.. Photo: Supplied/US Embassy, Suva
A New Zealand-based health researcher is looking into how kava and conversation can help those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Apo Aporosa is a former soldier and police officer who himself experienced PTSD on duty.
"[When] I left the police with PTSD, there was no way I wanted to talk about the trauma as it was too overwhelming."
But kava was key to his recovery.
"Kava, which is a natural anti-anxiety that doesn't interfere with decision-making, allowed me to open up about the traumatic event, discuss it with others who understood, and to make sense of what had happened," he said.
The Health Research Council has given him a grant of about $NZ1 million to study the efficacy of kava for those living with trauma and the effects of returning from combat zones.
The Waikato University Pacific health researcher said kava and talanoa (discussion) are less invasive than traditional ways of dealing with depression and trauma.
Aporosa and his team will begin their trials early next year. The grant was awarded by the Health Research Council to advance Aporosa's research which began in 2020, focusing on kava and driving.
The trials are aimed at validating pilot work he has done with post-combat soldiers, police and first responders living with PTSD as a result of attending traumatic incidents.
The research team includes doctoral student Anau Mesui-Henry, who is the co-owner of Four Shells Kava Lounge, a community space for people to drink kava.
Before finding kava, Aporosa describes going through manic states of anxiety and depression: "I would be at the library researching how high up the Claudelands bridge was, so I could work out how long a rope I'd need to jump off it."
He says it can be difficult for first responders to talk about their emotions and trauma symptoms.
"As a soldier or first responder, there's this idea that you should be tough, ignore the ugly parts of the job as though they never happened.
"Showing weakness at work, like saying an event or situation has caused you stress and anxiety, can mean losing others' trust in you to do the job well, so many push it down, try to tough it out, until one day, it gets too much.
"That's what we're supposed to do, keep smiling, then you get Pacific Islanders who are in Corrections or who are ambulance or military, they'll always smile and say everything is great.
"But you look deep into the eyes and there's that dark spot and you know that they're hurting.
"I think that's where this kava-talanoa intervention provides something unique, it's a space to talk out the trauma."
This article was originally published by PMN.
- Aleyna Martinez, PMN/Pacific News Agency