Dr.Kevin M.D., medical blog poses an idea that the recent murders committed in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood were possibly caused by secondary PTSD.
From Kevin MD:
"According to the Psychiatric Times, the condition is defined as “indirect exposure to trauma through a firsthand account or narrative of a traumatic event. The vivid recounting of trauma by the survivor and the clinician’s subsequent cognitive or emotional representation of that event may result in a set of symptoms and reactions that parallel PTSD (e.g., re-experiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal). Secondary traumatization is also referred to as compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization."
Dr.Kevin Pho is a PCP, specializing in Internal Medicine, in New Hampshire.
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I think this discussion opens Pandora's box for an insanity plea.
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What are your thoughts? Does the psychiatrist, the profession, the religion, the culture or PTSD go on trial?
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Additional news related items:
Fox news, "Fort Hood Suspect May Have Suffered From 'Compassion Fatigue,' Experts Say"
"Dr. Robin Kerner, an attending psychologist who specializes in disaster anxiety at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, said it’s not uncommon for individuals who work with traumatized patients to suffer the effects of "compassion fatigue."
"This guy was counseling people coming back from war and there is something called secondary traumatization, where the therapist gets traumatized from hearing all the terrible things that have happened to the people they counsel," Kerner told FoxNews.com.
The problem, she said, is that when this happens, many mental health professionals do not properly take care of themselves."
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How to recognize compassion fatigue as a caregiver
Listen to your body
Compassion Fatigue Bodily Symptoms of Empathy.
"The helpers symptoms, frequently unnoticed, may range from psychological issues such as dissociation, anger, anxiety, sleep disturbances, nightmares, to feeling powerless. However, professionals may also experience physical symptoms such as nausea, headaches, general constriction, bodily temperature changes, dizziness, fainting spells, and impaired hearing. All important warning signals for the caregiver that need to be addressed or otherwise might lead to health issues or burnout."
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4 comments:
I have come to my own conclusion (not a comment on this particular tragedy) that we all have the ability choose. There is a solution for compassion fatigue and that is to become less compassionate. I know what I am saying sounds cold-hearted, but there came a time in my own particular situation, after I had ditched the antidepressant, and after many heart-pounding sleepless nights, that I changed my position as the observer. I began to place some of the "blame" for the present state of affairs on my son, which meant that I was acknowledging that he was an actor here too and maybe what he was doing had a point from his perspective. I began to think that maybe he was underneath it all angry and had no other way of expressing this other than to be psychotic. For a while, it got really bad because then I became angry in return. It allowed me to see him no longer as a hopeless case, but to see that he had powers if only he would use them appropriately. Now, I have compassion, but not fatigue and he is becoming a functioning adult.
That is a very,very interesting perspective. In the "metaphysical, parapsychology" worlds there is the issue of "being" an empath. It is entirely different that merely what is listed as compassion fatigue.
I think in this case one thing stands out to me: they knew from a few years back that this guy had more than his share of stress and trauma internally for whatever reason.
A lot of times for licensing purposes psychiatrists/medical health providers often see psych services providers of their own.
I'd be interested in finding out what kind of mental support services were provided to a doctor that had to listen to the worst of the worst on a regular basis.
The idea of Compassion Fatigues Bodily symptons is incredibly apt.
I can understand what you have said here and I am not without compassion. However, your attempt to find meaning has clouded a key issue.
The Fort Hood Suspect has a long history. There are connections to the 9/11 terror suspects being brought forward. There are connections to current Terrorists and terrorist organizations. This man has a history and that history is part of what happened that day in Fort Hood, Tx.
The real failing here is not that we have failed to noticed or respond to mental fatigue. The system failed because the individuals that should have had the ability to respond to warning signs were constrained by public oppinion and a fear of being seen as prejudice.
I completely disagree with your assesment of Compassion Fatigue. This man is a religious fanatic and allowed himself to be manipulated by terrorists. I believe he was simply waiting for the right moment to make his statement. Young children, 18, 19, and 20 year old kids, paid for the system's failure with their lives.
Yes, Lewatha, I feel the same way, I wrote about it because at the time no one else had except "kevin MD" and I knew that it would be a jumppoint for a mental illness insanity plea.
I have only mused on what he was other places (blogs) but yes, I pretty much agree w your comment.
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