Help is available for families dealing with trauma Published April 7, 2010 By Capt. Gerry Roy 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Many types of events may produce traumatic stress responses. The impact of traumatic stress appears to be most apparent where military members are actively involved in or exposed to combat operations. It is hard to imagine a more psychologically debilitating experience than warfare; however, warfare is not the only set of conditions capable of producing post traumatic stress. It has become abundantly clear that post-traumatic stress can be caused by trauma outside the realm of combat including floods, earthquakes, fires, accidents, abuse, injury or illness, and the sudden death of a friend or family member. Post-traumatic stress also can have a major effect on family and friends who care for the individual. Post-traumatic stress symptoms can cause a person to act in ways that may be difficult for family members to understand. Thoughts and memories of a traumatic event can be easily triggered by certain words, sights, sounds or smells. Thus a person with traumatic stress symptoms may easily and quickly become upset. These experiences of distress or anxiety may appear completely "out of the blue." A person with post-traumatic stress symptoms may go out of his way to avoid certain people, places or activities because these things somehow trigger thoughts and memories about the traumatic event. Family members may also feel as though their loved one is emotionally unavailable. This is not a personal choice on the part of the person experiencing post- traumatic stress. The person may be experiencing emotional numbing, referring to the inability to have certain emotions. Emotional numbing may interfere with a person's ability to experience love and joy. Additionally, a person experiencing traumatic stress symptoms may always feel as though he, and potentially his family, is always in danger. He may be in a constant state of readiness and, as a result, feel on edge and irritable. Some people experiencing traumatic stress may decide that certain places or situations are unsafe such as subways or other busy, crowded places. These places would then be avoided at all costs. Keesler's TSR team can assist families in helping to cope by fostering resiliency and recovery in those who may have been exposed to a potentially traumatic event, and who may now be experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms. Following a potentially traumatic event, the TSR team is equipped to offer undocumented group and individual sessions of education, consultation and psychological first aid to those who have been exposed. This includes the option of referral should the individual require more intensive services. TSR services are voluntary because not every individual exposed to a potentially traumatic event needs the services in order to cope in a healthy manner. The TSR team is composed of a mental health provider serving as team chief, a chaplain and a chaplain assistant and a community readiness consultant from the airman and family readiness center. The TSR team is on call 24/7 and can be initiated through the command post. For individual TSR appointments, call the mental health clinic, 376-0385, during regular duty hours.