YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – People who live with post-traumatic stress disorder develop a variety of coping mechanisms.
Members of the American Maverick Brotherhood meet regularly for breakfast at Some Place Else in Wellsville.
Mike Wayner, a veteran who was afflicted with PTSD after fighting overseas, started the club. But Jeff Bryant of Austintown says club members are working through a variety of mental health difficulties.
Bryant, who serves as treasurer, says he has trouble trusting people. A buddy who was involved in the group invited him to just have breakfast with them one day.
“We say in our group, ‘it’s okay to not be okay,” Bryant says. “’It’s better to talk about it than it is to hold it in… it’s okay for a grown man to cry.’”
Connection can be key. Someone with the group sends out a good morning message or just a message during the day asking how everyone is doing, Bryant says, which gives everyone a chance to check in. If someone needs someone to talk to, the group members are there for each other.
“Regardless, we’re phone calls away,” Bryant says. “We’re there to talk to them, wrap our arms around them and show them support.”
And then there is the good feeling that comes with community involvement. The brotherhood gives back with trash pickups, participates in the Halloween trunk or treat event in Calcutta and walks in parades.
The American Maverick Brotherhood invites any man who just needs to reach out and talk to someone to call 330 402 4498 or email americanmaverickbrotherhood@gmail.com.
SOCIAL SUPPORT
Catherine Blankenship, chief officer for Trumbull and Mahoning counties for Coleman Health Services, says just being in the presence of others who know what you may be experiencing can be powerful for someone dealing with PTSD and other issues.
“We always talk about the importance of having social supports,” Blankenship says. “What happens when you leave the therapeutic office space? Life is still going to happen outside of these four walls.”
Surrounding yourself with others, forming a connection and relationships, Blankenship says, “can be a really important piece.”
Often associated with veterans who have seen the horrors of war, PTSD can stem from any traumatic event and can happen to anyone who has felt themselves or others in danger. That traumatic event could be recent, but it could also be a childhood event such as abuse or a divorce that left a child wondering who will care for them.
Derek Doss of Starz Counseling in Austintown says he often finds adults recovering from an abusive childhood trauma, including the belief their parents and caregivers instilled in them that “I’m not good enough.”
“Emotionally, we are trying to heal those adults that are emotional children,” he says.
The Covid pandemic created more anxiety and depression, Doss says, adding many people now live in blended and multigenerational families and that only reinforces the trauma.
Joe Marzano, president and CEO of Advanced Counseling Solutions, says PTSD is actually a healthy response to a bad situation.
“It’s how we learn from our past and react to our past,” he says. “The disorder piece of PTSD is where it gets into trouble.”
Teachers who lose a student; first responders who handled a difficult fire, accident or crime scene; doctors, nurses and even someone losing a family member to suicide, drugs, alcohol or health issues can find themselves unable to cope. And it can be hard for other people to recognize.
Some people may just report being anxious, but the underlying cause may be PTSD.
“It just stays in their mind,” Marzano says. “They can’t shut it off or it spills over into their own families… they can’t work because they’re so anxious. They’re constantly fighting with their spouse because they’re so stressed or they’re just generally depressed, unhappy or unsettled.”
Larry Tepe, chief clinical officer for Compass says while the Mahoning Valley does not have worse traumas than anywhere else, he believes the types of close-knit communities many here live in contribute to a sense that things may be worse here than elsewhere.
“We certainly have our share of traumas and community crises,” Tepe says, citing as examples violent crimes, the concerns of immigrants that brought them to our region, the current political climate, and the explosion at Realty Tower in downtown Youngstown as just a few possible causes. “But I don’t know that it’s necessarily any worse here than anywhere else.”
For instance, when a student dies from suicide or an accident, the trauma for other classmates and even teachers and staff can be dramatic, even if they did not witness anything, Tepe says.
Marzano says drawing attention to PTSD and educating others can help people recognize it as a normal reaction to a traumatic event. That can lead to people feeling more comfortable seeking help.
Those dealing with PTSD learn to predict how they will react to a triggering situation, and to prevent it.
He suggests preventative mental health can be like going to a family doctor or dentist.
“People come in, just to get a little bit of guidance, a little bit of insight, and it changes their life in a positive way, so dramatically,” Marzano says.
SEEKING HELP
Group therapy, one-on-one office visits and even telehealth appointments are among the many options for getting help in the Mahoning Valley. Advanced Counseling Solutions, Coleman Health Services, Compass and Starz are four of the many agencies offering trauma and PTSD solutions.
EMDR, or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, is a treatment specifically tailored to the treatment of PTSD. It is also offered at all four places.
Coleman offers crisis services 24/7. It offered services at Insight Medical Center and Hospital Trumbull but switched to Mercy St. Joseph Hospital when the former hospital’s financial woes started.
Blankenship says there was a smooth transition when Insight closed its doors in late March.
Coleman also provides some psychology services at the Trumbull County jail.
Compass operates the domestic violence shelter Sojourner House, which allows counselors to work closely with those struggling with their mental health. Compass also offers a dialectical behavioral therapy program through the Youngstown office, which Tepe says can help people learn to manage their stress and emotions.
Cognitive behavioral therapy can be an effective way to treat trauma and learn to make choices based on logic instead of emotions, according to Blankenship.
She points out it is important for people, especially young people, to build resiliency skills for the future.
“We can help them see that this trauma does not necessarily define you,” Blankenship says. “It’s a part of your story, but this is not who you are.”