Photo above by Alex Green
The old adage “you take a piece of home with you wherever you go,” implies a sense of belonging, identity and familiarity, regardless of location. It suggests a powerful connection that people have with “home” that transcends physical distance. Unfortunately, we are living in a time when there are more than 120 million displaced people worldwide, almost half of which need international protection, according to. the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
The reasons behind this are many and deeply unfortunate — ranging from war to socioeconomic struggles to ethnic cleansing and beyond. The challenges associated with events like this can be catastrophic and the impact on mental health, devastating. Small wonder then, that people living in these types of situations are at much higher risk of developing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Definition to diagnosis
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PTSD is defined as “a mental disorder that may occur after exposure to potentially psychologically traumatic events, such as actual, perceived, or threatened death, or sexual violence.” A PTSD diagnosis requires a trained and licensed clinician to assess a specific set of signs and symptoms. PTSD may be diagnosed if symptoms persist for more than one month and cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning. Symptoms can include intrusive thoughts, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood and emotional reactions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nine per cent of people who have experienced war in the previous decade will have “a moderate or severe mental health disorder.” That number rises to about 22 per cent for people living in an area affected by conflict. The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees suggests that between 15 to 20 per cent of displaced people experience some degree of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety and PTSD, although most of these land on the milder side of the spectrum.
Of those who come to Canada, the B.C. Refugee Hub estimates that “15 to 18 per cent of all refugees, about 4,300 to 5,100 people per year, require a formal mental health clinical intervention to help them address trauma.”
Between 2021 and 2023, the Survey on Mental Health and Stressful Events was conducted by Statistics Canada nationally, to determine how stress events can impact a person’s mental health.
The results found that almost 65 per cent of all Canadians had been exposed to some form of trauma at least once in their lifetime. Thanks in part to well-developed resilience, the majority of those people do not suffer long-lasting effects from those events.
However, in that same report, respondents also reported how debilitating the impacts of PTSD can be. A quarter of people aged 25 to 54 who reported moderate to severe PTSD symptoms in the lead up to the survey said they had not worked at a job, compared with 12 per cent who didn’t work and did not have those symptoms.
Managing PTSD
So, what can be done to address this problem? In Canada, PTSD is usually addressed through evidence-based psychotherapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy or dialectical behavioural therapy often in concert with medications. A wide variety of self-management options, including mindfulness and stress management courses are usually available through settlement or community services organizations.
While the attitudes and stigma toward mental health may vary wildly among cultures, PTSD is nothing to be dismissed; it does not reflect weakness on the part of anyone who has experienced trauma. It is a serious condition that, met with the right balance of interventions, can help people rediscover elements of joy in their lives again.
Need support?
- Canada’s Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 9-8-8
- Kids Help Phone: call 1-800-668-6868, text 686868 or access live chat counselling on kidshelpphone.ca
- Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: find a 24-hour crisis centre at suicideprevention.ca
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health: access programs that address PTSD (see camh.ca)
- Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture: access trauma-informed counselling and support (see ccvt.org)
- PTSD Coach Canada: download this mobile app to help you learn about and manage symptoms that occur after trauma
