A Reuters story on Wednesday, citing a study in the July/August issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, raised PTSD as a risk factor for cardiac disease. (That story is linked here.)
The study was done with Vietnam veterans, and it showed that once other factors were accounted for, PTSD caused twice as many study deaths from heart disease as researchers expected. The upshot of the study is that veterans with PTSD should try to overcome their PTSD as early as possible, through counseling and whatever other means prove effective (that wasn't really part of the study), because otherwise, PTSD continues to raise health risks decades after it first shows up, as it has with these Vietnam veterans, who are now in middle age.
PTSD: it's not good for your psyche, and it's not good for your body either. The best thing you can do, if at all humanly possible, is find ways to move through it, so it harms you as little as possible. WAY easier said than done, we realize. This study, however, is just another reminder -- not that we needed one -- that combat trauma/PTSD are not good for human beings to suffer: not at first, and not later.
But you know... if there were ever (another) good reason to check into something like "Mind Body Medicine," which we've talked about on the blog here recently, this is one of those opportunities. Even hearing something like "PTSD [which you couldn't avoid; you were in combat] raises your risk of heart disease [which by implication you can't avoid, now that you involuntarily have PTSD] -- or the even cheerier "raises your risk of early death!" [lovely...] is plenty stressful. And chronically elevated stress levels, don'tchaknow, aren't good for your heart (or your health in general.) The good news is, there are things you can do for yourself, in addition to whatever your doctor prescribes, that are low-tech, sometimes even high-touch solutions, that can create more peace and calm in your life with which to face whatever crises you may have, including health ones. Don't just let this news discourage you: let it prompt you to look into all of what your options are, for a healthier, and ideally longer life.
