Will re-naming Post Traumatic-Stress Disorder (PTSD) to Post-Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI) help to reduce patient stigma?According to Matthew Friedman, MD, PhD, the answer is no. In our last post, I talked about whether or not we should drop the “disorder” from PTSD. Now, let’s get into the discussion the American Psychiatric Association is having. In […]
PTSD or PTS: Which to Use When Treating Trauma?
Did you know that only half of the soldiers with trauma are willing to seek treatment? Many are resistant because they do not want their symptoms to be labeled a “disorder”, as in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Can a name alone really be that powerful? According to Belleruth Naparstek, LISW, author of Invisible Heroes, there […]
Stress, Addiction, and Neuroplasticity –How the Brain Changes
We know that stress can take a toll on our bodies, but it also affects our brain. I’ve written about how it affects memory and the hippocampus. Research is now suggesting that stress also alters how we learn. This has ramifications for addiction and anything involved in the negative aspects of neuroplasticity. A recent review […]
Stress, Depression, and Telomeres: A Brain Health Update
One way to measure how much age has fatigued an individual is to measure the length of their telomeres. Since telomeres naturally shorten with time many researchers use telomere length to determine cell age, and give a picture of overall brain health What are telomeres? They act as protective caps on the end of chromosomes […]
Ditch the Dreaded Diet: Try Three Small Changes Instead
Just a few weeks ago, I was having breakfast with my family. It was a rare opportunity to be together with both of my siblings, their spouses, and my parents – all of whom live out of state. As we got to talking, it turned out that both my sister Priscilla and my sister-in-law Susan […]