Art can heal PTSD's invisible wounds | Melissa Walker

Prevodilac: Tereza Ivanovic Lektor: Ivana Krivokuća

You are a high-ranking military service member

Visoko ste rangirani pripadnik vojne službe raspoređen u Afganistanu.

deployed to Afghanistan.

You are responsible for the lives

Odgovorni ste za živote

of hundreds of men and women,

stotine muškaraca i žena,

and your base is under attack.

a vaša baza je napadnuta.

Incoming mortar rounds are exploding all around you.

Svuda oko vas eksplodiraju minobacačke granate.

Struggling to see through the dust and the smoke,

Borite se da biste videli nešto od prašine i dima,

you do your best to assist the wounded

dajete sve od sebe da pomognete ranjenima,

and then crawl to a nearby bunker.

a zatim puzite do obližnjeg bunkera.

Conscious but dazed by the blasts,

Svesni ste, ali ošamućeni od eksplozija,

you lay on your side and attempt to process what has just happened.

legnete na stranu i pokušavate da obradite što se upravo dogodilo.

As you regain your vision,

Dok vam se vraća vid,

you see a bloody face

vidite krvavo lice

staring back at you.

koje zuri u vas.

The image is terrifying,

Prizor je užasan,

but you quickly come to understand

ali brzo shvatate

it's not real.

da nije stvaran.

This vision continues to visit you multiple times a day and in your sleep.

Ova vizija nastavlja da vas posećuje mnogo puta danju, a i u snu.

You choose not to tell anyone for fear of losing your job

Rešeni ste da nikom ne govorite o tome zbog straha od gubitka posla,

or being seen as weak.

ili da ne pomisle da ste slabić.

You give the vision a name,

Dajete ime viziji:

Bloody Face in Bunker,

„Krvavo lice u bunkeru“,

and call it BFIB for short.

ili skraćeno „KLUB“.

You keep BFIB locked away in your mind,

Držite „KLUB“ zaključan u svom umu,

secretly haunting you,

a ono vas tajno proganja

for the next seven years.

narednih sedam godina.

Now close your eyes.

Zatvorite sada oči.

Can you see BFIB?

Možete li da vidite „KLUB“?

If you can, you're beginning to see the face

Ako možete, onda počinjete da razumete

of the invisible wounds of war,

nevidljive rane rata,

commonly known as post-traumatic stress disorder

opšte poznate kao posttraumatski stresni poremećaj

and traumatic brain injury.

i traumatska povreda mozga.

While I can't say I have post-traumatic stress disorder,

Ne mogu da kažem da imam posttraumatski stresni poremećaj,

I've never been a stranger to it.

ali mi on nikad nije bio stran.

When I was a little girl, I would visit my grandparents every summer.

Kad sam bila mala, posećivala sam baku i deku svakog leta.

It was my grandfather

Moj deda

who introduced me to the effects of combat on the psyche.

me je upoznao sa uticajima borbe na psihu.

While my grandfather was serving as a Marine in the Korean War,

Dok je deda bio marinac u Korejskom ratu,

a bullet pierced his neck and rendered him unable to cry out.

metak mu je probio vrat i usled toga nije mogao da vikne.

He watched as a corpsman passed him over,

Gledao je bolničara kako prolazi pored njega,

declaring him a goner,

proglasivši da je gotov,

and then leaving him to die.

i ostavivši ga da umre.

Years later, after his physical wounds had healed

Mnogo godina kasnije, pošto se izlečio od fizičkih rana

and he'd returned home,

i vratio kući,

he rarely spoke of his experiences in waking life.

retko je govorio o tom doživljaju u budnom stanju.

But at night I would hear him shouting obscenities

Ali noću bih čula njegovo buncanje

from his room down the hall.

iz sobe na kraju hodnika.

And during the day I would announce myself as I entered the room,

Danju sam se uvek javljala dok sam ulazila u sobu,

careful not to startle or agitate him.

pazeći da ga ne uplašim ili potresem.

He lived out the remainder of his days

Preostale dane svog života proveo je

isolated and tight-lipped,

izolovan i ćutljiv,

never finding a way to express himself,

nikad ne našavši načina da se izrazi,

and I didn't yet have the tools to guide him.

a tad još nisam znala kako da mu pomognem.

I wouldn't have a name for my grandfather's condition

Nisam znala kako se zove dedino stanje

until I was in my 20s.

sve do svojih dvadesetih godina.

Seeking a graduate degree in art therapy,

Želeći da diplomiram umetničku terapiju,

I naturally gravitated towards the study of trauma.

prirodno sam težila proučavanju traume.

And while sitting in class learning about post-traumatic stress disorder,

Dok sam slušala na časovima o postraumatskom stresnom poremećaju,

or PTSD for short,

ili skraćeno PTSP,

my mission to help service members who suffered like my grandfather

moja misija da pomognem vojnicima koji su patili kao i moj deda,

began to take form.

počela je da se oblikuje.

We've had various names for post-traumatic stress

Posttraumatski stresni poremećaj imao je nekoliko naziva

throughout the history of war:

kroz istoriju rata:

homesickness,

nostalgija,

soldier's heart,

vojničko srce,

shell shock,

granatni šok,

thousand-yard stare, for instance.

pogled u daljinu, na primer.

And while I was pursuing my degree, a new war was raging,

Dok sam napredovala ka diplomi, besneo je novi rat,

and thanks to modern body armor and military vehicles,

ali zahvaljujući modernim pancirima i vojnim vozilima,

service members were surviving blast injuries they wouldn't have before.

vojnici bi preživeli i takve povrede od eksplozije koje ranije ne bi.

But the invisible wounds were reaching new levels,

Ipak, nevidljive rane su dostizale nove nivoe,

and this pushed military doctors and researchers

a to je nateralo vojne lekare i istraživače

to try and truly understand the effects that traumatic brain injury, or TBI,

da pokušaju stvarno razumeti efekte traumatske povrede mozga, TPM,

and PTSD have on the brain.

i PTST-a na mozak.

Due to advances in technology and neuroimaging,

Zahvaljujući napretku tehnologije i neurooslikavanju,

we now know there's an actual shutdown in the Broca's,

danas znamo da zapravo postoji isključenje u Brokinoj zoni,

or the speech-language area of the brain, after an individual experiences trauma.

ili zoni za jezik i govor, posle preživljene traume.

This physiological change,

Ova fiziološka promena

or speechless terror as it's often called,

ili, kako se često naziva „nemi teror“,

coupled with mental health stigma,

zajedno sa stigmom mentalnog zdravlja,

the fear of being judged

sa strahom od osude

or misunderstood,

ili nerazumevanja,

possibly even removed from their current duties,

možda čak i odstranjivanjem sa aktuelne dužnosti,

has led to the invisible struggles of our servicemen and women.

dovela je do nevidljivih borbi pripadnika vojne službe.

Generation after generation of veterans

Generacije i generacije veterana

have chosen not to talk about their experiences,

odlučile su da ne govore o svojim iskustvima

and suffer in solitude.

i da pate u samoći.

I had my work cut out for me when I got my first job

Moj prvi posao je bio kao stvoren za mene,

as an art therapist at the nation's largest military medical center,

posao umetničkog terapeuta u najvećem vojnom medicinskom centru,

Walter Reed.

„Valter Rid“.

After working for a few years on a locked-in patient psychiatric unit,

Posle nekoliko godina rada na zatvorenom odeljenju psihijatrije,

I eventually transferred to the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, NICoE,

konačno sam premeštena u Nacionalni centar izvrsnosti,

which leads TBI care for active duty service members.

koji je vodeći u oblasti brige o aktivnim vojnicima sa TPM.

Now, I believed in art therapy,

Verovala sam u umetničku terapiju,

but I was going to have to convince service members,

ali morala sam da ubedim pripadnike oružanih snaga,

big, tough, strong, manly military men,

koji su veliki, jaki, muževni vojnici,

and some women too,

a i neke žene,

to give art-making as a psychotherapeutic intervention a try.

da probaju stvaranje umetnosti kao psihoterapetsku intervenciju.

The results have been nothing short of spectacular.

Rezultat je bio bezmalo spektakularan.

Vivid, symbolic artwork

Nastala su snažna, simbolična dela

is being created by our servicemen and women,

koja su stvorili naši muškarci i žene u vojnoj službi,

and every work of art tells a story.

i svako delo ima svoju priču.

We've observed that the process of art therapy bypasses

Primetili smo da tok umetničke terapije

zaobilazi problem govora i jezika u mozgu.

the speech-language issue with the brain.

Stvaranje umetnosti pristupa

Art-making accesses the same sensory areas of the brain that encode trauma.

istim onim čulnim područjima mozga u kojima se nalaze podaci o traumi.

Service members can use the art-making to work through their experiences

Stvarajući umetnost, pripadnici službe mogu da razmisle o svom iskustvu

in a nonthreatening way.

na bezopasan način.

They can then apply words to their physical creations,

Tada mogu primeniti reči na svoje fizičke kreacije,

reintegrating the left and the right hemispheres of the brain.

iznova ujedinjujući levu i desnu hemisferu mozga.

Now, we've seen this can work with all forms of art --

Ovo uspeva u svim oblicima umetnosti -

drawing, painting, collage --

u crtanju, slikanju, kolažu -

but what seems to have the most impact

ali čini se da najviše uticaja ima

is mask-making.

izrada maski.

Finally, these invisible wounds don't just have a name,

Konačno, ove nevidljive rane imaju ne samo ime,

they have a face.

već i lice.

And when service members create these masks,

Kada pripadnici službe stvaraju ove maske,

it allows them to come to grips, literally, with their trauma.

to im omogućava da se bukvalno hvataju u koštac sa svojim traumama.

And it's amazing how often that enables them

Neverovatno je koliko često im to omogućava

to break through the trauma and start to heal.

da izraze traumu i da počnu oporavak.

Remember BFIB?

Sećate li se „KLUB“-a?

That was a real experience for one of my patients,

To je bilo stvarno iskustvo jednog mog pacijenta,

and when he created his mask,

i kad je napravio masku,

he was able to let go of that haunting image.

mogao je da se oslobodi slike koja ga je proganjala.

Initially, it was a daunting process for the service member,

U početku, bio je to mukotrpan proces za njega,

but eventually he began to think of BFIB as the mask,

ali na kraju je počeo da razmišlja o „KLUB“-u kao o maski,

not his internal wound,

a ne kao o unutrašnjoj rani,

and he would go to leave each session,

i na kraju svake sesije

predao bi mi masku, govoreći: „Melisa, čuvaj ga.“

he would hand me the mask, and say, "Melissa, take care of him."

Eventually, we placed BFIB in a box to further contain him,

Na kraju smo smestili „KLUB“ u kutiju za dalje čuvanje

and when the service member went to leave the NICoE,

i kada je napuštao Centar izvrsnosti,

odlučio je da „KLUB“ ostavi za sobom.

he chose to leave BFIB behind.

A year later, he had only seen BFIB twice,

Godinu dana kasnije. samo je dvaput pogledao „KLUB“,

and both times BFIB was smiling

i oba puta se „KLUB“ smeškao,

and the service member didn't feel anxious.

i pripadnik službe se nije osećao uznemireno.

Sada, kad god bi ga proganjalo neko traumatsko sećanje,

Now, whenever that service member is haunted by some traumatic memory,

he continues to paint.

on bi nastavio da slika.

Every time he paints these disturbing images,

Svaki put kada slika ove uznemirujuće slike,

he sees them less or not at all.

sve ih manje vidi, ili ih ne vidi uopšte.

Philosophers have told us for thousands of years

Hiljadama godina su nas filozofi učili

that the power to create

da je stvaralačka snaga

u veoma tesnoj vezi sa rušilačkom snagom.

is very closely linked to the power to destroy.

Now science is showing us that the part of the brain

Sada nam nauka predočava da deo mozga

that registers a traumatic wound

koji registruje traumatsku povredu

can be the part of the brain where healing happens too.

može biti deo mozga gde se dešava i oporavak.

And art therapy is showing us how to make that connection.

Umetnička terapija pokazuje kako da to povežemo.

We asked one of our service members

Zamolili smo jednog pripadnika službe

to describe how mask-making impacted his treatment,

da opiše kako je na njegovo lečenje uticalo pravljenje maske,

and this is what he had to say.

i evo šta je rekao:

(Video) Service Member: You sort of just zone out into the mask.

(Video) Pripadnik službe: Izgubljeno gledaš u masku.

You zone out into the drawing,

Izgubljeno gledaš u sliku,

and for me, it just released the block,

i to za mene oslobađa stege,

so I was able to do it.

pa sam tako uspeo.

And then when I looked at it after two days, I was like,

Kada sam je pogledao posle dva dana, rekao sam:

"Holy crap, here's the picture, here's the key, here's the puzzle,"

„Boga ti, evo slike, evo ključa, evo zagonetke,“

and then from there it just soared.

i samo je odlepršala.

I mean, from there my treatment just when out of sight,

Od tada je moje lečenje postalo neverovatno,

because they were like, Kurt, explain this, explain this.

jer nekako su navodile: „Kurte, objasni ovo, objasni ovo.“

And for the first time in 23 years,

I prvi put za 23 godine

I could actually talk about stuff openly to, like, anybody.

mogao sam da govorim o problemu otvoreno, bilo kome.

I could talk to you about it right now if I wanted to,

Mogao bih govoriti o tome i sa vama ako bih hteo,

because it unlocked it.

jer sam ga otključao.

It's just amazing.

To je neverovatno.

And it allowed me to put 23 years of PTSD

Omogućilo mi je da smestim 23 godine PTSP-a

and TBI stuff together in one place

i TPM-a na jednom mestu,

that has never happened before.

što se nikad pre nije dogodilo.

Sorry.

Izvinite.

Melissa Walker: Over the past five years,

Melisa Voker: U proteklih pet godina

we've had over 1,000 masks made.

napravljeno je više od 1 000 maski.

It's pretty amazing, isn't it?

Neverovatno, zar ne?

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

I wish I could have shared this process with my grandfather,

Volela bih da sam mogla da podelim ovaj proces i sa svojim dedom,

but I know that he would be thrilled

ali znam da bi on bio oduševljen,

that we are finding ways

jer pronalazimo načine

to help today's and tomorrow's service members heal,

za lečenje sadašnjih i budućih pripadnika službe,

and finding the resources within them

i pronalazimo resurse u njima

that they can call upon

koje mogu da prizovu

to heal themselves.

da bi izlečili sami sebe.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)