Cell 2 Soul: The Humane Health Care Blog

Woodworking as a PTSD Therapy

How Woodworking Can Change Lives
by Robert Johnson

The field of woodworking as a therapy is not extensively researched, but in the past 15 years, a small number of observational studies have shown that woodworking can be helpful in improving the quality of life, especially to people with trauma histories.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, such as combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault. PTSD can develop at any point in someone’s life and it is caused by experiencing stressful and traumatic events once or over a period of time.

For those experiencing PTSD or CPTSD (complex PTSD), it is known that the process of cure is not simple and smooth. It is slow and devastating, and usually takes making one step forward and two steps back. What is the most important, besides finding the right psychotherapy, is also a doctor who will be supportive during the treatment period.

When there is a will, it can be useful to change some habits and try to improve the quality of life. One of the ways to do that is finding a hobby that can help release stress and anxiety, express emotions and keep the brain busy and away from difficult emotions and scenes.

In the PTSD recovery field, woodworking has proven to beneficial in improving self-esteem, in finding a purpose and retrieving motivation. The help of woodworking in recovery efforts is shown in the example of 3 people who found an anchor in processing wood.

Here’s their story: How Woodworking Can Change Lives.

I.C.U. Syndrome

My I.C.U. Patient Lived. Is That Enough?
By Daniela J. Lamas NYT April 2, 2017
[This is a fine article by Dr. Lamas, a Critical Care physician in Boston.  Anything she writes is worth reading]

FULL TEXT

ONE morning I was at a support group for patients who had survived a critical illness and their family members. It seems simple — a few doctors, a social worker, a psychiatrist, former patients and their husbands and wives, a conference room, pastries, coffee.

As many as one in three patients sick enough to require a ventilator might develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Anxiety and depression are equally common, if not more so. The name for the constellation of symptoms often experienced by survivors of critical illness — post-intensive care syndrome.

As I.C.U. doctors, we can learn from our patients and their families and they can learn from one another, simply by sitting in a room together and paying attention to what unfolds. [Holds true for all health care professionals]