As with many conversations surrounding mental health, there are a few common misconceptions when it comes to understanding the course and development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental illness that many suffer with after experiencing a traumatic event. Dr. Joe Bates, brain expert and double board certified psychiatrist, has…
When one hears the term “posttraumatic stress disorder,” an image of a wounded veteran often comes to mind. While this can be an accurate depiction, it’s important to recognize this as one of many faces of PTSD. In fact, a lot of us can find another by merely looking in…
Those who develop posttraumatic stress disorder as a result of experiencing trauma often suffer from nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, hypervigilance, and/or depressed mood. They may also go through periods of heightened irritability, hostility, and self-destructive behavior. But the question is when? Jessica Tappana, a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in…
Do you know what it’s like to live in a constant state of fear? To become significantly startled by a gentle knock on the door or the bark of your neighbor’s dog? To worry about what might happen to you if you leave the house? To expect injury or even…
Chase walks into the grocery store to buy a few simple items: bananas, milk, and cereal. However, the task proves anything but simple for him. All he can focus on are the other shoppers and the threats that they pose to him—he immediately regrets his confidence in making this quick…
Every morning, I crawl out of bed, immediately switch on the TV, and then scramble to get ready for work. I listen to the news anchors as I get dressed in the other room and watch them out of the corner of my eye as I make breakfast in the…
In the past couple weeks, we have bared witness to multiple category 5 hurricanes including Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, which claimed the lives of many and devastated too many communities to count. But now, another natural disaster fights for the limelight—a deadly earthquake in Mexico. Ringing in at a…
Hurricane Harvey surprised us all with more aggression and rain than most meteorologists predicted or have ever seen before. The tropical storm has attacked the Houston, Texas area, flooding it with more than 50 inches of rain and setting a record for the continental U.S. in the process. It is…
Meredith and six of her fellow doctors board a plane—one of many in their lifetimes—in a hurry, each with their own distractions and busy minds. Suddenly the plane starts shaking uncontrollably and their attentions are reverted; within minutes, the plane has fallen out of the sky and they’re scattered among…
The world we live in is full of pain and suffering: the children who grow up with uninvolved or inexistent parents; the men and women who leave their families to fight for their country and never return; the women who are abused by boyfriends and rapists; the homeless that rest…
Whether constructive or otherwise received from a spouse, boss, family member or friend, criticism for some of us can provoke defensiveness, justifying, rationalizing, minimizing, and sometimes self-defeating hostility. I’ve personally seen these responses to criticism displayed more frequently in those who reported histories of trauma of some sort. Whether the…
PTSD is not an expected response to trauma, according to the DSM 5, but a rare and an unexpected response to trauma. Accordingly, most people who experience trauma do not go on to experience PTSD. Why do some experience it, whole others don’t? For the first time, with its 5th…
