On SBS TV there was a documentary about War Correspondents and Photo Journalists sharing the effect their tours of duty had on them psychologically. One of the photographers shared about the deterioration he suffered as time went on. What began as a thrilling and even macho enterprise soon had a progressively debilitating effect on him until he reached the stage of total detachment from the horrors around him, and culminating in a breakdown where he was totally detached from everyone and everything even when he returned home. He spoke of the ground under his feet moving uncontrollably until he finally collapsed in a flood of tears at Heathrow airport.
The memories of seeing children killed, of coincidences of stopping at a place where one of his colleagues was killed, or of other situations where he blamed himself for these deaths, even though there was no truth to his feelings of guilt.
The nightmares of those suffering PTSD were recounted in such a personal way as to make you more aware of the endless cycle in which these reporters found themselves.
The extreme reactions of those from horrific situations acted in me as a mirror into (much lesser) events in my own life and my reaction to them. The feeling of wanting to cut myself off from others, of feeling responsible for things over which I had no control, even of a form of anger against those who did not understand what I had experienced, started to make sense.
Perhaps this is why I seem to feel close to those who have been through deep situations in life. These reporters said that they felt locked in a place that they could not get out of. That feeling of "entrapment" is more common than is often realised. In my normal course of life I meet many people who feel trapped within a situation that they can not control.
There is a solution for many, but first we need to allow people to share these feelings without them feeing that you are going to judge them or try to "fix" them.
There is always a solution to be found in Jesus but we need to listen with one ear concentrating on the person and the other attuned to the Holy Spirit. Prayer is far more effective than advice.
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