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Trauma: From Lockerbie to 7/7: How Trauma Affects Our Minds and How We Fight Back
The first book for the layman about the history and treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
9/11, the war in Iraq, the London bombings, now Afghanistan... Thousands died, and in their aftermath many more became prisoners of their own devastated minds -- their only hope a small number of dedicated pioneers working to piece together the crumbled fragments of their lives.
The Ancient Greeks called it 'trauma'. And yet, almost three thousand years later, what was identified as shellshock during the First World War is still mistaken for cowardice or lack of moral fibre. Only since Vietnam have we begun to understand the symptoms and the causes of what is now known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Professor Gordon Turnbull recognized PTSD as a serious clinical condition from the start of his career as a psychiatrist in the RAF. It afflicts people hit by violent tragedy, injury or shock, and, directly or indirectly, it can affect us all. Andy McNab and Johnson Beharry VC are just two of the hundreds who have benefited from Gordon's care and counsel. He conducted unprecedented debriefings of British prisoners of war and British hostages released from the Lebanon, including John McCarthy, Jackie Mann and Terry Waite. Trauma explores the stories behind the headlines, and of those much closer to home. It describes how Gordon treated them, how this treatment often flew in the face of accepted 'knowledge', and how it was, at times, several steps ahead of current scientific discovery.
Overwhelmed by anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares and a terrible feeling of isolation, many sufferers think they will never again find the comfort of normality -- but in 80 per cent of cases Gordon Turnbull and his team have helped them rebuild their lives. How they achieve this lies at the heart of his fascinating and inspirational story.
9/11, the war in Iraq, the London bombings, now Afghanistan... Thousands died, and in their aftermath many more became prisoners of their own devastated minds -- their only hope a small number of dedicated pioneers working to piece together the crumbled fragments of their lives.
The Ancient Greeks called it 'trauma'. And yet, almost three thousand years later, what was identified as shellshock during the First World War is still mistaken for cowardice or lack of moral fibre. Only since Vietnam have we begun to understand the symptoms and the causes of what is now known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Professor Gordon Turnbull recognized PTSD as a serious clinical condition from the start of his career as a psychiatrist in the RAF. It afflicts people hit by violent tragedy, injury or shock, and, directly or indirectly, it can affect us all. Andy McNab and Johnson Beharry VC are just two of the hundreds who have benefited from Gordon's care and counsel. He conducted unprecedented debriefings of British prisoners of war and British hostages released from the Lebanon, including John McCarthy, Jackie Mann and Terry Waite. Trauma explores the stories behind the headlines, and of those much closer to home. It describes how Gordon treated them, how this treatment often flew in the face of accepted 'knowledge', and how it was, at times, several steps ahead of current scientific discovery.
Overwhelmed by anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares and a terrible feeling of isolation, many sufferers think they will never again find the comfort of normality -- but in 80 per cent of cases Gordon Turnbull and his team have helped them rebuild their lives. How they achieve this lies at the heart of his fascinating and inspirational story.
- GenresNonfictionPsychology
372 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
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August 13, 2012Great description of the development of trauma therapy, both in the military and subsequently civilian work. This has been a great intro for me into a new field of work.
June 14, 2020
A fascinating account of Turnbull's life and work over the years, as he developed his - and the profession's - understanding of post-traumatic stress. His growing understanding that PTSD is not a sickness but, essentially, a survival and recovery process is particularly compelling; and his wisdom is hard-won on the frontline, dealing with service personnel, hostages and victims and witnesses of major traumatic events. I'd have given this 5*s if he had had a better editor...
March 25, 2020
As a Police officer and mountain rescuer of 23 years who has been previously diagnosed with PTSD, this booked helped me make sense of the numerous traumas I have dealt with and understand how they have shaped me. I am so grateful to the author for writing this book as it contributed hugely in my quest to improve my 'dented' mental well-being.
December 5, 2020
Definitely readable and interesting.
September 18, 2016
What did I think? Well, I'm just over half way through at the moment. This book is part-memoir, part introduction to the development of the understanding of trauma, and the presentation is framed very much from an armed-forced perspective.
Professor Turnbull states that: 'PTSD [is] the mind's way of coming to terms with things seen, heard, smelled, sensed and touched that were often too terrible to comprehend' which seems fine as a functional definition. This is preceded by 'my research had led me to believe that in spite of the very real distress experienced by anyone who'd been exposed to a severe trauma, it was in some way designed to be purposeful: by which I meant that it was a condition from which we were specifically supposed to gain knowledge; to learn. In short, it was a lesson in survival.' This appears to be a remarkable statement of faith. I do not subscribe to the that which does not kill you makes you stronger view of the world, for reasons I choose not to share at the moment. The remarks quoted were made in the context of counselling the staff undertaking the clean-up operation at Lockerbie, and I wonder whether it may be sensible to interpret Professor Turnbull's definition in terms of how the hunter-gatherer's cerebral hardware had developed to cope with distressing events in evolutionary history? I'm not sure there's much knowledge to be gained from trying to comprehend the hows and whys and so on of a jet hitting the ground at three-quarters of the speed of sound, as it may not be possible to give meaning to such a horrific event. The subject matter is an important topic to be developed further; the book includes an outline of theoretical descriptions such as the leaky sac, atomic model and pint pot theory.
Professor Turnbull states that: 'PTSD [is] the mind's way of coming to terms with things seen, heard, smelled, sensed and touched that were often too terrible to comprehend' which seems fine as a functional definition. This is preceded by 'my research had led me to believe that in spite of the very real distress experienced by anyone who'd been exposed to a severe trauma, it was in some way designed to be purposeful: by which I meant that it was a condition from which we were specifically supposed to gain knowledge; to learn. In short, it was a lesson in survival.' This appears to be a remarkable statement of faith. I do not subscribe to the that which does not kill you makes you stronger view of the world, for reasons I choose not to share at the moment. The remarks quoted were made in the context of counselling the staff undertaking the clean-up operation at Lockerbie, and I wonder whether it may be sensible to interpret Professor Turnbull's definition in terms of how the hunter-gatherer's cerebral hardware had developed to cope with distressing events in evolutionary history? I'm not sure there's much knowledge to be gained from trying to comprehend the hows and whys and so on of a jet hitting the ground at three-quarters of the speed of sound, as it may not be possible to give meaning to such a horrific event. The subject matter is an important topic to be developed further; the book includes an outline of theoretical descriptions such as the leaky sac, atomic model and pint pot theory.
May 30, 2016
This was an interesting book - a wing commander (and a professor) studying the way our minds work. It was full of snippets - like bats get lesions on the other end of their lungs from sick humans because they spend so much time upside down! Did you know that gangs of looters turned up at Lockerbie? And full of insight on how our brains cope with trauma.
He was good on the history: Homer and Shakespeare knew all about PTSD. It was written about in the 1800s, how frustrating that it takes so long for ideas to catch on!
It was also interesting to watch the human journey from normal medical wisdom to personal insight, and Prof Turnbull struggles hard to be honest as he moves towards accepting some woo-woo ideas. I didn't know that Candace Pert suggests that the body is the subconscious. That makes a lot of sense to me. It's also true that a lot of therapists just get on and do what works, even if there's no medical studies to back up their hypnosis or finger waggling whatever.
The point is made that studies are not always designed to measure what is useful. He's also clear about how ideas get lost or denied in the establishment. A good read.
He was good on the history: Homer and Shakespeare knew all about PTSD. It was written about in the 1800s, how frustrating that it takes so long for ideas to catch on!
It was also interesting to watch the human journey from normal medical wisdom to personal insight, and Prof Turnbull struggles hard to be honest as he moves towards accepting some woo-woo ideas. I didn't know that Candace Pert suggests that the body is the subconscious. That makes a lot of sense to me. It's also true that a lot of therapists just get on and do what works, even if there's no medical studies to back up their hypnosis or finger waggling whatever.
The point is made that studies are not always designed to measure what is useful. He's also clear about how ideas get lost or denied in the establishment. A good read.
August 8, 2011
Profound, enlightening, everyone should be reading it. Part autobiography, this tracks Professor Turnbull's reflections and discoveries about Post Trauma and the important realisation that the symptoms are a powerful defence process and not an illness. Put simply, Turnbull describes the incredible capacity of humans (and animals) to cope with trauma. His case studies are fascinating, particularly for me, the Invisible Girl. Whilst I originally started this because I want to work with post trauma as a counsellor, I was also interested in it personally having experienced post trauma symptoms. It certainly helped me understand what was going on and why. The science is friendly, the journey compelling.
March 3, 2013
Wow, how great and powerful, yet how fragile the mind is. If I ever suffer a trauma of any sort, Gordon would be the man for me.
March 24, 2013
I enjoyed parts of this book but at times found it a bit turgid and had to dig deep to persevere. Some interesting parts on how ptsd impacts on people though and generally enjoyed it.
September 6, 2014
A fascinating insight into how the human mind works to protect us from severe trauma.
January 20, 2020
A fascinating book full of stories and a growing understanding of trauma. Informative but it also helped break through a few personal barriers.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews