The intersection between brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has become a major focus of attention in recent years. Stimulated largely by injuries sustained in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, this issue has been debated widely because these conditions, both independently and collectively, are regarded as being responsible for much impairment following deployments.
According to recent studies, emotional trauma and PTSD do cause both brain and physical damage. Neuropathologists have seen overlapping effects of physical and emotional trauma on the brain. The most disruptive symptoms of PTSD involve flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive memories of the traumatic event. PTSD patients may be flooded with horrifying images, sounds, and recollections of what happened.
Brain injuries are often misdiagnosed or go undetected because the symptoms are not immediately apparent, or because the symptoms mimic those of another medical condition, including mental illness, emotional trauma, PTSD, etc. Regardless, those of us who are all too familiar with brain injury symptoms advocate for the inclusion of anyone who experiences brain injury symptoms, regardless of how the symptoms came to be. This webspace is not about any sort of diagnosis or treatment, but rather we have experience with, and offer mentoring and support for, anyone who is experiencing brain injury symptoms.