Page 371 - Total War on PTSD

response patterns and activates the hormone cortisol and other stress hormones known to increase pain sensations. Stress hormones have a negative impact on the immune system as well as the digestive and general nervous system, and increase subjective experiences of pain as they cause contraction (hyper-vigilance) rather than expansion (relaxation) within the body.
Treatment Protocol: Trauma
Shocking tragedies at any time in one’s life are traumatic events with a variety of consequences. Veterans who have served in combat duty situations have particular challenges. They can end up dealing with a condition called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and this can, and does, impinge and overtake capacities for healthy functioning. Service in the military can become a traumatic series of events that results in serious consequences both mentally and physically. A condition of shock may result in a defensive disconnection in order to cope; a freezing up or freezing over mentally, emotionally, and physically. As time goes on, there can be prolonged anxiety with reoccurring memories — a sense that one’s nervous system is chronically on edge and is producing a variety of symptoms such as irritability, anger, panic attacks, shakiness and trembling, sleep disturbances, hyper-vigilance, sensitivity to sounds (startle response) and sudden movements, recurring nightmares, flashbacks, constricted breathing, heart palpitations, and severe chronic tension. These symptoms result in exhaustion and can lead to serious depression with lethargy. After an accident someone might remember much of what happened; another might sleep for days as a way of responding to the trauma. Extended hours or days of sleeping can be a response that allows forgetting, yet oversleeping can become a habitual response to stress.
Case Study:
Erin accomplished her military service with two tours in Afghanistan. Although she was not in combat situations she witnessed both the injuries and deaths of her fellow soldiers in a visceral way. She could not forget the images. She was a sensitive woman, an introverted type and felt often barraged by the predominance of males who she found
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