PTSD: New theory explains what goes wrong in the brain
by Elisabeth Peters
The experience of a dangerous situation or a shocking event logically has a big impact on us. I think we’ve all heard about cases of soldiers suffering after coming back from a war zone, they’ve left the war but the war hasn’t left them.
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is in my opinion for many people one of the hardest disorders to understand and people often wonder. Why does this person develop PTSD while another could have experienced roughly the same without developing it?
Because of this some people still see it as a mental weakness instead of an actual disorder. To clarify this, it is very important to explain the recently proposed theory about PTSD and the brain.
What exactly is PTSD?
Those challenged with PTSD sometimes describe their disorder as a ‘tormentor’ who chooses its victims without telling them why.
Not every traumatised person develops it, nor is it true that every person with PTSD has been in danger themselves. It could also surface after other life-changing experiences like the sudden death of a loved-one.
Situations in which very extreme and intense emotions are experienced require the body to react with a fight-or flight response, which is meant to protect us from any possible harm.
Most people will experience some remaining symptoms after a traumatic event, but the majority will recover naturally. However, in some people this doesn’t happen and they continue to experience symptoms, even if they are not in danger.
Some of these symptoms are bad dreams, flashbacks, sweating, feeling on edge, sleeping difficulties, feeling angry, guilt, self-blame, and avoiding reminders of the event.
These symptoms significantly affect the lives of PTSD sufferers and their loved-ones.
A clear example of how difficult life can get for them is the story of 43-year old Lewis, who had been in the army for more than 10 years and has now been dealing with PTSD for 2 years.
After coming back from Iraq, I was very happy to see my family and friends again since I had been waiting for this moment for such a long time. After a few weeks things started settling down again and it was time for me to get my “normal life” back.
I love my wife and daughter so much, but I found it hard to find a purpose in my life again. I couldn’t sleep anymore and I hated the thoughts that were bothering me; I really felt low at times. Random things sometimes triggered a strong reaction in me and I experienced flashbacks of the things I had witnessed in Iraq.
One day a trigger caused me to grab my daughter, break the back door, because I was trying to escape and get her to safety. My wife found us in the backyard. Because of this, they are not living with me at the moment…
What is actually going on in the brain?
All experts now seem to agree that PTSD has its’ origin in physical processes in the brain. There seems to be a disruption in context processing, a core brain function that makes sure you recognise the appropriate response depending on the context in which a certain stimulus is encountered. A good example is that the lion in the zoo doesn’t require you to run away, but a lion in your living room does.
In people with PTSD something associated with the traumatic event triggers a fear-response as if in danger, while the context is actually safe.
Responsible for the error in context processing is the hippocampus and its connections to the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. Because of the deficit in context processing patients feel detached from the world around them and they are unable to match the right responses to their contexts. The brain then creates an internalised context for every situation, the one that always expects danger.
Read theories what really going in the brain of those challenged with PTSD in the Science Daily
Why do some people develop it and some people don’t?
The vulnerability to PTSD comes from a combination of genetics and life experiences.
However, everyone could develop it after a traumatic event, but there are certain risk factors involved.
- A lack of social support
- Extra stress experienced after the event
- Having a history of mental health issues
- A lack of appropriate coping strategies
- Getting hurt or seeing another person hurt or killed during the event
- Having experienced a childhood trauma
How can it be treated?
As with almost every disorder there are different professionals proposing different treatment methods.
In my opinion the best way to treat PTSD is by cognitive behaviour therapy and mindfulness, which could help patients stay in the present moment and current environment.
I definitely think that more research is needed to be able to better understand PTSD, raise awareness, and find the best possible ways of helping its patients.
Elisabeth Peters is a Psychologist with her own company providing psychological services for children, families and schools. She has been working in a wide range of settings and has experience in dealing with numerous mental health issues. Recently, she has developed age-specific programs for overcoming (exam) stress.
She is a Psychologist, a Member of the British Psychological Society, with a Masters in Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health and thorough training in play therapy and mindfulness.
Elisabeth Peters lives in London, United Kingdom.
About The Author
Being a psychologist myself, I know PTSD is one of the worst mental disorders. However, there is help as the article suggests.
If you have someone who you might think has PTSD or if you have nightmares and flashbacks then you should know more about PTSD.
You can visit this link to know more:
http://www.symplifieducoach.com/2019/09/04/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsdif-you-have-faced-trauma-it-can-lead-to-ptsd/