Joseph Haynes Literary Review

Joseph W. Haynes Jr

EDAC 634

Literature Review Paper

     In today’s society, one can look at and see the cohesion between spiritual learning and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), but it would make more sense and help those understand why spiritual learning and PTSD would work so well with each other.  To do this, one needs to take a look at the history of PTSD.  Matthew J. Friedman, former Executive Director of the National Center for PTSD goes into detail regarding the history of PTSD.  He wrote, “The PTSD diagnosis has filled an important gap in psychiatry in that its cause was the result of an event the individual suffered, rather than a personal weakness. PTSD became a diagnosis with influence from a number of social movements, such as Veteran, feminist, and Holocaust survivor advocacy groups. Research about Veterans returning from combat was a critical piece to the creation of the diagnosis. War takes a physical and emotional toll on Service members, families, and their communities. So, the history of what is now known as PTSD often references combat history.”

Theme 1:

     The first thing that needs to be looked at is the history of traumatic mental disorders.  Matthew Friedman describes PTSD throughout history in, “History of PTSD in Veterans: Civil War to DSM-5.  The first level is an early attempts at a medical diagnosis.  Accounts of psychological symptoms following military trauma date back to ancient times. The American Civil War (1861-1865) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) mark the start of formal medical attempts to address the problems of military Veterans exposed to combat. European descriptions of the psychological impact of railroad accidents also added to early understanding of trauma-related conditions.”

     As time passed, traumatic disorders changed its name to Nostalgia or Soldier's Heart. One person to look at is Austrian physician, Josef Leopold (1761).  Josef wrote about nostalgia stating, “Among those who were exposed to military trauma, some reported missing home, feeling sad, sleep problems, and anxiety. This description of PTSD-like symptoms was a model of psychological injury that existed into the Civil War.”

     A second model of this condition, according to Friedman, “Suggested a physical injury as the cause of symptoms. “Soldier's heart" or "irritable heart" was marked by a rapid pulse, anxiety, and trouble breathing. U.S. doctor Jacob Mendez Da Costa studied Civil War soldiers with these "cardiac" symptoms and described it as overstimulation of the heart's nervous system, or "Da Costa's Syndrome." Soldiers were often returned to battle after receiving drugs to control symptoms.”

     Friedman also talks about an example of soldier’s heart.  He tells of a story, “Illustrated by Daniel Folsom, a tinsmith from northern New York, enlisted in the Union Army just days after the fall of Fort Sumter. His exemplary service through years of long marches and hard battles led to two promotions, but during the Battle of Fredericksburg in late 1862, something changed. Folsom seemed uneasy. He was still troubled months later when the regiment mustered out. He returned home, opened his own tin shop and tried to focus on work.”

     Friedman goes on, “As time passed, Folsom’s motivation to work waned. He neglected the tin shop and wandered, aimless, around the village. In July 1863, when the first men in his neighborhood were called by the draft, Folsom snapped. Terrified that he would be sent back to the Army, he became sleepless and manic, and then fell into a severe depression. When he attempted suicide, his family had him committed to the State Lunatic Asylum in Utica. In the asylum, the young veteran grappled with his paranoia and guilt. At times, he begged the attendants to kill him.”

     “Eventually, Folsom slowly began to improve. “I am not enjoying myself much at present,” he wrote to his sister in the spring of 1864. Still, he assured her, he had recovered, and implored her to persuade their father to retrieve him from the asylum. Folsom was especially concerned about finding work. It seemed to him that the longer he was institutionalized, the less likely it would be for him to succeed in business. “I should like to get out of this city [and] go into business if I stay here any longer the world will be a blank,” he wrote. “I really think there is a chance for me yet.”

     The next category or evaluation of soldier’s heart transforms into shell shock.  The website, ptsd.va.gov talk about the start of shell shock.  It says, “In 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11th as the first observance of Armistice Day, the day World War I ended. At that time, some symptoms of present-day PTSD were known as "shell shock" because they were seen as a reaction to the explosion of artillery shells. Symptoms included panic and sleep problems, among others. Shell shock was first thought to be the result of hidden damage to the brain caused by the impact of the big guns. Thinking changed when more soldiers who had not been near explosions had similar symptoms. "War neuroses" was also a name given to the condition during this time.” (M. Friedman, 2015)

     “During World War I, treatment was varied. Soldiers often received only a few days' rest before returning to the war zone. For those with severe or chronic symptoms, treatments focused on daily activity to increase functioning, in hopes of returning them to productive civilian lives. In European hospitals, "hydrotherapy" (water) or "electrotherapy" (shock) were used along with hypnosis.” (M. Friedman, 2015)

     The website also goes on to say, “In World War II, the shell shock diagnosis was replaced by Combat Stress Reaction (CSR), also known as "battle fatigue." With long surges common in World War II, soldiers became battle weary and exhausted. Some American military leaders, such as Lieutenant Gen. George S. Patton, did not believe "battle fatigue" was real. A good account of CSR can be found in Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage, which describes the acute reaction of a new Union Army recruit when faced with the first barrage of Confederate artillery.” (M. Friedman, 2015)

     “Up to half of World War II military discharges were said to be the result of combat exhaustion.  CSR was treated using "PIE" (Proximity, Immediacy, and Expectancy) principles. PIE required treating casualties without delay and making sure sufferers expected complete recovery so that they could return to combat after rest. The benefits of military unit relationships and support became a focus of both preventing stress and promoting recovery.”(M. Friedman, 2015)

 Theme 2:

     Now that you know or have a better understand on how terminology has changed in regards to PTSD throughout military history, it is time to look at spirituality.  According to Tisdal in Learning in Adulthood, A Comprehensive Guide, “Spirituality presents seven assumptions about the nature of spirituality, especially as they relate to an educational setting.  These assumptions are helpful in grasping what this dimension in learning is all about:”

1.      Spirituality and religion are not the same.

2.      Spirituality is about an awareness and honoring of wholeness and the interconnectedness of all things.

3.      Spirituality is fundamentally about meaning making.

4.      Spirituality is always present (though often unacknowledged) in the learning environment.

5.      Spiritual development constitutes moving toward greater authenticity or to a more authentic self.

6.      Spirituality is about how people construct knowledge through largely unconscious and symbolic process, often made more concrete in art forms such as music, art, image, symbol, and ritual which are manifested culturally.

7.      Spiritual experiences most often happen by surprise.{pp.28-29}

     Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner wrote in Learning in Adulthood, A comprehensive Guide, “In one of the few other empirical studies of spirituality, Courtenay and Milton’s (2004) sample of adult educators and learners identified three components of spirituality: a sense of connectedness, a search for meaning, and an awareness of a transcendent force of energy beyond the self.”

    They further state, “For spirituality or moments of grace to happen, “weighty seriousness” must be replaced with playfulness, openness, creativity, and imagination.  If, as books(1994) writes, “we believe that our work is not merely to share information but to share in the intellectual and spiritual growth of our students,” then we must “teach in a manner that respects and cares for the souls of our students and provide the necessary conditions where learning can most deeply and intimately begin” (13).

    Finally, they add, “That mentoring is an activity that can promote spiritual development.  Daloz’s (1999) concept of the mentor as a guide to the holistic development of the mentee speaks of the process as a journey.  The relationship is also reciprocal and nurturing of both the mentor and mentee.” 

Theme 3:

     Now that you have a better understanding of what spirituality learning is, now we can look at the different types of spiritual healing.  According to the website of myspiritsource.net, “With spirit healing, spirit doctor’s work directly upon the recipient to correct, or relieve conditions. With this type of healing the spirit entity, or entities, do not require the use of a healer in a physical body, but are able to work directly upon the etheric, or spirit body of the person in need.”

      It also states, “Suggestive healing is positive thoughts implanted in the mind to serve as a catalyst to promote healing. The finite mind of a person is part of Infinite Spirit and may take positive or negative directions and affirmations have an important role in this method. Affirmations such as: "Every day in every way, I am getting better and better" find a place here since the Law of like Attracts Like is also at work since like thoughts in turn create like conditions.”

     From the website, spiritualresearchfoundation.org, “The results of Spiritual Healing are produced in several ways:

1.      By spiritual influences working through the body of the medium to transmit curative energies to the diseased parts of the recipient's body.

2.      By spiritual influences enlightening the mind of the medium so that the cause, nature and seat of the disease in the recipient is made known to the medium.

3.      Through the application of absent healing treatments whereby spiritual beings combine their own healing energies with the energies of the medium and cause them to be absorbed by the system of the recipient.

4.      Spiritual teaching to one who has issues of PTSD would enhance the ability of those to heal one’ self.

5.      Healing of oneself is most important. Suggestive healing is useful along with prayer, or meditation time upon arising or retiring. Search for the time and practice that works best for you, for healing is a personal experience.”

     One type of spiritual healing is meditation.  According to the website, spiritual-healing-for-you.com, and “There are specific purposes of meditation, meditation for anxiety and for pain relief.  The different types of meditation help keep your body and mind healthy. Meditative practices have existed for centuries and since the last couple of decades, the use of meditation has increased due to the rise of interest about the teaching of the eastern cultures and the stress and anxiety of modern life.”

     The website also classifies different types of meditation techniques into different categories. “They are: Reflective Meditation, Mindfulness Meditation and Creative Meditation.  Reflective meditation is also known as analytical meditation and refers to disciplined thinking. In order to successfully practice reflective meditation, you will need to choose a question, theme, or topic and focus your analysis or reflection upon it. Initially, your thoughts may wander to other topics but then you need to train your mind to come back to the topic in question. In order to do this, you need to learn concentration meditation first.”

     The website, ncas.org, states, “Mindfulness meditation is one the most powerful and alternative meditation techniques, which lays emphasis on cultivating a highly receptive mindful attention toward any action or objects within your sphere of influence.”

    The website ncas.org also states, “Mindfulness meditation is one of the important meditation types that helps you learn a simple thing: to pay attention or be "mindful". This type of meditation is known to provide pain relief and help for those suffering from anxiety and depression. There are different types of techniques in this category that you can practice, like:”

1. Deep breathing meditation
2. Visualization meditation
3. Mindful breathing

     There are more types of spiritual healing but with the few that have been stated can give you a brief insight on how spiritual healing can be beneficial for those with PTSD.

Implications:

     Spiritual learning is not a world-wide acceptable form of healing or medicine but to those that teach spiritual learning can see the benefits from their teachings.  Though out the history of PTSD, its name has changed but the development of the definitions has progressed to a point where there can be a universal cure or at least a helpful insight into those that are dealing with mental traumatic disorders.

Reflections: 

     When I started writing this paper I found the topic to be hard to find information on.  I was running into the problem of finding topics on spirituality that ran together with religion.  It took me awhile but I started finding information and it was an eye opener.  I am glad our topic included PTSD with military, police and emergency personnel, because it gave me a more focused outlook on people that have this problem.  Twenty years down the road, PTSD might have a different name but spiritual learning will still play a part in the helping of those individuals that suffer from PTSD.

Table 1: Literature Review

			The main themes/ideas				Application of the
			in the literature				main ideas in practice
Idea 1			History of PTSD throughout				Throughout the history of
			military era				PTSD, application for dealing
							with those inflicted has changed
							and adapted to better fit those in
							need.
Idea 2			What is Spiritual Learning.				The definitions of what Spiritual
							Learning  has helped those
							get a better understanding on how
							to teach to those in need
Idea 3			There are different types of				Each person inflicted with PTSD is
			Spiritual Learning/Healing				different and can require different
			adaptations that are used to				modes of healing by using the
			help those inflicted with				different  styles of Spiritual Learning/
			PTSD				Healing

References:

Website: www.ptsd.va.gov. US Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD National Center for PTSD, History of PTSD in Veterans: Civil War to DSM-5, August, 13, 2015.

Website: www.nsac.org/healing.php, National Spiritualist Association of Churches, Types of Spiritual Healing. 2016

Website: www.spiritual-healing-for-you.com/types-of-meditation.html, Spiritual Healing for You, Find your Healing Path, Types of Meditation. 2012-2013, Massimo, Conte.

Website: myspiritsource.net/spiritual-energy-healing.php, Spirit Source My Source for Spiritual Guidance and Healing. 2016.

Website: www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/spiritual-healing. Spiritual-healing, Spiritual Science Research Foundation, Principles in Spiritual Healing, a Spiritual perspective.

Sharan B. Merriam, Rosemary S. Caffarella, Lisa M. Baumgartner, Learning in Adulthood, A comprehensive Guide, HB Printing, 2007.