In honour of June's focus on raising awareness for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Health Foundry had the opportunity to engage in a meaningful conversation with one of our community members, Freya Hickman.
Join us as we gather around the virtual fireside for an insightful discussion, where we delve into Freya's ventures, the profound impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, dispelling prevalent misconceptions, and, above all, raising much-needed awareness for PTSD.
“ I decided to fuse my personal experiences & professional expertise in business & technology together to build re;mind because I believe everyone should have access to the knowledge, support & tools they need to rebuild from trauma ”
Freya Hickman
So let's start at the beginning, what is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and how does it manifest in individuals?
“Top physician Gabor Mate describes trauma as “not what happens to you, but what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you, it is not the blow on the head, but the concussion I get”. A more dictionary style definition of trauma is that it is a mind and body response to an event or series of events that are deeply distressing, stressful or frightening or threaten or cause physical or emotional harm to you or someone else.
PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and Complex-PTSD (C-PTSD) are specific diagnoses you can be given if you are experiencing particular symptoms after a traumatic event.
To get an official diagnosis of PTSD, symptoms fall into four main categories: Re-experiencing symptoms; Avoidance; Cognition and mood; Arousal and reactivity; and you must experience a certain number of symptoms from each category. The diagnosis for C-PTSD is similar, with additional symptoms related to emotional regulation, low self-esteem, relationships and suicidal feelings.
You can still be struggling with the effects of trauma without an official diagnosis from a healthcare professional. Getting a diagnosis can help with getting appropriate treatment and support”
So considering this, how does the occurrence of PTSD vary, and what are some common triggers or causes?
“PTSD can display a range of different symptoms and affects people in different ways, so no two people will experience it in exactly the same way even if they have very similar experiences.
Symptoms of PTSD can be triggered frequently and at any time, day or night and are often severely debilitating and distressing. Common triggers include; loud noises, scents, music, crowds, social media or the news, and certain situations”
Thanks for explaining that! And with this in mind, how has PTSD developed, and is the number of affected individuals increasing or decreasing?
“For the UK, the last estimate comes from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey in 2014, showing 4% of the population has diagnosable PTSD, meaning around 2.6 million people in the UK have it today. This data is now nearly 10 years old, so the numbers are likely to be much higher - especially with the impact of Covid”
With the mention of Covid, could you delve deeper into the impacts of the pandemic on PTSD and the specific groups it has affected?
“The pandemic created many stressors for everybody. For those who already had PTSD, it may have exacerbated PTSD symptoms or impacted on or prevented coping strategies. Others may have developed PTSD as a result of experiences during the pandemic.
One group who were particularly affected, are frontline workers. One study carried out by the University of Oxford which assessed 103 frontline healthcare staff working directly with Covid 19 had the following key findings;
Rates of PTSD were high at 44%, as were rates of depression at 39%.
76% of healthcare staff reported trauma that was unrelated to the pandemic
However, 24% of healthcare workers reported a trauma that was related to their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Associate Professor Wild, who led the study said:
‘This research helps to clarify the PTSD picture among healthcare workers. In the 76% of staff who had PTSD that was unrelated to the pandemic, it is likely that the stressful nature of working during the pandemic exacerbated symptoms or made it harder to recover from them. There was a significant minority, 24%, who did develop PTSD due to COVID-19 trauma.’
This research shows that although the pandemic was traumatic for many, it may not have been the cause of PTSD but could have triggered PTSD symptoms which relate to previous traumatic experiences, delayed-onset PTSD”
I feel we still will be educating ourselves on how the pandemic affected different groups for years to come. But further, what are some prevalent myths associated with PTSD, and why is it important to address them?
“There are many myths around PTSD.
One key myth is that PTSD only affects certain groups of people such as soldiers. It is important that we address this, as PTSD is actually really common and can affect anyone who has suffered a traumatic event or series of events.
Many people suffering from PTSD may not understand what their symptoms are, and as a result not seek the help and support they need. Education around PTSD will not only help people to understand that their symptoms could be a sign of PTSD, it will also empower them to seek support, as well as reducing misconceptions and stigma”
Taking this into consideration, how does PTSD affect individuals in their day-to-day lives, and in what ways can it differ from common assumptions?
“A common assumption is that everyone with PTSD suffers the same symptoms, that it will go away over time or in some cases that it isn’t treatable. This leads to misunderstanding of what people with PTSD are going through, how it affects their daily life, and about recovery.
PTSD can impact daily life in many different ways and many different aspects of it. Symptoms of trauma can be characterised as intrusive and highly distressing thoughts, feelings and memories. As they can be triggered at any time by external events, symptoms can have a debilitating and devastating effect making routine tasks incredibly challenging.
Many people have sleep problems too. Commonly people may try to avoid anything that is a trigger or a reminder of what happened, this can make an individual avoid certain social circumstances and therefore become isolated. PTSD can leave sufferers having very low self worth and feeling very lost, this can lead to some not seeking the support they need and deserve as they believe they are not worthy of it or that their experiences weren’t “bad enough”.
Most people with PTSD want to get well, and actively try to find new and different things to help them. This could be through professional healthcare, alternative therapies, self-help in the form of books, podcasts, apps, activities they enjoy or any combination of these things to identify what works for them. However, accessing support can be challenging”
As the Founder and CEO of re;mind, would you mind sharing your personal journey into this and give us an introduction to the application you've developed?
I founded re;mind out of personal experience. I was caught up in the London Bridge & Borough Market terror attack in June 2017. The experience had an impact on my daily life as I struggled with the effects of trauma, what felt like every minute of every day. I was continuously on edge & had severe flashbacks, panic attacks & nightmares.
Accessing mental health support wasn’t easy, I was fortunate to access private therapy & by chance, later found support from a specialist charity. Outside of this support, it was still incredibly hard to navigate daily life. I searched everywhere for a digital tool to help, but nothing met my needs. It took over 2 years with a lot of trial & error, self-help & perseverance to learn to manage my mental wellbeing & start to thrive again.
I knew there had to be a better way and realised that I was uniquely positioned to do something about it. In 2020, I decided to fuse my personal experiences & professional expertise in business & technology together to build re;mind because I believe everyone should have access to the knowledge, support & tools they need to rebuild from trauma.
re;mind is on a mission to use technology to help people from all walks of life and circumstances better understand and recover from trauma. Providing access to clinically proven tools, support and knowledge to individuals and organisations.
Our self-help app is specifically designed to help people navigate trauma. It provides evidenced based mental health support at your fingertips, wherever you are, whenever you need it. Users can get relief from the acute distress associated with many post-traumatic symptoms through grounding tools, day and night. It’s also a safe space to keep a diary of symptoms, triggers & reflections. The app empowers users with personalised insights & educational resources about trauma to help them better understand their experiences. The app is built on what works, with input from users, and clinicians every step of the way, and underpinned by psychology and data science. It is currently in a closed beta test and launching soon. You can sign up on our website www.remindhealth.io.
And what would say are the long-term mission and goals for re;mind in addressing PTSD?
From my personal experience and heavily reinforced by re;mind’s ongoing research, it is clear there are a number of barriers to and gaps in existing support for those struggling with trauma. As a result, re;mind aims to help bridge this gap by supporting people from all walks of life and circumstances.
re;mind aims to provide readily accessible and ongoing support to those who need it, whether or not someone has any formal mental health diagnosis. It can be used whilst waiting for, alongside and continuing long after a professional support or course of therapy.
Longer term, re;mind also aims to help bridge the gap in trauma research, changing the way we understand and support trauma.
Lastly, In light of PTSD awareness month, what actions do you believe can be taken to enhance awareness of PTSD and improve education on the topic?
I would love for people to take some time to educate themselves on PTSD and C-PTSD and start conversations, and/or share what they’ve learnt with others. People can check out our website www.remindhealth.io for more information and there are also brilliant resources on the PTSD UK website www.ptsduk.org. Improving understanding will help to reduce misconceptions and stigma around PTSD and in turn, help people to recognise the signs and symptoms of PTSD and C-PTSD in themselves or others, feel more comfortable speaking about it and seek support.
