Published: July 1, 2024 / 1:49 PM PDT
View on the 11 News Website.
11 News spoke with Porch Light Health’s Steve Carleton as PTSD Awareness Month comes to a close and Suicide Prevention Month begins.
Lauren Watson
I want to thank you for joining us here in the 11 Breaking News Center this afternoon. I’m Lauren Watson, your digital anchor here at KKTV 11 News, joined by Steve Carlton. He’s the Chief Clinical Officer at Porch Light Health and Front Range Clinic. Now, Steve, we meet on a monthly basis to talk about some of the things we think are the most important to the community at that time. We live in a pretty large veteran community here in Colorado Springs, and we’re coming off of PTSD Awareness Month and moving into Suicide Prevention Month. I wanted to take a look at those things that are really impacting the people here in our community.
Steve Carleton
Absolutely. Yeah. Happy to be here.
Lauren Watson
Awesome. Of course. Now, let’s get it started with PTSD. Now, how does PTSD How does it start, and what can cause it?
Steve Carleton
Yeah, great question. So when we think about PTSD, PTSD stands for post-traumatic Stress Disorder. And so what we’re talking about with that is we’re talking about people’s response to a traumatic event, right? And we’re talking about this in the context of veterans a little bit, but I think it’s also important for anybody out there to understand what trauma is, first and foremost. So trauma is any time a significant negative event that that was horrific, that was life threatening, that caused an emotional response that was toxic to the body. And so that’s how we define trauma. And it’s really important out of the gate to understand that lots of people out there have experienced traumatic events, right? Not everyone experiences post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, right? Only about 15 % of people that experience a traumatic event develop PTSD. And so I think that needs to be put out there first and foremost.
Lauren Watson
I guess looking at the people in our lives, people we might know, what could be What are some of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder?
Steve Carleton
Yeah, so there’s four main symptoms that we look at when we’re talking about PTSD, okay? And so the first one is obviously experiencing a really significant event, right? You’ve experienced an event that had a toxic response in the body. And the main thing that occurs for anyone after a traumatic event is this re-experiencing, or these intrusive thoughts about it. Your brain, basically, is trying to process what happened, because it’s so outside of the norm, that you’re having a hard time wrapping your head around it. So intrusive thoughts, like these memories coming up, these images, these thoughts, these emotions, you’ll re-experience that trauma for at least a few months after it happens. The next thing that happens is people start to avoid that response, and people get pretty creative in how they avoid that. They get really busy at work. They start distracting themselves with TV, socializing, exercise, other things, where it can really cause problems is if people start to avoid with substances. So drinking more alcohol than they normally consume, anything to dull that pain. So you have the intrusive thoughts, you have the avoidance. The other thing that happens with PTSD is it changes the way you see yourself.
Steve Carleton
It changes the way you see other people, the way you see the world. We We call this in therapy, stuck thinking. So your thoughts are starting to betray you in a way. They’re starting to tell you things that might not be true. They’re starting to tell you things that might not be helpful. And when the brain starts to do that, that can start to cause this last symptom of a hyperarousal. So you’re having a hard time. You’re constantly feeling on edge. That impacts sleep. It impacts mood. People get more irritable. They get more angry. And that ultimately is what PTSD is. It’s intrusive thoughts, avoidance of them, thought changes, and that hyperarousal. That’s how we define PTSD.
Lauren Watson
Now, how can you help someone that you think might have PTSD?
Steve Carleton
Another really good question and topic to explore. So how can you help somebody that’s experienced a traumatic event and might be going through those different symptoms? So the most important piece is to just be there for them. The tendency with PTSD is for people to isolate, right? When your thoughts start going in a direction that’s not helpful and not realistic, people tend to distance themselves from things that they used to enjoy, from people that they love and care about, right? And so the most important thing is to show up for those people, and to give them a space to talk about what’s happened, right? To encourage them to seek help, and to find a therapist to work with. Trauma is something that really overnight, after experiencing a trauma, people can go from behaving one way to behaving in a completely different way. And so the sooner you get help and start to process it, the less likely it’s going to be that it will develop into a full blown PTSD.
Lauren Watson
Now, switching gears a little bit and moving on to suicide prevention, like we mentioned off the top, July is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month or Suicide Prevention Month. Are there signs that someone might be considering taking their own life that people should look out for?
Steve Carleton
You know, the scariest thing about suicide is there may or may not be signs and symptoms. I think when it’s obvious, people will start making comments about not wanting to be alive. They’ll start making comments that people would be better off if they were dead. In those circumstances, if you’re seeing a significant behavioral change in people, and you’re seeing significant depression, and just being down and isolated, if you are worried that they might be thinking about killing themselves or taking their own life, it’s really important to ask the question, are you thinking about killing yourself? Are you thinking about suicide? Use the words and being very direct with people. What we know from research is that if you When you ask somebody that is feeling suicidal, are you suicidal? They tend to tell you the truth, right? They’re in such a desperate state, typically, that they don’t have a lot of walls up, right? So if you ask the question directly, you’ll get an honest answer, and you’ll be more likely to get them to an emergency room or somewhere where they can get some help.
Lauren Watson
Now, you mentioned asking them directly, being very direct. Is there any Is there another way that maybe you should broach the conversation if you think maybe that’s not the path to go with a loved one?
Steve Carleton
Yeah, in terms of if… It is really important to ask those questions, but I think just being around them. I think, again, it’s really critical to show up for people. If you know that they’re going through a hard time, and you know that they’re depressed, or they’re feeling really down, it’s important to try and pull that person closer. It’s also really critical, and I’ve talked about this a lot on here, to pick your spots, right? You don’t think about how you approach people, right? And what is the best way to facilitate that conversation? Is that going out with them, and going and doing some type of shared activity? Is that asking them to coffee, right? What is the setting in which you’re approaching that topic, and making sure that you are mindful not to start to harp on people, or nag on people. It’s really important to pick that spot, and make it a meaningful conversation. And if you’re only going to say it once, how are you going to set up that conversation?
Lauren Watson
Now, is there a point where you should call 911. You should call in some outside sources.
Steve Carleton
Yeah, absolutely. A lot of times, you’ll see it on social media. People will start to post, or people start to sell all their belongings, and send farewell letters and messages. If you’re seeing that, that’s critical that you’re reporting it, that you’re triggering those emergency responses, that you’re getting people the support that they need, right? If somebody says they’re suicidal, the number one rule is you need to take that seriously, and you need to get them to emergency care.
Lauren Watson
Those are all of the prepared questions I had on today’s topic. Is there anything else that we haven’t touched on or that you really wanted to emphasize regarding either PTSD or suicide prevention, or even the work you guys are doing at Porch Light and Front Range?
Steve Carleton
Sure. Yeah. I think the really important thing to understand about suicide, particular, and substance use is it’s more often than that, it’s a symptom. People might have experienced a traumatic event. People might be going through some grief and loss. They might have experienced some other type of significant event that’s leading them to be down. So suicide is typically an answer to another problem. And so it’s really important to understand how traumatic events, and depression, and mental health issues lead to things like suicide and substance use. And for a lot of the people that die by suicide, substances are a part of that picture. Typically, people are using heavily when they’re making those types of attempts.
Lauren Watson
Steve, if people are looking for you at Porch Light and Front Range, where can they find you?
Steve Carleton
We’re really easy to get a hold of. We have a clinic right there in Colorado Springs. Calling our main number, 866 MAT STAT, M-A-T-S-T-A-T, visiting us online at www. Frontrangeclinics. Com. Both of those places are really good ways to get a hold of us and get some help, especially if somebody is struggling with a substance use problem.
Lauren Watson
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your afternoon to talk with me and our viewers about these very important topics.
Steve Carleton
My pleasure. Thank you, Lauren.
