By Rian Fearnehough
When Post-traumatic stress disorder is mentioned, many think immediately of soldiers coming back from the horrors of war.
This assumption couldn’t be more wrong as, according to the NHS, 4 in 100 people have PTSD in the UK currently, giving a perspective of how widespread the issue actually is.
This has led to a misunderstanding of the disorder as the limited information spread leads to a lack of awareness from the public, and this all leads to a negative stigma towards PTSD.
My Story:
It was 10:30pm on Good Friday, 2019. We had just got a new puppy, so someone needed to stay downstairs with her. It was my turn. I was just waiting for my dad to go to bed when he opened the front door.
Our next-door neighbours have been horrible since they moved in, with bangs and crashes normal, but on this night, it seemed louder than ever before.
I didn’t think much of it, but little did I know my life was about to change. I would never be that innocent boy again.
My dad went outside, and mum shouted down ‘he’s got a knife.’ At this point, I realised just how dangerous the situation was.
We all went outside and tried to hold our 15-year-old neighbour down as he struggled against two fully grown men. There was no sign of a knife at this point.
The police were on the way, but it felt like an eternity. In the meantime, our neighbour managed to struggle free with Mum and me heading back into the house. Then came the sound I can still hear to this day. BANG. The front door burst open, and my neighbour was now standing there, threatening me with a knife. At this point, fight or flight took over, and I chose flight. I got into the kitchen to try and get out of that door. I understand how people can’t turn the keys in the ignition in horror films now, as I had no chance of unlocking the door to get away.
Somehow, my Mum shut the front door and calmed me down enough to call the police, who were already on their way. Being on the phone was soothing.
Little did I know at the time, but my neighbour had turned his attention to our other neighbours, with whom we share a driveway. My Dad, Ian, was still on the driveway: “I saw him coming round the corner with an axe, so we all bundled inside.” He took the axe to the door, but thankfully, the police turned up soon after. But that was just the beginning.
I can’t remember much of the rest of the night, but I remember the sheer panic I was experiencing all through my body.
The next morning, the police came and took statements, and we headed to the beach to try to forget what had just happened.
My mind was all over the place, but being away calmed me down. Then we got a call that the neighbour had been released on bail, and I was terrified to go home, as even though he wasn’t allowed next door, it was pretty obvious he would be round often.
From this point on, I refused to go in the garden or outside the front of my house because I didn’t feel safe.
When asked how I changed, my Mum, Sarah said: “You became quieter and more reserved after it happened, as well as more stressed and with a shorter temper.”
During Coronavirus, it was horrible as the neighbour had returned, and at least three times a month, he would kick off with the banging through the walls starting, which would cause me to have panic attacks with my whole body shaking.
This led to me listening out for any noise as I could not stop myself from hearing every noise in and around the house.
This was when I realised I had a problem, but it took me a while longer to break down and tell my dad what was going on. Soon after, I had an appointment and was then diagnosed with PTSD.
When diagnosed with PTSD, it can be hard to explain exactly what you are going through with people confusing being stuck in the past and a change in your brain that can’t be helped.
Treatment and changes:
The hippocampus is part of the brain that deals with short-term memory and awareness of your environment. Patients with PTSD have a smaller hippocampus, which can keep them in a constant state of hypervigilance as it is harder to distinguish between past and current events.
When diagnosed, patients are given a treatment plan, which can vary depending on their condition. The most common plan involves a mixture of medication and therapy.
The Purple House Clinic Leicester offers treatment to patients who are suffering from all kinds of mental health problems, one of those being PTSD.
Vicki Edwards, clinical director at the Purple House Clinic, said: “The main treatment approach for PTSD is Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing delivered by therapists who are specifically trained in this type of trauma therapy. Other treatments include Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, which focuses on changing negative thought patterns and behaviours.”
EMDR therapy is the most common treatment, with the brain being manipulated, activating multiple areas at once to help access your subconscious, which allows the patient to process the trauma.
CBT is slightly different as it is closer to traditional therapy as you talk through your situation and try to distance yourself from the trauma, as well as having the ability to bring yourself out of a flashback.
“Psychological therapy can help with all sorts of problems. All therapy should feel like a safe, contained space where trauma can be processed using a variety of approaches,” Vicki added.
I had CBT, and my situation didn’t change much with the treatment as my symptoms didn’t change.
I no longer have panic attacks, but the nightmares have never gone away. I have just learned to live with them.
PTSD is something everyone has a different experience with; some people can recover fully, and others have to manage it for the rest of their lives.
