Nancy Adler Jones

PTSD information

The Tricare Provider newsletter provides useful PTSD facts.
“PTSD may develop after exposure to extreme psychological trauma, defined as events that potentially cause a threat to life or physical integrity, and produce feelings of fear, helplessness or horror. For reasons not currently understood, not everyone exposed to such trauma develops PTSD.
Individuals with PTSD:
• Frequently re-experience the traumatic event
• Experience persistent, heightened arousal not present before the trauma
• Make efforts to avoid stimuli associated with the trauma
• Exhibit numbing of their general responsiveness
• PTSD affects health. Neurochemical changes in the central nervous system, sleep deprivation, risky behavior (e.g., substance abuse, anger and/or violence) and psychosocial problems can result in great biological strain on individuals with PTSD. These individuals report higher rates of cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological and  gastrointestinal system problems.”
adapted from Tricare Provider News Issue II, 2008

Fri, December 12 2008 » Trauma