Emotional trauma

Wilkinson also notes the importance of emotional development in early life poor attachment and emotional trauma in early childhood affects health. As he notes, there are observed associations between health and social status, between health and friendship, and between health and early emotional development. All three of these must be considered prime candidates for sources of social anxiety. 

Clinical trials have also revealed a role for rhGH in the treatment of severe burns, particularly in children. The fear and emotional trauma (as well as physical damage) associated with receiving a severe burn triggers a neurological and immune-mediated response termed the stress response. This is characterized by ... 

Designer drugs" include amphetamines which have been modified for heightened psychoactive effects. The use of MDMA or Ecstasy has become popular over the past few years, especially after some psychiatrists attested to its beneficial use in alleviating anxiety and emotional trauma in their patients. MDA, a structural sister to MDMA, has been found to produce destruction of serotonergic neurons in rat brain. 

Screening newborns for genetic diseases can be highly cost-effective, especially in the case of PKU. The tests (no longer relying on urine odor) are relatively inexpensive, and the detection and early treatment of PKU in infants (eight to ten cases per 100,000 newborns) saves millions of dollars in later health care costs each year. More importantly, the emotional trauma avoided by early detection with these simple tests is inestimable. 

Although flowers have played a role in healing for centuries — Australian Aborigines and Native Americans were using remedies made from flowers to ease emotional trauma and achieve peace of mind thousands of years ago — the healing power of flowers was only rediscovered in the West in the 1920s when it was revived by Edward Bach, who provided the following attributes ... 

The vomiting center is activated by impulses that originate from the gastrointestinal tract and other peripheral structures. In addition, there are unidentified tracts that extend from the cerebral cortex to the vomiting center, such that emotional trauma and unpleasant olfactory and visual stimuli may cause nausea and vomiting. 

Oil of Silver is effective for disorders of the brain, cerebellum, nervous system, memory, and emotions. It is used in cases of epilepsy, depression, mania and emotional trauma. It affects the subconscious mind and dreams. It is useful in understanding one s hidden past. It helps to remove fears and mental blockages. It enhances one s psychic sensitivity and powers of imagination. 

The mental health coordinator may also serve as a consultant to agencies or designate a member of the administrative team to provide this function. Based on experience in Oklahoma City, the consultant should be someone other than direct line staff. The immediate responders deployed by the coordinator may include mobile crisis teams, case managers, professionals, and volunteers who have been preapproved. Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services counselors monitor the level of stress among Red Cross workers and clients act to reduce high levels of stress prevent further serious short-and long-term emotional trauma and provide opportunities for healthy emotional responses (American Red Cross, 1995). A field coordinator may supervise the staff providing direct services to victims, and provide reports to the command coordinator. 

Varicella-zoster virus is a member of the Herpesviridae femily. The viral contagion is transmitted via aerosolized water droplets or close physical contact with infected lesions. The primary infection results in varicella or chickenpox. The varicella infection can have potentially devastating ocular sequelae the most common is anterior uveitis followed by SPK. After the primary infection, latent infection occurs in multiple ganglia throughout the body. Herpes zoster is the resultant reactivation of the latent varicella-zoster virus and most often occurs in elderly and immunocompromised patients. Factors such as physical and emotional trauma, immunosuppressive medications, irradiation, cancer, tuberculosis, malaria, and syphilis are known to reactivate the virus. 

The two main memory disorders are amnesia and aphasia. Amnesia is a partial or total loss of memory caused by emotional trauma, disease, or brain injury (usually due to head trauma, surgical accidents, or chronic alcohol abuse). Memory loss can occur for events just prior to the amnesia-causing incident (retrograde amnesia), or for events occurring after the incident (anterograde amnesia). In severe cases of anterograde amnesia, the person may be unable to form n memories, although recall of material learned before amnesia s onset is usually unaffected. Many cases of amnesia (even severe) are temporary, so that the person recovers his or her memory. 

A female patient between 35 and 40 years of age with confirmed (in line with the methods of the time, including laparoscopy and biopsy) autoimmune hepatitis (ANA ++, SMA+, LMA +, LE factor+, IgG++, y-globulin++, GPT, GOT80-100 Utl, GDH ca. 12 UH, no cholestasis) had been undergoing treatment with prednisolone I azathioprine and had been in constant remission for over 3 years (maintenance dose of 4—6 mg prednisolone and 50 mg azathioprine for over 2 years). Physically and mentally stable, engaged in her profession, she had placed great confidence in us. Approximately 3 days after a sudden, severe emotional trauma with mental breakdown, the AlH deteriorated on a massive scale, and about 3 weeks later, the patient died in a coma hepaticum from acute liver failure. 

The disease appears to have a genetic basis with environmental factors, such as infections, emotional trauma or mechanical trauma, causing outbreaks in susceptible individuals. Psoriasis should be regarded as a chronic systemic disease, which can be associated with other chronic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes and may reduce life expectancy. About 15% of people with psoriasis also have psoriatic arthritis (see Chapter 7, page 173). 

So, what are the external environmental influences on genetic activity They are not all known, but they include the fetal environment, intellectual and emotional stimulation, and physicochemical environmental factors. All of these, it seems, can influence the activity of genes, and it is well known that there are critical periods during development for the genetic potential to be realized. Everything from ambient temperature to the presence of chemicals to learning to emotional trauma can influence the metabolism of an organism. 

Table 1.1). SchimmeTs summary bears a remarkable resemblance in both content and tone to the findings of the major record reviews of adverse events of the 1980s and 1990s. Schimmel remarked that the economic loss and emotional disturbance suffered by many patients were beyond the scope of the study, yet could not be considered insignificant complications of their medical care. Today we still have yet to assess the full economic consequences of harm to patients and have barely addressed the emotional trauma.

Cardiovascular Emotional trauma has been associated with sotalol-induced QT interval prolongation P ]. 

Besides technical issues, the psychological and emotional traumas associated with disasters are also important and have been studied, e.g. by Ehrenreich (2001). 

---