A brain scan study pinpoints the changes associated with child abuse that may raise people’s risk of depression, PTSD and addictions later in life.
ptsd
More Evidence That Marijuana-Like Drugs May Help Prevent PTSD
Could a marijuana-based medicine potentially prevent the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? If the findings of a new study in rodents hold up, they may offer a new avenue for treatment of an illness that affects …
How We Cope: What Do Addiction Rates After 9/11 Tell Us?
We may never know the true death toll of 9/11, nor the full extent of the psychological trauma the terrorist attacks caused. But by looking at rates of alcohol and other drug use among those who were directly and indirectly …
Study: Antipsychotic Drugs Show No Benefit for Veterans’ PTSD
A widely prescribed antipsychotic medication worked no better than a placebo to treat combat veterans’ symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a new study by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Dropping the ‘Disorder’ from PTSD. What Do Psychiatric Labels Mean?
What’s wrong with me? The question of where to draw the line between normal and abnormal and how to label our mental differences has become more vexing than ever. It’s an issue that fuels the continuing debates over Americans’ …
How Fear Changes What We Hear
How does fear alter memory? A new study reveals that it can literally change our perception, a process that may help researchers better understand post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other anxiety disorders and possibly …
Tending to Japan’s Psychological Scars: What Hurts, What Helps
Even seen on tiny screens from thousands of miles away, the images of destruction in Japan are devastating. The emotional aftermath seems unimaginable, and yet once the immediate crisis is over, the survivors will certainly be …
Why Are Women More Vulnerable to PTSD than Men?
Why are some people able to recover from the trauma of a violent attack or combat zone, while others suffer from recurrent flashbacks, episodes of depression and other debilitating symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
Ecstasy as Therapy: Have Some of its Negative Effects Been Overblown?
Although ecstasy (MDMA) — a drug best known for enhancing feelings of empathy and love — has been demonized by parents and politicians, researchers have been quietly studying its potentially therapeutic effects, and they’ve …
Q&A: Terrorism Expert Jessica Stern on Her Own Terror and Trauma
For decades, Jessica Stern had been one of the nation’s leading experts on terrorism. She served on the staff of President Clinton’s National Security Council and on the Council on Foreign Relations.
Study: Playing Tetris to Prevent PTSD Flashbacks
In a follow-up study to their original 2009 research, Oxford University scientists found that playing Tetris after a traumatic event may help prevent flashbacks, the intrusive and unwanted memories of trauma that are the hallmark …
How the Chilean Miners Will Cope: Q&A with a Trauma Expert
On Wednesday night, as the world watched, the last of the 33 trapped Chilean miners made it safely to the surface. After having spent more than two months underground in a collapsed mine, the men emerged remarkably physically …
A New Study Shows How We Can Prevent Some Cases of PTSD
We barely know how to treat mental illnesses, so it’s difficult to figure out how to prevent them in the first place. But as I wrote at some length last year, research into stopping breakdowns before they occur has advanced …
