PTSD in the News: Weekly Roundup

It’s a BIG news day here on Parasites of the Mind! As you see, today’s the day we reveal the brand new blog design, which is part of the larger Heal My PTSD, LLC, web site. So, what do you think?? Please update your bookmark so that you can continue to keep up with us on a daily basis. Come to think of it, maybe today’s a good day to take advantage of the subscriber buttons located to the right.

Here on the new template: While all of the categories are the same they’ve been somewhat slimmed down, which means you’ll find what you need more deliberately and efficiently. The content structure is intact and daily posts will proceed as they have been. If you encounter technological hiccups, glitches or strange quirks please let me know so that we can continue to work out the kinks. You can email me by clicking on the ‘Ask Michele’ button on the sidebar.

Also, feel free to take a look at the Heal My PTSD, LLC, web site by clicking on the link in the nav bar at the top of the page. Although design elements are still under construction the basic layout and information is available. This site is for the survivor community to help heal the survivor community, so it’s only fitting it be built with the help the survivor community. If you think of topics, resources or reference material to add, please shoot me an email through the Contact page of the site. Likewise, if you hit up against tech issues or malfunctions let me know so that we can address them immediately. If we all work together we can make this a wonderful resource and tool for PTSD awareness, education, treatment and self-empowered healing.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…

This past week I was the featured guest on the YourMilitaryLife.com BlogTalk Radio show. The topic: Constructing Post-Trauma Identity: Rebuilding Identity in the Wake of Trauma. In 30 minutes the hosts and I covered an overview of PTSD, the importance of self-empowered healing, how trauma and PTSD impact a survivor’s identity, plus how to begin building it back.

News for Everyone

Positive Impact of trauma-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - A recent meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) delivered within a 3-month period of traumatic events to be effective in the treatment of trauma-induced stress symptoms for patients with PTSD or acute stress disorder.

Research Sheds Light on PTSD - “Interestingly, there are some individuals who, when confronted with extreme stress, their hormone profile is rather unique,” said Deane Aikins, a psychiatrist at Yale University in Connecticut, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) which ends Monday.

Postpartum PTSD & NCIU Babies - Richard Shaw, MD, a child psychiatrist at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and an associate professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, is studying post-traumatic stress disorder among moms and dads whose infants stayed in a NICU.

Smell Sharpens When Bad Things Happen - It turns out that emotion plays an even bigger role with the nose and that your sense of smell actually can sharpen when something bad happens. Northwestern University researchers proved the surprising connection by giving volunteers electric shocks while they sniffed novel odors. The discovery, reported in Friday’s edition of the journal Science, helps explain how our senses can steer us clear of danger. More intriguing, it could shed light on disorders such as post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Somatic Traumatology -  Until recently most research programs on trauma and post traumatic stress symptomatology were conducted in the field of psychology. Subsequently all of the recovery programs designed to help relieve symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) addressed the psycho-emotional behaviors of the individual. As a result of this limited understanding of trauma, post trauma symptoms became labeled as psychological weaknesses. This labeling actually caused individuals in trauma inducing professions not to seek help for their symptoms for fear of being identified as weak, not able to cut it, unable to cope etc. This created an atmosphere of increased fear and apprehension in an already stressful profession. The most recent research in the field of traumatology is helping to dispel this limited view of trauma and PTSD.

Memories and the Function of Sleep - “Sleep is a smart, sophisticated process. You might say that sleep is actually working at night to decide what memories to hold on to and what to let go of.” Jessica Payne, Harvard University

Dreams (And Sleep) Have Meaning - Dreams may not be the secret window into the frustrated desires of the unconscious that Sigmund Freud first posited in 1899, but growing evidence suggests that dreams – and, more so, sleep – are powerfully connected to the processing of human emotions.

 EyeWitness News Wins Emmy for PTSD Series - The Emmy was brought home for a five-part series in November about post-traumatic stress disorder affecting local military veterans.

Memories May Be Formed Throughout the Day, Not Just While Sleeping - “We’d like to explore whether we can control these replay processes in a subtle way. Can we, for example, pick out certain kinds of neural patterns that we allow to happen and not others. Could we prevent or enhance the creation of some memories and not of others?” This possibility poses the question of whether it would be possible to prevent the traumatic memories associated with post traumatic stress syndrome or to stop them. “The question for me has always been-why do these experiences have such a lasting impact? This is the first time I’ve found something that might make sense of all of that,” Frank adds.

Resources for New Moms Who’ve Suffered Past Sexual Abuse and PTSD -  Women who have experienced sexual abuse are at a higher risk for experiencing postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder.

Overcoming Abuse: A Lifetime of Healing - “It’s not this one-time event and you … the words I hear a lot are ‘get over it.’ It’s not something you just get over. It’s more like a journey. A journey like you heal over time,” said Stuller Place therapist Lisa Mount. In most sessions Mount has with victims at the Lafayette-based non-profit organization, many of them reveal they simply don’t know where to begin “getting over it.” [WARNING: This link contains video of abuse victim speaking with her therapist about what she remembers.]

Combat PTSD

Vets Who Repress Traumatic Memories May Not Be Worse Off - Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may not be plagued by poor health and shortened lives if they repress their combat experiences, new research suggests.

Backlog of VA Claims Nears 1mm - “We operate a statewide network of benefits counselors, and we stress quality claim work the first time. If you do that, you’re actually supporting the effort to reduce the amount of claims awaiting processing and the amount of error,” he said. “It’s our job to bear the burden for the veteran. We advocate their concerns to the VA and get it done.”

Military Strengthens Effort To Solve Growing Mental Health Crisis - “Finally, diagnostic standards for the psychiatric disorder most commonly associated with war, PTSD, will have to be rethought in the light of actual military experience, said Ursano. “The A2 criterion for PTSD will have to be addressed,” he said, echoing other speakers at the session. “A2 deals with fear and helplessness. However, trained soldiers engaged in battle don’t always say they are frightened, helpless, or anxious, yet a percentage returns home and develops PTSD. Something’s wrong with our criteria.”

Social Networking for Soldiers - Like tens of thousands of troops returning from combat, Carney suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. “It just started to wear on me in a way that I became life altering,” said Carney, who eventually bounced back thanks to the help of his wife. “If it wasn’t for my wife making me make choices. I went and finally sought help.” So now, Carney is helping others make choices by creating www.projectcourageusa.com.

Disabled Veteran Discusses Life After the Military - The combination of the PTSD and TBI make it nearly impossible to stop thinking that day and comparing it to everyday situations back at home. For him, a task as simple as driving down the street has become a challenge. Not physically, but mentally.

Eye Movement Integration: NeuroLinguistic Programming + EMDR - Video clip of a Vietnam vet being treated for PTSD.

Predicting PTSD in Combat Troops - What if you could predict which troops are most likely to get PTSD from combat exposure — and takes steps to either bolster them mentally or keep them out of combat situations? A new study suggests we could make a start on that right now — and cut combat PTSD rates in half by simply keeping the least mentally and physically fit soldiers away from combat zones.

Tags: PTSD in the News