People exposed to traumatic situations or events can develop unusually high levels of anxiety; in turn, an ongoing anxiety reaction can contribute to the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other stress- or anxiety-related illnesses. In a study published in late 2014 in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers from two U.S. universities…
Christine A. Courtois, PhD, ABPP, national clinical trauma consultant for Promises Treatment Centers and Promises Behavioral Health, releases her latest book titled It’s Not You, It’s What Happened to You: Complex Trauma and Treatment.
The beheading by terrorists of a third hostage over the weekend with threats to kill other captives prompted psychological experts to warn the public that viewing the ghastly videos can cause trauma. The slaying of British aid worker David Cawthorne Haines – which Prime Minister David Cameron called “evil” – was seen in a video…
Cardiovascular disease, or CVD, is the collective medical term for diseases that significantly degrade the health of the heart or the vessels that carry blood back and forth from the heart to the body. Roughly one-third of U.S. adults have a heart or blood vessel ailment, and cardiovascular problems often prove deadly. People affected by…
Extensive exposure to Boston Marathon bombing media coverage caused more acute stress in people watching on TV, online or listening to radio reports than in those experiencing the terrorist attack itself, researchers at UC Irvine have found. Even the study authors who specialize in researching trauma impacts said they were startled by their findings: People…
Soldiers returning home from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars who are newly diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are affected by their medical conditions more than previously thought, according to a new study.
This year, the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) and other federal health agencies have reported of evidenced-based research demonstrating a common link between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans and later-life dementia. With 6–11% of Afghanistan veterans and 12–20% of Iraq veterans returning to the U.S. with PTSD, the VA has been investigating these…
A new study sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, Department of Veteran Affairs, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine reveals that focusing on particular symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may help health officials better treat anger and aggression issues among veterans returning home from the Afghanistan…
A new study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Institute on Aging investigated the relationships between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in aging veterans. After researching the trends in these older service members’ mental health over a seven-year time span, the study found that veterans diagnosed…
Young adult survivors of childhood cancers are four times more likely to develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than their control group siblings, a Childhood Cancer Survivors Study has found. The study focused on 6,542 childhood cancer survivors over 18 who were diagnosed with cancer between 1970 and 1986 and 368 of their siblings as a…