Sometimes it seems like there are two kinds of people in the world – those who can be so resilient in the face of stressful or traumatic events, and those who develop Post-Traumatic Stress.
We know that some people are simply more vulnerable to developing PTSD than others . . .
. . . but why?
Naomi Breslau, PhD of the Epidemiology Department of Michigan State University wanted to find out whether chronic worrying could play a role in heightening a person’s risk of suffering PTSD following a traumatic episode.
She and her colleagues analyzed data from a 10-year study of approximately one thousand randomly chosen young members of a southeastern Michigan HMO.
When the longitudinal epidemiological study started, participants answered twelve questions to measure their chronic anxiety, depression, and their tendency to overreact to daily stressors (all frequent contributors to what is often characterized as “neuroticism”).
Follow-ups were done at the three, five, and ten-year marks.
Approximately half of the participants experienced a traumatic event during the course of the study, though only five percent developed PTSD.
This five percent tended to score higher on the neuroticism scale during the study’s four assessment phases. The relative risk of the development of PTSD in cases where participants scored high on neuroticism was statistically significant.
These findings are notable because neuroticism was measured before the participants experienced trauma, suggesting that neuroticism may be an indicator for vulnerability to developing PTSD rather than a characteristic that develops as a result of trauma.
However, there could be other factors that make an individual more likely to develop trauma that this study did not measure. While we might never be able to prevent traumatic events from happening, studies like this one can at least help us recognize who might be at higher risk for suffering long-term effects of trauma and tailor treatment accordingly.
If you’d like to read more about this study, it was published in Psychological Medicine, November 30, 2012.
And to find out more about the different ways that trauma can develop, and the latest interventions for recovery, check out our Rethinking Trauma Webinar series.
Have you ever helped a patient build or regain their resilience after a traumatic event? Please share your experience in the comment section below.
Can neuroticism develop due to complex trauma at crucial developmental stages of the infant to toddler brain wiring? I think it is a blanket statement to say that neuroticism is a contributor when I believe that trauma itself caused neuroticism as well as other so called diagnosis, like, BPD, ADHD, SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL DIS-ORDER OF WIRING.
That’s not even 10 mieunts well spent!
Makes sense!
Just reading Mary’s story made me smile, it’s a wonderful thing when two people come together and one has only to say one thing for the course of the other’s life to change forever. It’s a privilege to
be part of an experience such as that. His story, Mary’s intuitive mind…. good combo.!
Hi Rus;Thanks so much for visiting my blog! I agree with you, eye cncatot is extremely important when shaking someone’s hand. It tells them that you are engaged in the conversation and respect them enough to give them your full attention.Hope you are doing well! Brienne
Fascinating topic. I’m also pleased to know more about the dot-probe test than The Economist.I’ve sdeitud a bit about 5HTTLPR — I was taught that the people who have the short variant are actually slightly protected against depression, in general, but that are more likely to become depressed when they encounter a major stressor. Meanwhile, the studies on the gene never seem to compare long/long and short/short individuals with heterozygotes… I think it’s certainly an area worth investigating further, but a lot of people have made fairly big, hand-wave-y claims about this innocent little gene.
This presentation sounds like it contains information I will integrate into my practice of Hypnotherapy.
Thank you. Best, DonnaPia Vocci
I think it is important to consider what possible trauma, developmental or otherwise, may have contributed to the already existing “neurotic traits”. The possibility of earlier trauma changes the interpretation of the results of the study.
This was exactly my thought as well… Would be interesting to find out more about this.
Neurotic traits also run in families. How much does culture influence the way we see the world?
Recapitulation is the secret word that those who have not been damaged early enough ever fail to acknowledge. It’s like a blind spot for them, because developmental stuff is the SUBCONSCIOUS UNDERLAYMENT of what follows, unconsciously and uncontrollably.
The primary feature of early developmental trauma is that it REPEATS. The process of Mommy and Daddy mirroring to the child is that it bounces back in a dance of interaction. You keep putting out the energy and attitude that was demonstrated to you as your brain developed.
Use Esogetic Colorpuncture treatment.
The most extraordinary experience I have had in my 32 years as a General Practitioner (Family Doctor) was watching a man in his mid-thirties pace backwards and forwards, like a panther in a cage, in and out through the staff and patients, in the main corridor of our very busy waiting room one Monday morning. I couldn’t figure out what he was doing but when he came into my room and mindful of Bessel van der Kolk’s dictum, “the body holds the score”, I asked him why he did it. Straight out he answered, “When I was nine years old in Calabria, I watched my father murder my mother and then I had to sit with her dead body for three days until somebody found us.” I nearly fell through the floor. When I regained my composure,I asked him if he had ever told anybody before and he answered, “Nobody has ever asked me about it”. He had however, been on medication for anxiety and depression for years. Unfortunately, if he ever got into trouble with the Police (and this was never really his fault, but due to the behaviour of the mother of his daughter), he always reacted very badly and because of his accent they would not understand what he was trying to say. After finding out what had happened to him as a child, I was able to obtain the services of a top Legal Aid barrister and rather than getting a gaol term, which would have been disastrous, the Magistrate ordered community service only and organised for him to get appropriate and affordable counselling for his severe psychological trauma. What worried me most, was that not only was he so traumatised but that as so may policemen are as well, I could see the possibility of a real “powder keg” scenario. Ultimately, he was able to settle down and was able to obtain custody of his daughter, when her mother could no longer manage. It was an extraordinary example of trauma being held in a somatic rather than verbal form and yet questioning what he was doing behaviourally immediately yielded the answer.
Thanks for your thoughtful intervention. This is vey inspiring.
Powerful example of the body doing what it knows in distress. As I learn more about somatics and trauma I find myself paying closer attention to “the body” in session as there is a story there too. Thank you for sharing that.
Wow! What a powerful experience to witness. Sometimes a seemingly simple question elicits an unexpectedly shocking response. We are so often looking so deeply that we forget to ask the seemingly simple questions. You were a lifeline for that man and definitely changed his future for the better. An unforgettable experience that I won’t forget hearing about!