Are you prepared for Wrath of the Lich King? WoW Insider has you covered!
Posts with tag PTSD

Virtual reality therapy may help PTSD patients

Posted: May 8th 2008 12:00PM by Maggie Vink
Filed under: Alternative Therapies, Emotional Health

Soldier firing gunPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition that people who have endured a traumatic event such as war, a violent crime, or abuse sometimes deal with. PTSD includes symptoms such as nightmares, irrational fears, flashbacks, anxiety, and insomnia. It affects about 7.7 million American adults and it can affect children, too.

Preliminary research suggests that PTSD patients may benefit from virtual reality psychotherapy. The virtual reality helps patients relive some of their traumatic experiences while in a safe environment. Iraq war veterans took part in the study -- taking medication and using the virtual reality treatments -- and it's helped many of them confront their fears.

Effectiveness of stress disorder treatments under the microscope

Posted: Oct 21st 2007 8:52AM by Brian White
Filed under: Emotional Health

A scientific review came out this past week that questioned the effectiveness of many treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). With thousands of veterans returning from Iraq on a regular basis, the determination on what works and what does not is more important than ever.

One treatment, though, has been proven to work -- exposure therapies. This therapy simulates the conditions of trauma so that coping skills can be developed. But other than that, there is a lack of evidence for other therapies -- but that does not mean patients should give them up.

The report stated that therapy should not be discontinued for PTSD patients, saying that "we do the best we can with what we've got." However, the report also stated that "we need better," in reference to specific, verifiable treatments for PTSD.

Molecule in brain gives hope for PTSD cure

Posted: Jul 16th 2007 10:00PM by Maggie Vink
Filed under: Emotional Health

I adopted my son from the foster care system. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to events that occurred before he entered foster care. PTSD bleeds into so many areas of his life now -- for example, he has a hair-trigger response to fear; little noises or other things that wouldn't even startle most people shake him to the core. Childhood trauma isn't the only cause of PTSD -- any traumatic event can leave someone with some or all of the symptoms. In a nutshell, PTSD is created when the brain is unable to stop replaying events or experiencing the fear and other emotions associated with a significant traumatic event or time period.

Other than therapy and antidepressants, there is no standard treatment for PTSD at this time. A current study blocked an enzyme called Cdk5 in the brains of mice that had been given mild foot shocks. Mice who had received the foot shock, but hadn't had the enzyme blocked, exhibited symptoms of fear when put in the same environment where they had been previously shocked. Mice who had Cdk5 blocked, didn't exhibit fear symptoms.

The research is preliminary and is a long way from being applicable to humans, but it does give hope that someday there may be a treatment for PTSD.

Katrina victims more prone to PTSD

Posted: May 22nd 2007 2:28PM by Brian White
Filed under: Emotional Health

The ravaged land that Hurricane Katrina left in its wake is doing more damage to the citizens of the gulf coast region far beyond the monetary losses the disaster created.

In fact, residents of New Orleans are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at a rate that is 10 times the amount which occurs in the general population, according to a new study.

This is to be expected. Hurricane Katrina was a life-changing event for almost everyone that was directly affected by it. It also points out that long-term, coordinated mental health care should be a central tenet included in disaster relief.



That's Fit Features





How many calories burned? What is my BMI?
More weight loss tools!


Features
AOL Health Bloggers (58)
Ask Fitz! (78)
Ask Laura! (26)
ATIO: Summer Quick Fix Challenge (6)
ATIO: Wednesday Weigh-In (4)
ATIO: Weekly Weight-loss Results (4)
Celebrity Fitzness Report (42)
Daily Fit Tip (424)
Diet Derailers (5)
Fit Beauty (91)
Fit Factor (97)
Fit Gadgets (32)
Fit Kicks Videos (8)
Fit Links (100)
Fit Mama (10)
Fit Pregnancy (22)
Fitku (14)
FitSpirit (46)
FitTV (7)
Fitzness Fiends (52)
Gut Busters (4)
Healthy Handful (11)
How Many Calories? (106)
Jogging for Normal People (18)
Jumpstart Your Fitness (89)
Life Fit Chat with Laura Lewis (106)
Life Fit with Laura Lewis (57)
Meet the Bloggers (20)
One Small Step (7)
Podcasts (43)
Recipe Rehab (23)
Retro Review (3)
Road To Fitville (16)
Stress Less (37)
Taking Off Ten (12)
That's Fit In The Field (4)
The 5 (42)
The Daily Turn On! (114)
The Good, The Fat and The Hungry (11)
Tuck It In (17)
Walking the Walk (2)
We Love To Gawk At Fit Celebs (70)
We Love To Gawk At Fit Celebs Weekly Roundup (36)
Week In Review (63)
Working In the Workouts (54)
Workplace Fitness (90)
You Are What You Eat (68)
Your Turn (37)
Healthy Living
Alternative Therapies (303)
Book Reviews (99)
Celebrities (931)
Cellulite (232)
Diet and Weight Loss (2528)
Eco-Travel (81)
Emotional Health (1298)
Fit Fashion (90)
Fitness (3831)
Food and Nutrition (4563)
General Health (5556)
Giveaways (7)
Health and Technology (673)
Health in the Media (1285)
HealthWatch (468)
Healthy Aging (756)
Healthy Events (162)
Healthy Habits (2154)
Healthy Home (459)
Healthy Kids (1605)
Healthy Places (251)
Healthy Products (960)
Healthy Recipes (349)
Healthy Relationships (312)
Men's Health (1539)
Natural Beauty (231)
Natural Products (243)
Obesity (316)
Organic (222)
Spirituality and Inspiration (288)
Stress Reduction (547)
Sustainable Community (242)
Vegetarian (303)
Vitamins and Supplements (283)
Women's Health (2095)
Work/Home Balance (198)

RESOURCES

Powered by Blogsmith

Featured Stories

Featured Galleries

Fitz's Fit Family Disney Vacation Day 1
Pink workout gear
Justin Timberlake
Celebrity Fitzness Report: Travis McGriff
Black raspberry serving ideas
Green tomato rice ingredients are healthy
Top 7 fruits and veggies for juicing
Ashton Kutcher
Brooke Shields -- happy, healthy, and confident
LesserEvil snacks are Snacktastic!
Other celebs who gained or lost for a role
Celebrity Fitzness Report: Elizabeth Somer Books

Sponsored Links

Most Commented On (60 days)

Recent Comments


Aches, pains? Find out what your symptoms mean:

Sites We Love

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in: