Page 92 - Total War on PTSD

or experienced in their lives. This not only effects Veterans but also people that have experienced a tragic or traumatic event. Being frightened under these circumstances is normal. Fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to help defend against danger or to avoid
it. This “fight-or-flight” response is a typical reaction meant to protect a person from harm. Nearly everyone will experience a range of responses after trauma, yet most people recover from initial symptoms naturally. Those who continue to experience problems may be diagnosed with PTSD. People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened whether danger is present or not. From my personal experience, this can occur at any given time, without notice. There are usually persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to.
Some people, unaware, will block the trauma and have their memory come back at a later time in life, leaving them even further traumatized. Most people with PTSD repeatedly re-live the trauma in the form of nightmares, panic attacks, anxiety and disturbing recollections during the day. The nightmares or recollections may come and go, and a person may be free of them for weeks at a time, and then experience them daily for no particular reason. This can occur whether the person remembers the trauma or not. It can sit idly by with no memory yet the symptoms can still take place.
A person with PTSD may experience sleep problems, depression, substance abuse, feeling detached or numb, or being easily startled. So how can we combat or deal with the responses of PTSD? Because the olfactory receptors are extremely sensitive, they can be easily stimulated by very subtle and sometimes subliminal scents.
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