Chris Jones Literary Review

Christopher Jones

EDAC 634 – The Adult as a Learner

Dr. Bo Chang

Ball State University

INTRODUCTION:

This country’s first responders and military service men and women are under attack. The enemy is not an enemy known to many but it still has a devastating effect on all who come against it. This enemy is P.T.S.D (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome). This enemy’s attack comes in a variety of forms but, regardless of the mechanism of the attack is still effective. So, how do we help those who risk their one lives for us, sacrifice their time with families, missing holidays and birthdays. When our heroes need help, who is there to help them. My focus is using the tool of spiritual teaching and learning to aid those who need help in dealing with the stresses of what they have to do, see, and interact with on a daily basis. My focus for this issue comes on a personal note. As a firefighter and emergency medical technician for almost ten years I am very proud of the career I have chosen, but I also know the risks and the dangers of this calling both physically and on the emotional/psychological aspects. Through my efforts, research, and review I hope to give others a perspective on the daily struggles with today’s heroes.

What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or P.T.S.D.? It’s a disorder that develops in some people who have seen or lived through a shocking, scary, or dangerous event. You may be asking yourself, “If I go through a traumatic experience will I automatically get PTSD?" The National Institute of Mental Health states: “To be diagnosed with PTSD, an adult must have all of the following for at least 1 month: At least one re-experiencing symptom, at least one avoidance symptom, at least two arousal and reactivity symptoms and at least two cognition and mood symptoms.”(PTSD, 2015) So that means that if a person is diagnosed with PTSD the disorder is a real problem and can disrupt their everyday life. My concern is also for those who have some of those criteria but maybe not enough to qualify for an official diagnosis. These men and women in our armed services today along with the men and woman who serve as firefighters, EMT’s and law enforcement personnel are all volunteers. Think about it. There hasn’t been a required draft for the military since the Vietnam War. That means that the people protecting us and the freedoms that we hold are all being guarded by people who have a calling to serve. They are risking their own life, sacrificing their health, giving up time with family and friends all to make sure that we are safe and sound. And the very dangers that they are protecting us from are the same dangers that haunt and come home with them after their tour of duty or shift ends. This is why this is so critical. If we don’t take care of those protecting us then what happens when we call 911 and no one comes. What happens if we get attacked and no one is there to fight for us?

THEMES & THEIR IMPLICATIONS:

As adult educators we have the privilege of helping those who sacrifice so much for us. Through the medium of spiritual learning and educational instruction we can teach them life skills to understand the signs and symptoms, discuss and breakdown their own experiences, and aid those who need additional support. Spirituality as defined by E.J. Tisdell gives a window in this approach to dealing with those with PTSD. These seven assumptions about spirituality lay out a structure in which we can built upon our approach to teaching and helping those with PTSD. (Tisdell, 2003) 

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

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

7.       Spirituality experiences most often happen by surprise.

Using Tisdell’s seven assumptions as a model for teaching and aiding those with PTSD may seem little far-fetched but I assure you that it works better than you might think. Let’s take the first assumption that “Spirituality and religion are not the same…” (Tisdell, 2003) This means that regardless of a person’s religious preferences they can still have a spiritual connection with learning how to cope with the stresses of their demanding profession. As a Christian and as a firefighter, I feel that my occupation is more than a job, it’s a calling. I have an internal sense of being “lead to serve” by something greater than myself. When I talk with my friends that are military veterans, they also share this sense of being “called for a higher purpose”. So how is it that people from different cultural and religious backgrounds all connect with the “higher calling”? I believe that inside all of us that regardless of religious background that we all have a spiritual nature and that part of us is at the very depths of who we are. As educators if we can connect with a person at that more intimate and deep level then the knowledge, lesson, or skills we teach have a greater chance of retention and applicability.

The second assumption “Spirituality is about an awareness and honoring of wholeness and the interconnectedness of all things…” (Tisdell, 2003) This is addressed in the study called “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Evidence-Based Research for the Third Millennium.” These researchers did a study on the effect of the body through coping and dealing with PTSD. They used a term “allostasis” which refers to the psychobiological regulatory process that brings about stability through change of state consequential to stress. How we are able to handle stress and the process that it takes to stay in control of your emotional and psychological self is exactly the way that spirituality centers the body and minds together. Ronald Siarnicki’s article about The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation offering a class on dealing with stress — Curbside Manner: Stress First Aid for the Street (CMSFAS) for first responders especially, firefighters. They focus on:

• Check: Pay attention to others’ behaviors and attitudes. Ask questions and carefully, listen to the answers. If something seems unusual or “off” from a person’s normal routine, move to the next step.
• Coordinate: Share what you’ve observed with a friend, colleague or family member.
• Cover: Promote a sense of safety.
• Calm: Reduce stress, provide comfort and orient those who are distressed.
• Connect: Reconnect or link individuals with family, friends or other sources of support.
• Competence: Provide a link to resources they may need.
• Confidence: Help those affected regain a sense of hope and confidence in themselves
• Their strategy of Check, Coordinate, Cover, Calm, Connect, Competence, and Confidence all have a background in connecting the body with the mind as well.

The third assumption is “Spirituality is fundamentally about meaning-making.” (Tisdell, 2003) This truly speaks as the first step in applying “grace” (Merriam, 2007) and using spiritually to aid those who are struggling with PTSD. Elizabeth Carll discusses her strategy for those with PTSD and seeking out meaning is at the heart of her approach. She states in (DeAngelis, 2008) about how PTSD can be coped with by teaching these strategies.

Dr. Elizabeth Carll's strategies include:

• Teaching stress-management skills
• Using families' previously effective coping skills to build a framework for present and future resilience.
• Discussing how the traumatized person and family members want to address the event with people outside the family. This concept is particularly important in the case of emotionally loaded traumas such as rape
• Helping the family to understand that everyone is impacted by the event, even if that is not apparent at first.
• Seeing family members in flexible configurations-individual, dyadic or group level-depending on need and treatment flow.
• Understanding that men and women, as well as individuals, process trauma differently. Women may want to talk about it more, for example, while men may shut down or take their feelings out through exercise or activity. Likewise, not everyone processes trauma in the same way, and recovery times and patterns may vary significantly from person to person.

Her focus of teaching stress relieving skills along with discussing how the person with PTSD as experienced and how those experiences shaped them is critical in accurately aiding and teaching them “the meaning” in what occurred in their life and how they can move forward in their life outside of duty.

The fourth assumption of “Spirituality is always present (though often unacknowledged in the learning environment.” (Tisdell, 2003) In the recent study about PTSD they describe PTSD as being related to stress that occurs and our bodies coping mechanism can handle the overload. (PTSD, 2015) Spiritually also works without us knowing it occurs. That’s why it can be effective as a teaching and learning method. If we can teach knowledge and skills that become applicable to our lives the lives of others automatically then the learner has the benefit of the newly learner information sooner than those in other more traditional forms of education. Our body works naturally to fight and combat stress and our body functions spiritually in the same way. If we as teachers can use this combination in our teaching of behavior management and coping skills the depths and retention of the knowledge could be substantial.

The fifth assumption of “Spirituality development constitutes moving toward greater authenticity or more to a more authentic self.” (Tisdell, 2003) This assumption aids us as educators in dealing with people struggling with PTSD in how to learn how to cope with the traumatic events through talking and discussing who they were before they served and the traumatic events took place. We all place external stresses upon ourselves every day but is we can create a safe space as describe in the text book Learning in Adulthood (Merriam, 2007) “For moments of spiritual learning to occur there must be a space in the learning environment. Such a space is safe, supportive, and open “sacred”. Our responsibility as educators is to make the people that we are teaching feel safe and that their views, perspectives, and experiences are all valued and worth discussing. In the journal article by Tori DeAngelis, a psychologist named Elizabeth Carll states that “Understanding that men and women, as well as individuals, process trauma differently. Women may want to talk about it more, for example, while men may shut down or take their feelings out through exercise or activity. Likewise, not everyone processes trauma in the same way, and recovery times and patterns may vary significantly from person to person.” Group discussion in a safe environment is a type of teaching strategy to help those with PTSD share with others that are struggling their similar experiences, emotions and struggles.

The sixth and seventh assumptions are that “Spirituality is about how people construct knowledge through largely unconscious and symbolic processes, often made more concrete in art forms such as music, art, image, symbol, and ritual which are manifested culturally. And that Spirituality experiences most often happen by surprise.” (Tisdell, 2003) Stress can take many forms and so are the ways in which we cope with it. If we can use the non-traditional forms of instruction being incorporating music, art, images symbols, and rituals then we can reach to the depths of the person’s soul. Expression of what the traumatic event has done to them and how it has affect them is crucial in relieving that stressors impact. None of us as educators know the exact time or point in which learning takes place, just the results of the teaching becoming applied by the learner. The same goes to the spiritual level of a person. We can’t tangibly see the spiritual realm around us or the way it impacts us internally, just the outward manifestations of the spirit working inside us. If we can create a safe environment as we discussed earlier where our learners can express freely where they are at in all aspects of their life then that opens new avenues of growth and expression of self not damaged by the traumatic event.

REFLECTION:

This literary study and review of how we as educators can use spiritual teaching and instruction to help those with PTSD has been an enjoyable and useful for myself not only as an educator but also as a firefighter. Knowing that the things that I have seen and had to do in stressful and at times life or death situations are not only being experienced by myself but by other people willing to answer the “call” of service. I am in no way saying that I have PTSD or that my experiences are less or worse than another. I am just more aware of how this stressor can affect my own life and the life of the loved one around me. I think that the stronger I can make my spiritual aspect of my life the stronger I am against the stressors that I can face as someone who helps those on the worst day of their life. And through teaching an others how to also experience spiritual growth and adopt new and more effective coping strategies then maybe the effects of PTSD can be lessen if not evidentially avoided.  “There is a lack of rigorously conducted research in this area.” (Chiappelli, 2005) However, for those in adult education we are used to being marginalized to the extreme by K-12 education so the fact that there is a lack of results doesn’t lead to ineffectiveness, just a chance to discover and create our own unique path.

APA Citation Page

Chiappelli, F., Iribarren, J., Neagos, N., & Prolo, P. (2005). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Evidence-Based Research for the Third Millennium. Evidence Based Complement Alternative Medicine, 2005 Dec; 2(4): 503–512.

DeAngelis, T. (2008). Helping families cope with PTSD: Psychologists study ways to address PTSD in the context of relationships. Retrieved 2/9/2016 from http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan08/helping.aspx

Merriam, Sharan B., Caffarella Rosemary S., & Baumgartner Lisa M. (2007). Learning in Adulthood (3rd ed.). In Embodied, Spiritual and Narrative Learning (pp. 189-216). San Francisco, CA: Josey Bass

PTSD. (2015). National Institute of Mental Health: PTSD. Retrieved 2/10/2016 from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml

Siarnicki, Ronald J. (2015). Who responds to a firefighter’s worst day?. Retrieved 2/11/2016 from http://www.everyonegoeshome.com/2015/03/18/new-goals-behavioral-health/

Tisdell, E.J. (2003). Exploring spirituality and culture in adult and higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Vella, J. (2000). A spirited epistemology: Honoring the adult learner as a subject. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Zeiss, A. (2011). Veterans' Mental Health Care Emphasizes Recovery and Return to Full and Meaningful Lives. Retrived 2/9/2016 from http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/11/recovery-return.aspx

	Main Idea or Themes	Application of the Main Idea or Theme
Idea 1	Spirituality is an awareness and honoring of wholeness and the interconnectedness of all things.	When dealing with PTSD, which is a stress related disorder, finding a way to look outside of oneself enables the person to become grounded in who they are and what they have been exposed to. Use Tisdell’s 7 assumptions to lay out a plan of attack when teaching new coping skills and strategies to people struggling with PTSD.
Idea 2	Spirituality is fundamentally about meaning-making. PTSD can force a person to not see or lose the sense of why they are serving to begin with. Finding the meaning of that helps them cope with the sacrifices and trauma that they have endured.	For moments of spiritual learning to occur there must be a space in the learning environment. Such a space is safe, supportive, and open “sacred”. Talking after traumatic calls or missions during a deployment can help them to understand what went well and what needs to be improved, and helps us refine our coping strategies and tactics. This helps enable the instructor to get a pulse on the emotional health of the group.
Idea 3	Stress research and PTSD research are intertwined. Psychobiological manifestations in PTSD and in complex PTSD (disorder of extreme stress) evidently pertain to the same domain of mind–body interactions, which are elucidated in psycho-neuroimmunology research.	The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation offers a class on dealing with stress: Curbside Manner: Stress First Aid for the Street (CMSFAS) and Dr. Elizabeth Carll PhD strategies include: •Teaching stress-management skills. •Using families' previously effective coping skills to build a framework for present and future resilience. •Discussing how the traumatized person and family members want to address the event with people outside the family. This concept is particularly important in the case of emotionally loaded traumas such as rape. •Helping the family to understand that everyone is impacted by the event, even if that is not apparent at first. •Seeing family members in flexible configurations-individual, dyadic or group level-depending on need and treatment flow. Understanding that men and women, as well as individuals, process trauma differently. Women may want to talk about it more, for example, while men may shut down or take their feelings out through exercise or activity. Likewise, not everyone processes trauma in the same way, and recovery times and patterns may vary significantly from person to person
Idea 4	In general, there is little evidence of psychological debriefing approaches effectively acting to prevent psychopathology, although participants seem to be open to it, which may indicate its usefulness as a rapport builder or as a screening tool. In general however, there is a lack of rigorously conducted research in this area.	As educators studying this connection between the mind and body via using a spiritual approach we need to place an emphasis on the documenting and organizing our data and results because the scientific study of using psychological debriefing has yet to be tested fully. PTSD is a disorder that develops in some people who have seen or lived through a shocking, scary, or dangerous event. This gives us a clinical definition of the “enemy”. We cannot combat and defend ourselves against an unknown foe. Nearly everyone will experience a range of reactions after trauma, yet most people recover from initial symptoms naturally. Those who continue to experience problems may be diagnosed with PTSD. People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened even when they are not in danger.