McWounded: John McCain and PTSD

In the first Presidential debate, Senator John McCain exhibited an emotionally flat "shutdown" response when he did not appear irritable and cross. He refused to make eye contact with Obama, favored grandstanding over dialogue, and stated that he would refuse to come to the table with world leaders who don't agree with him. If in place of the Paris Peace Talks, Henry Kissinger, McCain's hero, had displayed similar attitudes back in the 1970's, we might still be in Vietnam.

McCain's posturing has a mothball whiff, like the contents of a time capsule from the 1950's. But before we renew our subscription to that particular brand of leadership and heroism, let's take a closer look.

Back in the 1950's, children of the Great Generation fathers found their Dads to be cold, angry, unknowable, and/or out-of-touch. What we didn't know then but do know now is that in the aftermath of World War II, many brave men who saw intense action came back from the war to start families still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) --a then-misunderstood illness that will endure life-long if left untreated. A hair-trigger temper, impulsive behavior, numbed emotions, disassociated responses, and flat expression are all hallmarks of this real disease.

The person's original traumatic experience (and their neurological response to it) become hardwired into the body, causing ongoing deterioration in key areas of the brain. In PTSD, to protect itself from the external dangers, the body will neurologically freeze or over-activate or both, releasing a cascade of neurochemicals and hormones that shut down many normal responses and functions for the sake of survival. Once the dangers pass, the responses still continue permanently.

Sadly, earlier generations of veterans (from the World Wars through Korea and Vietnam in which McCain served) received no treatment whatsoever. It was mistakenly believed that the wide range of physiological, cognitive, and behavioral aftermaths of PTSD were "all in their heads." Instead they had to tough it out--by containing silently within themselves the wartime horrors, or by medicating themselves with drink.

All who incur PTSD in the line of duty deserve our respect. My own grandfather and father were brave men who fought and survived with these kinds of scars. While we can and should feel compassion for them, there's no reason to adopt their PTSD behaviors as the leadership style now and for future generations.

Times have changed. Now soldiers returning from Iraq are encouraged by the U.S. military and the Veterans Administration to receive the new and definitive PTSD treatment methods that were developed following research that emerged after 9/11. Soldiers are helped to heal rather than suffer quote-unquote heroically.

As part of that healing, it's vital to identify any signs of PTSD, and distinguish those symptoms from the true skills of leadership.

According to psychotherapist Belleruth Naparstek, the kind of impulsivity, crankiness, and sudden rages which McCain sometimes exhibits could arise from PTSD.

In addition to affecting emotional ballast, PTSD also impacts cognitive and decision-making ability. Though frequently misconstrued as age-related deficits, "McCain's cognitive ups and downs, memory lapses, poor concentration, and jumping from one focus of attention to another could also be related to PTSD," Naparstek says.

In her book, Invisible Heroes (Bantam 2004), Naparstek cites studies showing that PTSD sufferers may exhibit "impairment of higher level information processing and decision-making." As a result, they overlook "critical details in making a choice or solving a problem. They might reach conclusions based on narrow, impulsive, or stereotypical initial impressions."

In other words, making brash decisions may (or may not) be the sign of a maverick, but it sure is a sign of PTSD.

Over the last weeks, many have noted McCain's tendency to impulse buy mismatched stances and strategies, which when put together look like the ensemble from hell. His selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, like many an overnight infatuation with a stranger, seems different in the morning. The flexibility needed for true leadership would dictate admitting that mistake.

In our complex world we need leaders who tolerate ambiguities without rushing to judgment driven by neurological and brain chemical imbalances etched deeply by traumatic experiences. It's also well established that PTSD sufferers can feel triggered or endangered by slight occurrences which they perceive as a threat.

Even when a person with PTSD came by their wounds honestly--as most do, is such a person the steadiest hand on the red button during a nuclear age?

Readers wanting to know more can sign up for my ezine at: www.health-journalist.com

Comments

[seehere]

The two faces of John McCain -- virtually denouncing Obama as a terrorist by association with William Ayers and then calling on his rabid crowd of supporters to respect "that one" -- bear the hallmarks of dissociation which is often a feature of PTSD. http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_10644692?

[Halter]

That McCain has PTSD is an explanation that accounts for his erratic behavior. Ethan Elgin at examiner.com recently wrote an article about this;

http://www.examiner.com/x-796-Mental-Health-Examiner~y2008m9d25-Does-John-McCain-Suffer-from-Mental-Illness

[jhbeck23]

Alison,
as a son of a WWII veteran I feel that your article sheds a lot of humane light.
And as someone who would never vote for someone of McCain's political view,
but who would like to do the man justice, I appreciate your healing approach.

[Snoop2]

I think its' about time we see Johns medical records!

[TampabayDem]

Thanks, Ms. Levy, This is the way we treat our heroes.
The 10% who were drafted or answered the call to duty are simply cast away.
I wish the "Mc-Everything" meme could stop. There are many people with "Mc" names that find this "Mc-whatever" an ethnic slur. Please desist. It is offensive.

[Thorn]

Yeah. Putting "Mc" in front of anything on this site never gets tired.

[DEFuning]

PTSD is not the only concern I have. He comes from a class (USNA 1958) of air jockeys who drive hard, fly hard, and DRINK hard. Many of them , those who are still alive, still do I would hazard a quess. Nobody has asked him what his substance use habits are. My point is this: excessive alcohol use leads to a shut down of the prefrontal cortex--that portion of the brain which intervenes in impulse control. Add that to some PTSD and possibly traumatic brain injury from his torture years (a reasonable thought that they might have bashed him good about the head since they smashed him nearly everywhere else) and we have a recipe for a very dangerous cocktail. I am not judging him here--if I'd been through what he has, I would drink myself silly too. The point is that I don't know what his alcohol consumption habits are and neither do you--we have a right to know.

PTSD and alcohol abuse go together like horse and carriage. This is a reasonable question that I wish someone in the mainstream media would ask.

[apoyo]

They had a name for it back then. It was called shell shock.

[RhiannonMR]

I've been saying the same thing for a good while now. I HAVE service connected PTSD and I have been in therapy for it, for yrs. John McCain acts like he has a raging case of untreated PTSD to me.

Thing is, when he came out of the POW camp he SAW psychiatrists and medical doctors for treatment, for a good while. I have to wonder how they missed this. Then again we didn't start hearing about PTSD til the late '70s through the mid '80s and even then treatment was not well developed.

[Alison Rose Levy - Huffpost Blogger]

Many in the psychotherapy field now believe that the early treatments for this were not that effective. It was for many years thought that it was beneficial to express the feelings and let them out as one would in other types of psychotherapy. But in many instances that only reactivates the trauma neurology because evoking those memories and feelings will reawaken the fight and flight response of the sympathetic nervous system.

New forms of treatment like the ones that Naparstek has studied aim to induce the relaxation response of the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps calm and heal the body.

In addition, the repeated stress of campaigning could reawaken the drive to survive while actually depleting the person physically and emotionally.

[paragrafH]

In other words, Hail Mary pass your way to November to win at any cost -- then drop dead the day after. Nice. Hail Mary Palin (unless she drops out before the debate, which is beginning to seem inevitable). Thanks, Alison, for initiating this discussion. Very helpful.

[vnique]

As a wife of a vietnam vet with PTSD I am so grateful that someone is finally taking note of McCains actions as abnormanl... maybe my faith that truth, like oil, will find its way to the top. Now I can only hope the media isnt afraid to address this issue.... it is responsible journalism.....

[MPeter]

I highly recommend this article to McCain, his advisors and his wife Cindy. They need to understand this if they expect to get a handle over McCain.

[Alison Rose Levy - Huffpost Blogger]

Yes, I was wondering how Cindy McCain fares with this kind of behavior. Unlike his first wife, who knew him before, the only John McCain she has ever known is post-Vietnam.

Plus even if they understand it, it's going to be hard for them to get a handle on it.

It's not going to be the kind of thing that they can be solved through insight, by saying: "Hey, tone it down. Do you realize that you are doing this?"

No, this is on automatic pilot and the person cannot control their behavior that well, because it's wired in. It would be like if your car either stalled our or ran in fifth gear-- no other options.

After the kind of experiences he has had, he could also have trouble sleeping which could contribute to poor judgement.

[Dynamohum]

My father went through WWII and I thought at one time that he was bi-polar. I truly believe that my dad suffered from PTSD. He sometimes became so verbally abusive, that his face turned dark red and he got out of breath. The impulsive behavior manifested is so many different ways. Trying to lovingly get my dad's attention and calm him was sometimes dangerous to one's own well being.

He refused to talk about it. He was in deep denial. He hid all of his medical information that would have been pertinent to our family history. This situation reminds me of John McCain's refusal to release his medical records.

My father never received any formal help and was still acting out and screaming up until the end at 84. It was very sad.

I am no expert, but I believe that John McCain definitely suffers from long term chronic PTSD.

[jadeba]

I've been wondering about this for some time. He does exhibit the symptoms of PTSD - I'm sending this to everyone, Thanks,

[Miravanguild]

That was my take exactly, and I am wondering if Obama understands that and why though he defended himself, he was relatively gentle on McCain.. And I know who I want to lead, the man who is about the future, not the past..

[iknowdou]

Wow, good call! That could explain why he seems so out of it. Medically speaking, PTSD sufferers re experience the initial trauma over and over again. Forever.

That would explain why every sentence from McCain is a reference to the Vietnam war. His bitterness at America for 'losing' the war in Vietnam while he was in a POW camp explains a lot. He IS relieving losing the war over and over again, mis identifying the ills of the world, seeing cowards and communist and enemies where there are none.. I feel so sorry for all the mean things I've said about McCain in the past, now that I believe that he can't help it. You are so right.! It's a serious, real disease!

It also explains Obama's extreme respectful demeanor towards McCain. McCain supporters feel that being respectful is a weakness not a strength. Obama is the new Ekhart Tolle, personifying grace and integrity, in a very present day based reality. When Obama says he respects McCain's heroism and service to American, he actually means it. No wonder it took me so long to realize, so cynical have I become that it's hard to recognize honesty and prudence when it's right there within grasp.

Thank you.

[martinchill]

well said.

[ProsperosMagic]

"McCain supporters feel that being respectful is a weakness not a strength."

"Obama is the new Ekhart Tolle, personifying grace and integrity, in a very present day based reality."

Yes. Beautiful.

Repub=hateful viciousness.

Dem=Love.