stressed out

A new study reviewed 20 years of research on post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to find that women suffer worse from PTSD. We all know men are traditionally exposed to more traumatic situations such as combat, policing and even sports. Consequently, we would assume men would be worse off when it comes to PTSD, but they are not. The variable that shifts the scales is the higher incident of sexual abuse that women suffer.

Essentially, the past history of prior sexual abuse wears on women in such a way that recent events can be minimal, but the symptoms of PTSD are present. The resiliency, or as it is called in the field of stress reduction “stress hardiness,” is decreased over time.

Beyond women suffering more, the bigger point is that PTSD is a cumulative phenomenon. As the study mentions, men who had prior sexual abuse had the same rate of PTSD as women. Both sexes share the misfortune of accumulating trauma or stress to generate PTSD symptoms, it just that women show it more because of additional earlier trauma/stress.

This study supports my clinical experience of 30 years. We humans compound our traumas and stress. Rarely is it the most recent event that creates the catastrophe that takes us to our doctor’s office. We store and build upon other events and tensions to create a body/mind that has no more space for stress. At some point something will break.

No matter how healthy and strong we are, we all have a breaking point. This is not much different than what our military tells our soldiers about being captured - it is not will you break, it is only when will you and what will you say. Will the break be a major illness or will it be increasing blood pressure, what will determined it is the other factors such as what systems are the weakest and what form of emotional stress you are enduring.

The distinction between stress and PTSD is ultimately a relative distinction. The trauma may be one huge event or it maybe a series of what I call micro-traumas which are under the radar. Either way, the stress accumulates to a point where our body/mind can not take it any longer.

We have to thank the authors of this study and women in general for shedding light on how there is no escape from the effects of stress. Stress continues to build like bad credit card debt.

Here are a couple of links that further explain this study: CBS new and Healthnews