Acute and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders
More common among women (2:1) and people with low income
Can occur at any age and affect all aspects of life
Affect at least 3.5-6 percent of people in the United States each year
7-9 percent of people in the United States are affected sometime during their lifetime
Combat
“Shell Shock” “Combat Fatigue”
Disasters and accidents
Civilian traumas have been the trigger of stress disorders at least 10 times as often as combat traumas
Victimization
Sexual assault and rape (1 in 6 women in a lifetime)
More than one-third of all victims of physical or sexual assault develop PTSD
Terrorism
Torture
Brain-body stress pathways
People who develop PTSD react with especially heightened arousal in SNS and HPA pathways
May be overly reactive prior to trauma (predisposition)
May become overly reactive after trauma
Abnormal norepinephrine and cortisol levels
Brains stress circuit
Includes amygdala, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and hippocampus
In people with PTSD, too little activity in PFC, too much in the amygdala
Dysfunction in the hippocampus may result in unchecked emotional memories and persistent arousal symptoms, as well as dissociations
Inherited predisposition
If one twin develops post-traumatic stress symptoms after combat, an identical twin is more likely than a fraternal twin to develop PTSD
Women who developed PTSD after 9/11 had babies with higher cortisol levels
Childhood experiences
Chronic neglect or abuse
Poverty
Parental separation or divorce
Family members with psychological disorders
Personal styles
Preexisting high anxiety and negative worldview versus resiliency and positive attitudes
Severity and nature of the trauma
More severe prolonged trauma
Antidepressant drugs
More helpful for increased arousal and negative emotion; less helpful for recurrent negative memories, dissociation, and avoidance behaviors
Half of PTSD patients who take antidepressants experience some symptom reduction
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive processing therapy: deals with difficult memories and feelings
Mindfulness-based techniques: more accepting and less judgemental of recurring thoughts, feelings, and memories
Exposure techniques: guided to confront trauma-related objects, events, and situations
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): clients move their eyes in a rhythmic manner from side to side while flooding their minds with images of the objects and situations they ordinarily avoid
Couple or family therapy
Group therapy
Combination of some of the above
More common among women (2:1) and people with low income
Can occur at any age and affect all aspects of life
Affect at least 3.5-6 percent of people in the United States each year
7-9 percent of people in the United States are affected sometime during their lifetime
Combat
“Shell Shock” “Combat Fatigue”
Disasters and accidents
Civilian traumas have been the trigger of stress disorders at least 10 times as often as combat traumas
Victimization
Sexual assault and rape (1 in 6 women in a lifetime)
More than one-third of all victims of physical or sexual assault develop PTSD
Terrorism
Torture
Brain-body stress pathways
People who develop PTSD react with especially heightened arousal in SNS and HPA pathways
May be overly reactive prior to trauma (predisposition)
May become overly reactive after trauma
Abnormal norepinephrine and cortisol levels
Brains stress circuit
Includes amygdala, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and hippocampus
In people with PTSD, too little activity in PFC, too much in the amygdala
Dysfunction in the hippocampus may result in unchecked emotional memories and persistent arousal symptoms, as well as dissociations
Inherited predisposition
If one twin develops post-traumatic stress symptoms after combat, an identical twin is more likely than a fraternal twin to develop PTSD
Women who developed PTSD after 9/11 had babies with higher cortisol levels
Childhood experiences
Chronic neglect or abuse
Poverty
Parental separation or divorce
Family members with psychological disorders
Personal styles
Preexisting high anxiety and negative worldview versus resiliency and positive attitudes
Severity and nature of the trauma
More severe prolonged trauma
Antidepressant drugs
More helpful for increased arousal and negative emotion; less helpful for recurrent negative memories, dissociation, and avoidance behaviors
Half of PTSD patients who take antidepressants experience some symptom reduction
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive processing therapy: deals with difficult memories and feelings
Mindfulness-based techniques: more accepting and less judgemental of recurring thoughts, feelings, and memories
Exposure techniques: guided to confront trauma-related objects, events, and situations
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): clients move their eyes in a rhythmic manner from side to side while flooding their minds with images of the objects and situations they ordinarily avoid
Couple or family therapy
Group therapy
Combination of some of the above
