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Sleep Helps Process Traumatic Experiences
Originally posted at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-12-traumatic.html
December 13, 2016
If we sleep in the first 24 hours after a traumatic experience, this may help process and integrate the distressing memories more effectively, as researchers from the University of Zurich and the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich demonstrate in a new study. Sleep could thus be used as an early prevention strategy for posttraumatic stress disorders.
A study conducted by a team from the Department of Psychology at the University of Zurich and the Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich has now tackled the question as to whether sleep during the first 24 hours after a trauma has a positive impact on highly emotional distress and memories related to traumatic events. In the lab, the researchers showed test subjects a traumatic video. The recurring memories of the images in the film that haunted the test subjects for a few days were recorded in detail in a diary. Virtually out of the blue, the test subjects would see a snapshot of what they had seen in their mind’s eye, reawakening the unpleasant feelings and thoughts they had experienced during the film. The quality of these memories resembles those of patients suffering from posttraumatic stress disorders. Other than after a traumatic event, however, they reliably disappear after a few days.
Fewer Distressing Emotional Memories
Study participants were randomly assigned to two groups. One slept in the lab for a night after the video while their sleep was recorded via an electroencephalograph (EEG); the other group remained awake. “Our results reveal that people who slept after the film had fewer and less distressing recurring emotional memories than those who were awake,” explains first author Birgit Kleim from the Department of Experimental Psychopathology and Psychotherapy at the University of Zurich. “This supports the assumption that sleep may have a protective effect in the aftermath of traumatic experiences.”
On the one hand, sleep can help weaken emotions connected to an existing memory, such as fear caused by traumatic experiences, for instance. On the other hand, it also helps contextualize the recollections, process them informationally and store these memories. However, this process presumably takes several nights.
According to the authors of the study, recommendations on early treatments and dealing with traumatized people in the early phase are few and far between. “Our approach offers an important non-invasive alternative to the current attempts to erase traumatic memories or treat them with medication,” says Birgit Kleim. “The use of sleep might prove to be a suitable and natural early prevention strategy.
More information: Birgit Kleim et al. Effects of Sleep after Experimental Trauma on Intrusive Emotional Memories, SLEEP (2016). DOI: 10.5665/sleep.6310
Provided by: University of Zurich
Journal Through Recovery Entry 20: Milestones
This is a month of milestones. Two specific milestones, in fact. When I think of milestones, I think of achievements, accomplishments. Hitting a goal, moving forward. I am learning to think of milestones in another way as well. Recognizing the impact that past events can have and still have on my spouse.
I reach three months of sobriety this month. I have probably gone longer periods without acting out during my lifetime. I have never actively pursued sobriety and sanctification. In my Castimonia 12-step group, milestones are celebrated, recognized by awarding chips, tokens to show length of sobriety. I have my one and two month chips, I carry my two month chip daily. My three month is something I am thankful of achieving. I am humbled. I know my grasp on sobriety is tenuous this early in my recovery. I am thankful for the tools, the support from my counselor and accountability partners, and for my sponsor.
I recognize another milestone this month. One year. One year since I sent my wife a text message to tell her that I was leaving her. That I had found someone else. I unknowingly opened the door to future total discovery from that one text message. I thought I was ending my marriage. That wasn’t God’s plan. I caused my wife immense and overwhelming pain and hurt. The fact that she was able to reach out to me two days later to tell me she still loved me and wanted me to come home is incomprehensible to me, even now. She doesn’t understand it either and says she is not sure she could do that again knowing what she knows now.
I recognized three months of sobriety in a Saturday meeting. The guys all clapped for me, the facilitator hugged me and presented me with a 3 month chip.
I struggled to determine how to recognize one year. I sought out counsel from several guys, my sponsor, my counselor. The wise guidance I got from an accountability partner was to make sure to tell my wife I remembered the date, I knew what she had done for me and our marriage, and that I would not forget. I decided on a card for her. I didn’t want to overdo it. I spent a whole week deciding what to say. This is what I ended up with:
One year ago, I sent you a text that would destroy your faith in me and our marriage. I am thankful you chose to still love me despite the hurt I have caused you and our kids.
I have no doubt this day is full of painful memories. I am sorry for being the source of that pain. I will not forget this date and the damage my actions caused you.
Thank you for loving me and for remaining in our marriage.
At our weekly check in, my wife and I were talking about where I was in recovery, what I had been doing for the week, how I had been following my path of sanctification. I asked if I could get something for her. I got the card and before I gave it to her, I told her that I didn’t know how she could have let me come home. Not after what I did to her. I hadn’t and wouldn’t forget. I gave her the card and thanked her for being with me. I know it wasn’t enough. I know I can never tell her enough how thankful I am that she didn’t give up, even when I did.
Family of Origin Analysis …
… is part of Step One
Journal Through Recovery Entry 19: The Care of God
We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God, as we understood God. – Step Three
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)
I finished Step Two! I am officially insane. Yay, me! Great way to start a new week. That realization sucks. Really a lot. I have spent a lot of time thinking over my past decisions. How I ended up here. I came up with one very obvious learning from this self-reflection: I make TERRIBLE decisions. Obvious, right? Obviously not. I didn’t think so. Quite the opposite, I used to brag on my spiritual gift of discernment. Wow. Insanity is absolutely right.
So on to Step Three. I think I have done this. I know that God makes better decisions than I do, so why not turn over decision making authority to him? Give him power of attorney for my life. That seems easy enough. I am sure my sponsor will see that as well and it’s off to Step Four. I should be healed in 3 to 4 months at this rate. Cool!
OK, well he didn’t agree. Figures. He wants me to look at where my heart was in my acting out. What was the state of my heart during that time? OK, let’s review. First, my heart was selfish. I only wanted to fulfill my own needs despite the consequences to others. I spent our personal savings on acting out. I told my wife I wanted to leave her via a text message. I missed key points in my kids’ lives, time I will never get back nor will they. Just to fulfill my own acting out desires.
The state of my heart? Dirty. That’s all I think of when I think of the state of my heart at that time. Dirty. Filthy with selfishness, self-righteousness. My heart was my own. Not God’s. I wasn’t surrendered despite professing to be a faithful believer in Christ. The state of my heart was that I didn’t trust God with my life, only my salvation.
My counselor put it to me this way very early in my recovery. I was trying to understand why I wasn’t healed. I didn’t get why I couldn’t just ask God to fix me and that would be that. So he dumbed it down for me, which I obviously needed. This is how he said it. He asked me what fundamentally changed when I asked Christ into my heart, believed in Him. I wasn’t sure. He pointed out that one thing happened, just one thing. Death was no longer on the table. I was free from eternal separation from God.
Yes, exactly. I agree. That’s what happens. Then he stated…that’s it. That’s what happens when you accept Christ. Your character defects don’t go away, you don’t all of a sudden exit a fallen world. You don’t transform into a new creation with a new body and no flaws. You are still human and still sinful. To change those character defects, you have to be obedient in following a path to sanctification.
That is what I missed. I never saw it. Or I saw it and I didn’t want to hear it or believe it. I need to turn over my life and my WILL to God. That means how I daily live my life, moment to moment. The 12 steps are a path of sanctification for me. One that God has provided to me even though I didn’t want to see it. OK, I see it. God, I turn over my life and my will. ALL my life. So on to the defects and identifying them.
