Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: a Biological Disorder
Hello Orange,
I look upon PTSD as a problem not so much affected by what goes on in the mind, but rather what is happening at the biochemical level. Thus although conventional treatment methods tend to look at the psychological aspect of PTSD, I consider the abnormal psychological experiences to be symptoms of a unbalanced biochemistry and NOT causes of PTSD.
When people experience a trauma as you have, stress hormones interfere with the production of feel good neurotransmitters such as serotonin. This can cause depression, but at this stage it would be classed as environmental depression.
Normally what happens is that after a period of let us say six months or more, the person starts to produce the feel good neurotransmitters and the person resumes life.
In some people this does not happen. It seems that people with PTSD continue to feel depressed and emotionally upset. The reason is that the person does not appear to be able to produce the feel good neurotransmitters that would enable them to enjoy life normally.
For the body to produce the feel good neuro chemical in the brain it needs the right nutritional forerunners of neurotransmitters - such as tryptophan as the precursor of serotonin - but most importantly it will require an inordinate amount of biological energy, called ATP, that is derived form glucose in our food. Without that energy the brain cannot produce serotonin.
One major reason why some people cannot metabolise glucose into biological energy is Insulin Resistance.
This means that receptors for insulin fail to push glucose across cell membranes and hence cells are starved of energy for it to manufacture the feel good neurotransmitters.
This condition can be tested with a four hour Medical Test for Hypoglycemia. It can also be tested with a paper-and-pencil test called Nutrition Behavior Inventory Test (NBI), although this would not be as accurate as the medical test.
Brain cells derive their energy solely by the blood sugar supply: it has no other sources of energy. Hence when brain cells are starved of energy it will trigger the release of adrenaline from the adrenal glands. This hormone functions to convert sugar stores in the body such as glycogen into glucose so as to feed the brain again. But adrenaline is also the fight/flight hormone, that can cause anxiety attacks, insomnia and nightmares.
It is of course natural for a person with PTSD to associate this with the trauma suffered, as one rational explanation.
When the body is flooded with adrenaline, without an environmental source of danger, it is usually experienced as an anxiety attack. It is a major cause of ‘mental’ illness. Most conventional therapists are not familiar with this approach.
The good news is that Insulin Resistance, also called hypoglycemia can be treated without recourse to drugs, because it is basically a nutritional disorder. It can be treated by going on a Hypoglycemic Diet.
Please read:
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Hypoglycemia
At our web site.
Please discuss with a therapist familiar with Clinical Nutrition