Post-traumatic stress affects nation

By Hemesh Patel
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks left many Americans emotionally
wounded and some possibly suffering from post-traumatic stress
disorder.

Because the severity of PTSD can vary from mild to severe, some
patients are able to heal themselves while others need medical or
psychological treatment.

According to the National Center for PTSD, the severity of the
disorder increases with the amount of physical and emotional
exposure to the incident.

“The firefighters and rescue workers responsible for
picking up people’s ears and fingers as well as people who
barely got out (of the towers) will be highly affected,” said
Dr. Mark Barad, UCLA assistant professor of psychiatry.

According to Hal Pruett, director of Student Psychological
Services at UCLA, trauma cannot be measured; each person reacts to
different situations in different ways.

“What determines trauma is the meaning of what a person
makes of it,” he said. “People may be more traumatized
by these events if they lost someone or know someone that died
““ that doesn’t mean that those in Los Angeles will not
be traumatized.”

While scientists are unclear of the exact processes in the brain
that lead to this disorder, researchers know some of the causes of
PTSD.

The disorder occurs because it unleashes chemicals that block
the release of other compounds in the body that help the body cope
with stress, Barad said.

This deregulation affects the corticosteroid and the adrenergic
systems of the brain, which allow the body to react to long- and
short-term stressful situations.

According to Pruett, symptoms of the disorder include a loss of
appetite, irritability and depression.

Treatment for the disorder can include going to therapy or
taking drugs such as Prozac, which is commonly used for
depression.

“Many people do not get better with drugs alone,”
Barad said.

For people who are not severely afflicted with the disorder,
patients can treat themselves through self-healing, which involves
talking about the experience with others and getting regular
sleep.

Half the people with PTSD will see their symptoms dissipate in
three months without seeking professional treatment or taking
medication, said Janine Shelby, a clinical faculty member in the
psychiatry department.

“Some people can’t make themselves feel better
““ they are the ones we have to worry about,” she
said.

Those suffering from the disorder may benefit from cognitive
behavioral therapy, where patients look at disturbing images to
desensitize them and ease the memory of the traumatic experience,
Barad said.

The causes of PTSD can be traced by studying particular
behaviors of a family from generation to generation.

People who have a lower intelligence level and a history of
abuse have a higher risk of acquiring the disorder, Barad said.

A person displaying these symptoms may not have PTSD, Pruett
said, but if the symptoms last for more than a month or six weeks,
then the person may be diagnosed with it.