A local man hopes that better education will result in better access to treatment and support for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Monday marked the province’s inaugural PTSD awareness day. Starting this month, June 27 will be set aside each year by the government as a way to increase awareness and reduce stigma surrounding the mental health condition.
PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder that can take hold of a person’s entire life, causing a variety of symptoms such as fear, numbness, hopelessness and anger. According to the PTSD Association of Canada an estimated eight per cent of Canadians will suffer from PTSD at some point in their lives.
Craig Haavaldsen was working as a child and youth-care counsellor at the time of his injury. Working as part of a mental health unit, he was verbally and physically attacked multiple times a day by a very aggressive patient.
The symptoms took years to manifest, but completely disrupted his professional and personal life. He became jaded and less empathetic towards the kids he worked with, developed intrusive thoughts and trouble sleeping, and stopped participating in personal activities. But it was his family that “paid the ultimate toll.”
Haavaldsen had difficulty connecting with his newborn son. Easily triggered, he isolated himself. “I spent a lot of that first year hiding from (my son),” he said.
Now in remission, he’s trying to rebuild that relationship.
Despite working in the mental health field, getting time off work to heal wasn’t an “easy sell.”
“It’s not something that’s really accepted that we get,” said Havaaldsen.
Currently, the Workers Compensation Board Act recognizes the potential for PTSD in the workplace in relation to EMS, firefighters, peace officers and police, by presuming that the injury took place in the course of the employee’s duties.
It’s not as easily accepted for front line workers. Haavaldsen said he had to undergo rigorous testing, during which he was repeatedly re-traumatized.
“I had to do a lot of advocating for myself and challenging the system, which for somebody who’s struggling with depression and PTSD, that’s not an easy thing to do. You’re not functioning at your full potential,” he said.
He is hopeful that better access will come with increased awareness and education.
“I hope people start looking into it and finding out what are the causes, what does it look like, and who can get it – that’s the biggest confusion,” said Haavaldsen.
There is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding who can develop PTSD, said Val Whitehead, a yoga instructor contracted by the WCB to help workers deal with intrusive thoughts and difficulty sleeping.
While there are groups that are at higher risk than others, namely first responders, women, refugees and aboriginal people, anyone has the potential to develop PTSD after witnessing or being involved in a traumatic event.
“It’s a normal human response to some of the things that people see and hear and have to do,” said Whitehead.
Yet, there is still a lot of reluctance to come forward and seek help.
Whitehead hopes that having a day set aside to raise awareness and educate Albertans about the mental health condition will reduce this stigma.
“I think the more we normalize and acknowledge that there are these stress factors in people’s lives, the more proactive people will be in getting help,” she said.
