What If PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological? Evidence from new study
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Re: What If PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological? Evidence from new study
#2[deleted]
Re: What If PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological? Evidence from new study
#3I can certainly believe that there is more going on than just stress, and the argument that compression waves travelling through the brain can damage it is pretty compelling.
The question then is how would you block it? How would you protect yourself from a compression (blast) wave such that it went "around" your head rather than through it. Is there some material that could conduct that energy preferentially?
Re: What If PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological? Evidence from new study
#4What if not only PTSD but all psychological phenomena were, by their very nature, rooted in the physical chemistry of the brain?
How bizarre would that be?
Re: What If PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological? Evidence from new study
#5Re: What If PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological? Evidence from new study
#6A historical quibble with the article,
It was first known as shell shock, then combat fatigue and finally PTSD, and in each case, it was almost universally understood as a psychic rather than a physical affliction.
This underplays a pretty significant history of doctors considering it a physical condition, as the old name "shell shock" itself suggests. The article does mention one such doctor, Fredrick Mott, but there were a number of them, and the debate recurred again during World War II, when a number of doctors used the term "postconcussion syndrome", again implying a disorder caused by physical brain trauma. Here's a review article: http://www.simonwessely.com/Downloads/Publications/Military/...
The article is right though in that in the past 50 years or so it's been mainly understood as a psychological disorder.
Re: What If PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological? Evidence from new study
#7I can certainly believe that there is more going on than just stress, and the argument that compression waves travelling through the brain can damage it is pretty compelling. The question then is how would you block it? How would you protect yourself from a compression (blast) wave such that it went "around" your head rather than through it. Is there some material that could conduct that energy preferentially?
It's not the matter of material but shape. Soldier would have to wear something that completely surrounds his head, like motorcycle helmet. Which is very uncomfortable to wear if you have to wear it all the time.
Re: What If PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological? Evidence from new study
#8What if not only PTSD but all psychological phenomena were, by their very nature, rooted in the physical chemistry of the brain? How bizarre would that be?
In a sense, they are. If we accept that the brain is what gives rise to our perception and personality, and to our experience of ourselves, then it stands to reason that all psychological phenomena arise from a configuration of the brain. It turns out that dumping chemicals into the brain can affect its configuration. But it doesn't follow that the new configuration leads to any more desirable psychological state than the old configuration.
Re: What If PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological? Evidence from new study
#9I can certainly believe that there is more going on than just stress, and the argument that compression waves travelling through the brain can damage it is pretty compelling. The question then is how would you block it? How would you protect yourself from a compression (blast) wave such that it went "around" your head rather than through it. Is there some material that could conduct that energy preferentially?
It's not the matter of material but shape. Soldier would have to wear something that completely surrounds his head, like motorcycle helmet. Which is very uncomfortable to wear if you have to wear it all the time.
When I talk to experienced motorcyclists, the biggest issue isn't the physical sensation of wearing a helmet. The problem is changing the acoustics around your ears.
An enclosed helmet that "hears" like a human, but filters the spikes (powering your iPod in the process)?
Re: What If PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological? Evidence from new study
#10What if not only PTSD but all psychological phenomena were, by their very nature, rooted in the physical chemistry of the brain? How bizarre would that be?
That's crazy talk!