Page 194 - RAPTC Year of 2019

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www.raptcassociation.org.uk
Jim (Ex Black Watch and Kevin James)
Marc after a deep dive
Encouraged by this substantial donation, I funded the internal flight, accommodation and all incidental expenses myself. Hopefully this would enable a second PTSD candidate to contribute to our emerging track record.
Trevor was selected due to him already being a diver as was Jim. He was quite ill and had not worked for over a year. He is ex Royal Anglian, transferring to the Medical Corps, both he and Jim have completed numerous combat tours. His diving programme was planned to be very much the same as before. Trevor also commented that he felt much better after the deeper dives than the shallower ones. On three separate occasions, whilst Skyping with his family they asked if he had been drinking due to his exuberant behavior and happy smiling face! He of course had not – he just felt so much happier. He also claimed to leave PTSD symptom free and has been now for 11 months and is back at work!
The next hurdle in my mind was to find a very ill individual and also someone who had never dived before, therefore potentially giving the opportunity to more sufferers in the future. I started talking to a serving Sergeant in the Royal Signals who had recently been placed voluntarily in a psychiatric facility, “smooth room, no shoelaces” was his description of his stay there. He is a keen swimmer but had never tried scuba diving.
Money was raised via a Just Giving page for his flights and accommodations. He was instructed to complete a try dive in the UK to ensure he was able to cope with diving. He also obtained a dive medical and permission to scuba dive from both his Doctor and Psychiatrist. Marc, then went one better and enrolled for a PADI Open Water course in the UK, less the ocean dives which I was required by referral to complete for him after his arrival. This qualification then enabled him to complete an Advanced Open Water course so he could dive deeper than 100 feet. On first meeting Marc it was clear that he was quite ill as he had to be accompanied by his wife for the journey. Yet again, Marc felt very much better after the deeper dives than the shallower ones. He
Trevor after a deep dive Marc before and after
said it felt like his brain was being flushed from the inside and the foggy feeling he had before was no longer there. He also claimed to leave symptom free and it has now been 6 months.
In summary it would appear from discoveries on the ground (and of course underwater!) the following could be happening in the brain before, during and after the therapeutic scuba dives. When a traumatic event is witnessed Cortisol is produced in the brain as a clever coping mechanism otherwise the person witnessing the event would have an immediate catastrophic meltdown. This substance is a sticky gummy affair coating the ‘feel good’ receptors in the brain. This situation tends to make the PTSD sufferer very angry as one of the symptoms. The divers said this made them feel very negative all the time and they couldn’t seem to fully enjoy life. I am reliably informed that Serotonin (the body feel good chemical) and Nitrogen breathed at elevated partial pressures i.e. at depth could be forming a caustic cocktail and therefore scrubbing the sensors clean or simply removing the Cortisol from the brain. It would appear that this then allows the feel good receptors and the Serotonin to do what they are supposed to do. So far three PTSD sufferers have visited, dived, then left, claiming to be symptom free!
Looking forward, we plan to become a registered Charity which should be in place by time of printing. Following this achievement it is hoped that someone will look at this project with a view to enrolling sufferers with civilian or military dive centres on PTSD diver courses. They only have to be taken safely to 60 feet (18 metres) in order to gain symptom relief. Marc said after a shallow dive to this depth he could feel his brain fog clearing. Banter is also a very big part of helping sufferers before and after dives, but that will always be present where veterans and serving soldiers are concerned. Should anyone have any questions or want to help us at the charity, contact me at kjamespi@aol.com or the Facebook page PTSD Progress Through Scuba Diving.