Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be sneaky

Runnin' Scared
This Is Your Brain On 9/11
Feeling jumpy? Could be that building you watched fall
by Karen A. Frenkel
August 28th, 2007 6:57 PM

If you witnessed the attacks on 9/11 up close and then continually had bad dreams, felt jumpy, kept thinking about what you saw, and avoided the site even several years later, chances are that parts of your brain were altered in subtle ways. According to scientists, such lingering symptoms and physical changes reflect an undiagnosed and long-term toll on mental health resulting from the attacks.

Recent studies at New York University and the New York–Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center show enduring psychological and neurological repercussions in adult witnesses near the World Trade Center that day, and in children who lost a parent in the tragedy.

According to the researchers, adults who appeared hardy and functional—and who weren't diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after 9/11—nevertheless do show some symptoms of PTSD and may be vulnerable to mental disorders in the future.

People afflicted with full-blown PTSD relive their terrifying ordeal through nightmares, flashbacks, and upsetting thoughts, and lose interest in activities that were once important to them. They also feel alone, are unable to relax, and remain on guard. click post title for the rest



Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be sneaky. Some can have mild PTSD symptoms for many years. What is not talked about often enough, is that mild PTSD can and does spiral out of control when another traumatic event happens. It's almost as if people just accept the changes in them, adapt to those changes and function adequately enough to get by.

They will go on for years with stings of marriages and countless jobs while not seeing any need to seek help, usually because they don't know what caused the change in them. Then, suddenly, another traumatic event happens. This secondary stressor hits them hard once they have already been wounded.

The secondary stressor hits fast and furiously. It happened to my husband. It happened to a lot of Vietnam vets. Within the last ten years, veterans of the Gulf War, Korea and even WWII, have been showing up at VA hospitals and clinics around the world suddenly finding they cannot cope with what is happening to them.

Max Cleland, reached being a senator and head of the VA. He had been treated for depression since Vietnam cost him his legs and arm but having PTSD was the furthest thing from his mind. It turns out that when the carnage of Iraq made it into the news, Max discovered he really had problems much larger than he thought. He was not able to cope with the changes within him. He was then diagnosed with PTSD. It just snuck up on him without warning.

If we understand what PTSD is and get it into the category of a normal reaction to trauma for some people, then no one will ever dismiss the symptoms of it again. Treatment can begin early and stop PTSD before it becomes an insurgent waiting for the opportunity of a secondary stressor to hit before it attacks from within.



Kathie Costos

Namguardianangel@aol.com

www.Namguardianangel.org

www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com

www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

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