I was just reading the article about George Michael cancelling his tour of Australia after finally realising how much of a traumatic experience his illness had had on him, with the doctors diagnosing a form of PTSD. In case you're not aware, george Michael had a bout of life-threatening pneumonia and had been left emotionally scarred and traumatised by the incident. Trauma is described as:
a unique overwhelming experience of an event or enduring conditions, in which:
- The individual's ability to integrate his/her emotional experience is overwhelmed, or
- The individual experiences (subjectively) a threat to life, bodily integrity, or sanity.
This definition of trauma includes responses to powerful incidents like accidents, natural disasters, crimes, surgeries, deaths, and other violent events. It also includes responses to chronic or repetitive experiences such as child abuse, neglect, combat, urban violence, concentration camps, battering relationships, and enduring deprivation.
The statement by George Michael in the article said: "I have today announced the cancellation of the shows in Australia which breaks my heart. By way of explanation all I can say at this time is that since last year's illness I have tried in vain to work my way through the trauma that the doctors who saved my life warned me I would experience.
"They recommended complete rest and the type of post traumatic counselling which is available in cases like mine but I'm afraid I believed (wrongly) that making music and getting out there to perform for the audiences that bring me such joy would be therapy enough in itself."
To my mind many people try to ignore the symptoms in the form of panic attacks, hyper-arousal, flashbacks, avoidance behaviours, angry outbursts and dissociative states. These symptoms are often successful disguised by the person suffering anxiety/PTSD; who finds coping mechanisms but suffers with the impact for years afterwards. I remember my own experience of a life-threatening illness in Africa, when I contracted malaria.
I was very lucky to survive in many respects. I had stopped taking the preventative medicine after hearing rumours that it can make the symptoms of malaria incurable if contracted. I was also fortunate to receive Fansidar treatment only after a week or so of contracting malaria. But, I have to say it really obliterated me. I suffered constant aching, flu-like symptoms in my joints, sickness, diarrhoea, powerful headaches, hot and cold sweats and bouts of delirium I was lucky to make it back from Senegal alive after having to trek back to The Gambia 2000 km in a non-English speaking country, whilst effectively spending half my time in a dissociative state.
In the end the medicine cure was almost as bad as the illness itself. I lost 2-3 stone in weight and was barely able to keep solid food down. Thanks to my African friends, who gently and patiently nursed me back to health, I did survive. I had all kinds of fearful experiences after my recovery: nightmares, anxiety and a sense of panic. But again fortunately the traumatic symptoms did not last. I also have a number of family members who suffer partially with trauma and I worked with survivors at Portsmouth Area rape crisis Service; veterans and psychotic patients in a psychiatric hospital and clients with serious mental disorders at MIND. I love the work and I quickly specialised in psychological trauma of all-kinds.
As an psychotherapist, counsellor and anthropologist I am also fascinated by how different cultures/societies deal with collective trauma during war, persecution, migration and natural disasters. i have for example studied shamans, spirit mediums and faith healers who provide their communities with the means to heal their wounds. I would like to hear from anyone who could add to library of knowledge about the issue from anyone suffering/healing trauma from their own perspective. In the meantime, I run a counselling practice at Endurinmind, Counselling in Twickenham.
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