple solution to the issue and no one case is the same. Whereas some may be withdrawn, others may be aggressive, or some may have nightmares, while others cannot sleep at all. PTSD has to be looked at in the since of the memories that one is having and the person as well as the individual symptoms must be addressed; For PTSD sufferers, that experience is followed by horrifying nightmares, hyper-vigilance, sleeplessness, and other potentially debilitating symptoms (McKelvey, 2009, p. 22).

PTSD AND SPIRITUALITY Some of the symptoms as addressed by the research were one, Feelings of personal responsibility for killing others and for failing to prevent the death of others are two sets of traumatic experiences that often accompany combat exposure (Fontana, 2004, p. 582). For anyone this would be a hard concept and especially hard for a Christian. The Ten Commandments for one; thou shall not kill. This feeling of taking another persons life even if by societies standards is justified, may lead a veteran wondering whether they were justified by Christ. There is a vast number of symptoms, Post-traumatic stress describes a wide range of response to trauma characterized by four symptoms: re-experiencing, hyper-arousal, avoidance, and numbness (Meisenhelder, 2009, p. 47). A person with PTSD may relive the situation over and over. The rule that every family readiness officer has given to families when a member is returning from deployment, is dont ask questions, let the military family member make the first move towards telling you what happened. With the cases that involve avoidance, the conversation may never take place. Because of the current war and the number of people involved, more research is being done, thus finding more symptoms and more people being affected. Researchers have shown a strong relationship between psychological trauma and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder, simple and social phobia, borderline personality disorder, somatoform disorder, dissociative disorder, eating disorders, self-mutilation, suicide, high risk behaviors, substance abuse, and major depression (Peres, 2007, p. 344). With this being said, what affect, if any, does religion and spirituality have on PTSD?

The goal of a Christian is to grow and develop in Christ, or to be more Christ like. And a human in general always seeks to answer the most common of questions; the meaning of life. Religiosity and spirituality are strongly based on a personal quest to understand ultimate questions about life, meaning, and relationships with the sacred or transcendent, Religious

PTSD AND SPIRITUALITY frameworks and practices may have an important influence on how people interpret and cope

with traumatic events (Peres, 2007, p. 346). For Christians the why questions are sometimes answered more easily given the roadmap that is the Bible. For some military the combination of their cause and their religion makes it more of a holy war and more easily coped with as the wars in recent and past history are religion based. The attacks of 9/11 were carried out by Muslims for their religion whereas the retaliation of the United States is said to be patriotic, it is too, religious. For some veterans the flip side is that they question if what they are doing, the battle and the killing goes against what the bible says and makes them question their spirituality, Exposure to trauma may have an effect on peoples religious beliefs and involvement, yet such beliefs and involvements may also function as resources for those struggling to cope with trauma (Chen, 2006, p. 380). With that being stated, does their spirituality have an effect on their PTSD? According to the studies, the answer is yes, People who were more stressed used more coping mechanisms, most commonly looking to God for strength, prayer, displaying a flag, seeking time with friends and family, and contributing money to help the victims, Positive spiritual coping strategies were strongly related to positive spiritual outcomes (Meisenhelder, 2009, p. 55). What then does the Bible say about PTSD? It obviously does not address it directly as it is a diagnosis of new, but it does address coping with difficulties and questioning spirituality. First, what if the act of war is a sin? There are plenty of wars that were fought in the Bible, but what if it was to be a sin? The Bible says in Isaiah 1:18. Come now, and let us reason together, sayeth the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. No matter what, our sins are forgiven. Another of the symptoms that is addressed several times in the Bible is hopelessness. In Psalm 34:17-20 it

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says, When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. And again it is addressed in Matthew 11:28-30, Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Another issue facing veterans with PTSD is the feeling of having no purpose in life. The Bible also talks about this in Proverbs 16:9, The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. It also says in Revelation 21:4, He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

PTSD AND SPIRITUALITY Methods (Hypothetical) A questionnaire was distributed with the assistance of the Veterans Hospital in Salem, Virginia by licensed psychiatrist to veterans diagnosed with PTSD. In all 1277 questionnaires

were handed out with a stamped envelope to mail back to the researcher anonymously. The only criteria for being included in the study were to be a combat veteran and to return the questionnaire. Questions included race, religion, sex, symptoms of PTSD as well as signs of Post-traumatic growth, religion, religious involvement, and therapy receiving. Results Of the 1277 questionnaires that were handed out, 832 were returned, giving a return rate of 65.2. Of these results there were 42.9 percent Caucasian, 35.2 percent African American, and 13.5 percent Hispanic, and 8.4 listing as other. There were also a 79.2 percent turned in as male, and 20.8 percent female. The religion portion of the questionnaire revealed 27.5 percent Christian, 14.1 percent as Catholic, 10.2 percent Jewish, 2.7 percent Muslim, and 45.6 percent having no religious affiliation. Symptoms reported included withdrawal, aggressiveness, remorse, guilt, nightmares, alcohol and substance abuse, and spousal abuse. Also reported as signs of growth were, since of purpose, forgiveness, and stronger friend and family bonds. Of the surveys returned, 42.3 percent reported being involved in their given religion and groups within their place of worship, while 57.7 percent reported not being involved at all. The therapies reported as being received were 26.3 percent were in individual counseling, 9.7 percent were in group therapy, 26.3 percent had a combination of individual therapy and medication, and 37.6 percent reported no therapy. Within each of the therapy groups there was a report of 14.6 percent of patients receiving individual counseling being involved in religious groups, leaving

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85.4 that were not involved in religious groups. In the group counseling, there were 14.8 percent that were involved in religious groups and 85.2 percent that were not, in the combination of individual and medication, there were 11 percent that were involved in religious groups and 89 percent that were not. In the cases of no counseling there were 61.3 percent that were involved with a religious group, and 38.7 percent that were not. Of the question asked of negative symptoms, there were 76.3 percent that were not involved in a religious group and 23.7 who were involved in religious groups. In the questions involving positive outcomes, or Posttraumatic growth, there were 82.3 percent that were involved in a religious group, and 17.7 percent who were not. The finding were consistent with the hypothesis, that one, there does seem to be a correlation between spirituality and PTSD, and two, that the effects of religion can have a positive effect on PTSD symptoms. Discussion The diagnosis of PTSD appears to be more prevalent now than in the past, whether it is due to the current war or to the governments acknowledgment to the problem is unknown. What is evident is that there are many or our service men and women that are suffering greatly from their service to the country and it is affecting them in numerous ways. Choosing what may be the right therapies for them is one of the hardest jobs because with PTSD you must treat the individual symptoms and deal with memories that are stored and cannot necessarily be erased. The research conducted showed that there are a high number of individuals that are involved in their religion that do not receive therapy. There are also a high number of individuals that report positive growth that are involved in religious activities.

PTSD AND SPIRITUALITY Possible biases may be that all of the surveys were not returned and the ages and wars that they were involved in were also not taken into consideration. The study also did not clarify if the individuals that did not undergo any therapy did so because of their religion or because they chose not to. More research with added questions to clarify the holes left in the research would help to validate these findings. Conclusion What is clear in this study is that there is clear evidence that individuals involved in religious groups tend to have more positive outcomes than those that do not. The feeling or purpose and stronger bonds to family and friends were much greater in the individuals involved

in their religion. The growth of PTSD in America would seem to be an indicator that much more research is needed to understand and treat these individuals. This research in particular would signal the military to possibly study more on the affects and implement more chaplains or religious outlets during the active duty time.

PTSD AND SPIRITUALITY References Baetz, M. T. (2009). Clinical Implications of Research on Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 54(5), 292-301. Fontana, A. R. (2004). Trauma, Change in Strength of Religious Faith, and Mental Health Service Use Among Veterans Treated for PTSD. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 192(9), 579-584. McKelvey, T. (2009). God, the Army, and PTSD. Boston Review, 34(6), 22-24. Meisenhelder, J. B. (2009). Terrorism, Post-traumatic Stress, Copin Strategies, and Spiritual Outcomes. Journal of Religion and Helath, 48, 46-57.