Page 658 - Total War on PTSD

disorders account for more hospitalizations of U.S. SMs than any other major diagnostic category.
Theoretically, individuals suffering from PTSD often times experience fear or anxiety when confronted by events or locations that are reminiscent of those that occurred during the original traumatic event. These “fear structures” include information about stimuli, responses, and meaning and are composed of harmless stimuli that have been associated with danger and are reflected in the belief that the world is a dangerous place. This belief then manifests itself in cognitive and behavioral avoidance strategies that limit exposure to potentially corrective information that could be incorporated into and alter the fear structure. Because escape from and avoidance of feared situations are intrinsically rewarding (albeit
temporarily), PTSD (as well as phobic disorders) can perpetuate without treatment. Complicating matters in the treatment of trauma is that triggers are often
subconscious. Stored memories are not always apparent in the conscious mind. A person might only realize something is a cue when that cue appears outside the
traumatic event
Imaginal Prolonged Exposure (PE) is considered to be a leading evidence-based
treatment for PTSD and entails engaging mentally with the fear structure through repeatedly revisiting the feared or traumatic event in a safe environment. The
proposed mechanisms for symptom reduction involve activation and emotional processing, extinction/habituation of the anxiety, cognitive reprocessing of
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