Post Traumatic Stress Disorder May Alter Genes

People who experience a traumatic event may react inappropriately to certain stimuli, avoid situations that cause them to remember the traumatic event and have ill-timed flashbacks about the event.
Many people who experienced trauma will develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which can interfere with their daily lives and relationships. According to a new study, PTSD can also change a person’s genetic makeup and compromise their immunity.

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science found that PTSD alters a person’s stress response system, resulting in a decrease in immune functioning that puts them at higher risk of disease. The study found that people with PTSD have less methylation in certain genes that affect the immune system and more methylation in genes that affect brain cell growth. During methylation, a gene is turned off and production of the protein that

gene encodes is stopped.  

“Our findings suggest a new biological model of PTSD in which alteration of genes, induced by a traumatic event, changes a person’s stress response and leads to the disorder,” said Dr. Sandro Galea of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in a statement regarding the study.
Further research is needed to explain how PTSD does cause changes in methylation. 

Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can be triggered by a variety of traumatic events. If you have been experiencing any of the following symptoms of PTSD for more than several months and they are interfering with your daily life, you should seek PTSD treatment:
•    Flashbacks or bad dreams about the event
•    Irritability or anger
•    Trouble concentrating and sleeping
•    Avoiding situations that remind you of the event
•    Hopelessness
•    Difficulty maintaining close relationships
•    Being easily scared or startled
•    Overwhelming sense of guilt or shame 

PTSD Treatment

Though a person’s genes may be altered by PTSD, the disorder is still treatable. People with PTSD can recover from their symptoms and find ways to work through their traumatic experiences.

A residential treatment center for trauma can help people with PTSD to focus on what caused them trauma and work through issues related to it. Through therapy, holistic methods, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), the symptoms of PTSD will diminish and healthy coping techniques will be learned. 

Call The Rose for more information 888-471-0435.