A new study of military service members with PTSD showed higher rates of inflammation in their bodies compared to those without PTSD.
The really interesting part is that the difference in inflammation was almost entirely related to the “intrusion symptoms” of PTSD — nightmares, trauma, flashbacks.
So it seems there isn’t anything more subtle than the obvious at play: nightmares, trauma, and flashbacks trigger inflammatory responses.
Lots of inflammation is terrible for you, and is linked to higher rates of almost everything that can make you feel bad or kill you — heart disease, dementia, GI stuff. All that.
Obviously, treating PTSD should include a couple things, researchers suggest.
First, focus on the intrusion symptoms that are creating the inflammation. Talk therapy and medication would hopefully do the trick.
Second, work on inflammation through diet, exercise, and the usual anti-inflammatory processes people talk about.
Of course, you’d hope for a virtuous cycle, whereby first off, you reduce inflammation by addressing those horrible intrusion symptoms, and then further reduce it by lifestyle choices.
That being said, don’t feel guilty if nothing works.
There is treatment-resistant PTSD, just like treatment-resistant depression and anxiety, and one of the goals of this site is to acknowledge just how treatment-resistant some of us are.
The good news is that, no matter how treatment-resistant we are, nothing is chronic for the Christian.
“Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.” – I Corinthians 15:43.
P.S. The painting is “Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity’s Gate)” by Van Gogh, completed just a few months before his suicide.
