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 …
ptsd
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 …
For many soldiers, mental trauma lingers at home
Roughly one in ten soldiers returning from Iraq faces ongoing struggles due to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and other conditions, according to a new study published in the June issue of the Archives of Psychiatry. In the study, a team of researchers led by Dr. Jeffrey L. Thomas, chief of military psychiatry at the
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Morphine may reduce PTSD risk after traumatic injury
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a growing problem in the U.S., driven largely by the prevalence of the condition among soldiers and other military personnel returning from war in Iraq and Afghanistan. PTSD, which is characterized by feelings of numbness, depression, guilt, vivid nightmares and disrupted sleep, among other
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PTSD in children linked with poor memory function
In children, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may inhibit the function of a brain region associated with memory, according to a new study published online today in the Journal of Pediatric Psychiatry. In an effort to better understand how trauma may impact brain function in children, researchers at Stanford University School of
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Dude, Where’s my Trauma? Marijuana Could Treat PTSD
Many millions have been made in Hollywood by lampooning the acute effects of marijuana on memory—but Israeli researchers suggest that they might one day be harnessed to prevent or treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And today’s election results bringing medical marijuana dispensaries to yet another state suggest that day …