What If PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological? Evidence from new study

Sigh this topic always comes up. From a materialist perspective (which is the only perspective that makes sense in medical science), yes, any psychological phenomenon is ultimately a physical phenomenon.

But when people talk about the psychological/physiological dichotomy, they're talking about causes. A psychological cause for an ailment is one that is brought about by thinking — by the brain operating normally without any external interference. A physiological cause is one that requires an external agent, like concussive force applied to the brain, or asphyxiation.

Psychiatric illnesses are an interesting edge case because they usually deal with the balance of various chemicals in the brain that are supposed to be there. That balance can be influenced both by external factors (like taking a psychoactive drug, such as an antidepressant SSRI) and by just thinking. It's not as well understood how thinking influences brain chemistry, but meditation, for instance, certainly does.

I have it. I'm pretty introspective, too. I'd say it's almost certainly physical in many if not most cases. I can actually feel that. The thoughts and mental energy normally ran smoothly through my mind. After injury to back & center, especially the stress of it, it's as if a shockwave went through my mind blowing fuses or something. That's best way I can describe feeling and effect. Certain paths and things just aren't there or light up when they shouldn't. The wiring from input(s) to outputs(s) is broken where it's no longer performing the function it should.

Far as stress aspect, it similarly ignites electrical and biochemical activity that flows through sensitive parts of the brain. We know those parts organize themselves expecting certain flows or weights. I'd default on position that they could be damaged by overflows slamming them. They'd get damage resulting in impaired function with rerouting of sorts attempted. The result would be replacing that function or maybe new + old happening side-by-side with old still broken. Would explain intermittent failures that seem to relapse to an imprint of whatever caused the stressor.

So, just a few thoughts combining what I learned studying those parts of the brain with my own experience of how a broken one works and doesn't.

It's still a useful distinction. That's like saying all software is hardware because the bits and bytes are stored in magnetic moments on hard drives etc... Or that biology and chemistry are the same thing because all living things are made of chemicals. Sure, there's some overlap, but the fields are still very distinct.

Not to mention that the physiology of the mind isn't very well known. Physicalism of the mind isn't unanimously accepted in philosophy.

> Physicalism of the mind isn't unanimously accepted in philosophy.

Sure, and nonphysicalists believe in magic.