My sketch of Dr. Jonathan ShayWednesday I went to Fort Lewis to hear Dr. Jonathan Shay, a psychiatrist, talk about post traumatic stress disorder. He said that combat environment is so stressful that soldiers block out everything except for hypervigilance toward danger. Later, when they return to civilian life, they're unable to stop being hypervigilant.
Dr. Shay dislikes calling it a "disorder", as if it were a disease or somehow implies the soldier was unfit. He emphasizes that post-traumatic stress is an injury, and should be treated just like we treat a shrapnel wound, as an honorable sacrifice.
He suggested three factors in reducing post traumatic stress: good unit cohesion, trustworthy leadership and good training. He suggested that the army keep soldiers together before, during and after combat because soldiers draw safety and trust from each others presence.
He said that trusted leaders make soldiers feel safer. When a leader does something to betray the unit or its values, tremendous damage is done. And good training to make the unit efficient is important.
Surprisingly, he also mentioned sleep deprivation as one of the greatest negative factors in post traumatic stress. He cited studies that show that good sleep is the one thing that does the most good.
His advice to chaplains: the most importance thing is to be present for soldiers. He mentioned Woody Allen's Law: "Showing up is 90% of the job."
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