Use these links to navigate around this page

Self-Help
Reading your Notes
Professional Treatment
Thanks or No Thanks!!

A person with PTSD does not have to look forward to a life-time of unrelieved suffering and maintenance therapy.

Unlike many mental illnesses, most people can gain permanent significant if not substantial relief and freedom from PTSD through a variety of non-chemical options. What follows covers some of these options - how you can help yourself, and what sort of professional help has been found to be of assistance. Even as a scar will seldom completely disappear, neither will the effects of your trauma, however, you can enjoy life again in a meaningful and fulfilling way.

We are all on the path - come with us!

SELF-HELP

These measures are not an alternative to professional treatment but they will assist with how well you are able to cope before, during and after treatment.

Find a trusted person(s) to talk to about the trauma They need to be empathetic, non-judgmental, and attentive listeners. Your partner may be this person. Be aware, however, that he is likely to be affected by the trauma too and may feel blamed or at fault for things that happened. He may also need to have his feelings heard. Speaking with someone who isn't emotionally involved may be a better option.

Create your own support network of professionals, friends and family. Use people to help you in the way that they can eg. a family member may not understand your illness but is only too willing to offer babysitting whenever it's needed.

Take care of yourself. Be aware of your limitations; don't try to do too much. Don't blame yourself for not coping. Tend to your needs. Make time for time-out." Use aromatherapy, homoeopathy, yoga, exercise, relaxation techniques; anything that works for you to soothe the mind, body and soul.

Establish some normal routines. Sometimes, sticking to a routine involves less thought and planning.

Good nutrition is vital. Eat a well balanced diet. Eat to maintain your optimum energy, which means keeping your blood sugar levels constant. A low blood sugar level leaves you feeling tired, listless and shaky while a high blood sugar level gives you a short-lived buzz. Avoid simple carbohydrates like sugar and refined white flour which are easily digested and metabolised rapidly, giving an almost immediate energy high, followed later by a significant energy slump. Avoid also caffeine, which is found in tea, coffee, chocolate and some fizzy drinks; also avoid smoking, alcohol and added salt.

B vitamins are essential for effective sugar metabolism and energy release. Alcohol, caffeine, smoking, oral contraceptives and stress can all deplete your body of them. As B vitamins are not stored in the body it will probably be necessary to use a supplement during these times of stress especially vitamins B9 and Bl2. Feelings of depression, irritability and tiredness can be symptoms of a B vitamin deficiency. Fresh fruit and vegetables, wholegrain cereals, wholemeal bread, yeast extract, liver, beans, lentils and tofu are all excellent sources.

An iron deficient diet will also leave you feeling tired. Good sources are cereals, liver, kidneys, dried apricots, eggs, watercress, beef, lamb and wholemeal bread. Vitamin C improves the way your body absorbs iron so combine this in your meals.

Consult your GP, pharmacist, health shop rep, a nutritionist or dietician, etc. for specific advice concerning your particular nutritional needs.

Get writing. Record your birth story. Putting your experiences into words can be a way of beginning to make some sort of sense of what you have been through. As you write your story and compile the events in the order that they happened, you may begin to discover more clearly which events are particularly hard for you to deal with, or to clarify exactly what your emotions are in regards to particular situations. Many sufferers have told us that they found it very helpful to write their story or to write a letter to the people involved in their birth. They were able to express how they were feeling and what they were going through, what they would have liked to have happened, or what they want to do now to make sure it doesn't happen again. Even if the letter is never sent it can be a very empowering and therapeutic exercise.

If writing your story is too difficult, a TABS member has suggested another way of recording the events that worked well for her: she drew the events in cartoon form. She found that then she didn't get caught up in trying to find the right words to express how she felt. Instead a picture said it simply and quickly.

Another suggestion is to start a journal to record how you are feeling, the emotions you are dealing with and what you think may be upsetting you. Putting your thoughts into words may help you to understand your feelings better rather than bottling them up especially if you don't have someone that you can talk openly to.

"When you come to the end of your tether, tie a knot and hang on."

Some further avenues that can give some relief are:

• Naturo Pharm: Introducing homoeopathic remedies.
Naturo Pharm have contributed an introduction to homoeopathy.
• Bach Remedy Flowers: Bach Remedy Flowers in your recovery - for an overview.
• Homoeopathy: an introduction to homoeopathy.

back

READING YOUR NOTES

Glenda Stimpson, friend of TABS, Convenor of Childbirth Education at Aucklands National Womens Hospital provided the following information at the TABS Study Day in March 2004 …

1. You can get a copy of your hospital notes any time. Time frames to obtain them differ from hospital to hospital. They do not cost you any money. The writing can be difficult to read and the photocopies may not be of good quality.

2. To gain the maxium information from your notes you would be advised to have an impartial health professional present to provide explanations if required and to assist you.

3. It is important to deal with your concerns/queries after the event, because misconceptions/misunderstandings or a feeling that your care has been less than adequate can leave you feeling very angry, disempowered, desparing and depressed, especially if the outcome has not met our expectations.

To make us "whole people" again, we must face the situation, and sometimes working through the notes can be very healing.

If there is anything I can do to assist you with intrepretation of your notes, I am willing to help.

Glenda E Stimpson
Email glendas@pl.net
Phone 0-9-8250710

back

PROFESSIONAL HELP

These therapies have been proven to be successful in the treatment of PTSD. It is essential that they are carried out by a therapist who has been specially trained in the use of the treatment.

COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY

Cognitions are the way we interpret what happens to us, as well as our images, thoughts, and attitudes, ie a person's mood reflects the way he/she thinks. Challenging self-defeating beliefs is a skill that can be learnt. CBT is structured programme of self-help with the therapist acting as the guide.

The "Behaviour" component involves helping the client to change the way they act by repeatedly facing up to their fears on their own until anxiety fades - a strategy called self exposure. Clients are usually taught how to alternate their coping strategies to enable them to face up to their fears and to reinterpret their symptoms of anxiety.

CBT differs from psychoanalysis by being problem oriented. It deals with the "here and now" and not with unconscious conflicts derived from childhood. The number of sessions does not usually need to exceed 15.

EXPOSURE AND IMAGERY REPROCESSING

The therapy consists of helping the client to think about and imagine the traumatic event without getting too upset.

To achieve this the patient has to expose herself in imagination to the actual trauma. The client also learns to change the traumatic event into a more 'mastery' event. Instead of being a helpless victim the client regains control over the situation.

EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITISATION AND REPROCESSING

EMDR is a complex method of psychotherapy that integrates many of the successful elements of a range of therapeutic approaches in combination with eye movements or other forms of rhythmical stimulation in ways that stimulate the brain's information processing system.

With EMDR therapy it is unnecessary to delve into old psychological material. People can achieve their therapeutic goals at a rapid rate with recognisable changes that don't disappear over time.

"Daylight will peep through a very small hole." (Japanese proverb)

Back

THANKS OR NO THANKS!!

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO GET ACCESS TO YOUR NOTES?

You have the right to:

• Read your notes
• To have a copy of all of your notes
• To write your version of your birth story, to be added to your notes, if you don't agree that your notes accurately describe all that happened.

To request a copy of your notes you will need to contact your hospital or health provider and find out what steps you need to follow. It is likely that you will need to make a request in writing. Include your full name, date of birth, address and phone number, the information you require, your signature and a copy of personal identification. It is usual to allow 20 working days for your request to be completed so let them know if you need your copies urgently and why. Your notes are kept for up to 10 years, as a rule, before being destroyed.

DO YOU WANT TO HAVE YOUR SAY ABOUT HOW YOU WERE TREATED?

Feedback is an important way of gauging how well we have done something. We all know that we can learn from our mistakes; these are perhaps the best lessons learnt. To know that we have done something well and why is also helpful for improvement and growth.

One option that may be helpful to you in dealing with your bad birth experience is to comment on the service you received during your care. Contact your health provider to find out the correct procedure to do this in order to get the desired response as quickly as possible. Alternatively, contact the Health and Disability Consumer Advocacy Service to enlist their help. There are various approaches you may wish to choose from:

• There may be forms or a questionnaire available that you can fill in to comment on what you "Liked" or what you would like them to "Do Differently."
• You may want to discuss your care in person.
• You may want to make a formal complaint about any aspect of your care.

Being able to have your say may be helpful in beginning to deal with what has happened to you. It may also mean that hopefully, errors will be picked up and acted upon so that the same thing won't happen to another woman under the same care.

HEALTH & DISABILITY CONSUMER ADVOCACY SERVICE

To directly approach the health provider responsible for your care is likely to seem like an impossible and insurmountably scary proposition when you are feeling vulnerable / frightened / overwhelmed and /or traumatised by your experience. This is where the HEALTH & DISABILITY CONSUMER ADVOCACY SERVICE may be beneficial to you. This service is free to everyone and is available nationwide.

Advocacy services operate independently. One of their primary goals is to assist the consumer to resolve complaints about the quality of a health or disability service directly with the service provider. This gives the opportunity for both parties to discuss the matter and to hopefully come to a resolution. It also enables both parties to understand the issues that led to the complaint and to assist in ensuring these are not repeated.

Advocates are not investigators. Nor are they mediators. Instead their role is to support the consumer in reaching clear decisions and taking action as a result of those decisions.

To contact the advocacy service phone the 0800 numbers listed at the end of this article. You will be put in touch with an advocate in your area. You are able to discuss your concerns over the phone or meet with the advocate in person. They will discuss the options available to you to resolve your issues. You may want to use the advocate to facilitate communications with your provider, to help you to get a full explanation about what went wrong, to request an apology, to have charges reversed, to have any further treatment arranged that may be necessary because of what has happened to you, etc. The advocate is "on your side" to assist you to find a resolution.

The health provider is encouraged to minute any meetings, however you may wish to do so yourself or you may wish to request to use a dictaphone to record the meeting. Again, the advocate can help you to achieve the result you want.

If a resolution can not be reached or you want to make a formal complaint about the quality of the treatment you received eg. you feel there was negligence or mismanagement involved, you should make a direct complaint to the Commissioner. The advocacy service is able to advise you on how to do this.

For further information about the Health & Disability Commissioner, Ph 0800 11 22 33
Website: www.hdc.org.nz

ACC and other Victims - state insurance for personal injury in New Zealand

If your child suffers a disability relating to your obsetric care and you have previously applied for and been declined ACC . . .
An invitation to take part in representations to Government on this issue.

Back