Post-traumatic stress disorder is no longer seen as a phenomenon or a mysterious ailment which develops among people who have witnessed traumatic events in their lifetime. Research is now being dedicated to understanding the effects of PTSD in many areas of life for both physical health and mental health. Recent research found a connection between PTSD and the way cancer patients experience their symptoms.
Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston looked at the possible causation of symptom burden in cancer patients and the presence of PTSD symptoms by observing the risk for hospital readmission for more than 950 enrolled cancer patients. Specifically, these patients had to be readmitted to the hospital unexpectedly between August 2015 and April of 2017.
Only a small percentage of the patients screened positively for PTSD symptoms. Whereas there was a higher risk for feeling the burden of cancer symptoms, there was a lower risk of hospital readmission among patients with PTSD. Interestingly, scores for PTSD were higher among younger females with “greater comorbidities and genitourinary cancer type,” Oncology Nurse Advisor reports. Additionally, “There was an association between patients’ PTSD symptoms and physical symptoms, total symptom burden, depression, and anxiety symptoms.”
The research did not provide a direct causation or explanation of why it is that cancer patients with PTSD might experience more symptom burden. Proving causation is extremely difficult for researchers to do and it often takes many studies to prove that one thing is the definite cause of another. Previous studies into the physical effects of PTSD might provide insight as to how cancer symptoms might be more burdensome for people with PTSD.
Stress is a necessary part of post-traumatic stress disorder. Trauma puts stress on the brain as well as the body, altering the normal functions of the nervous system, specifically, the sympathetic nervous system. People living with PTSD are living in a constant state of stress as their body is chronically experiencing the fight or flight system which produces stress hormones. Moreover, trauma creates stress mentally as well as physically and stress is known to cause molecular, muscle, and nerve inflammation which leads to illness, including cancer.
The Guest House Ocala specializes in the treatment of trauma, addictions, and related mental health issues like anxiety. Everyone has a story. If you are living with unmanageable anxiety as a result of trauma it is critical for you to know, you are not alone. Help is available. You can and you will recover. Call us today for information on our custom plans of treatment and our private luxury care: 1-855-483-7800