A Dialogue with Dr.
Stephen Paul Adler Ph.D.
Most people think of trauma with a big 'T'.
Earthquakes, the world trade center attack, kidnapping to mention
a few, when in reality, most trauma is trauma with a small 't'
that builds up over many years and produces post
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For example, the primary
trauma of a kidnapping victim as a big 'T'
also effects their colleagues, children and family as well as friends
of their children and their families as a small 't',
yet the treatment is focused only on the actual victim.
Any on-going moderately high state of anxiety
causes the intellectual brain to switch off and the emotional brain
and the limbic system to switch on as a way of protecting
the psyche from short-circuiting. In other words it prevents the
intellect from short-circuiting. When the anxiety has passed the
whole system may be restored to normal functioning but the intellectual
brain may have no knowledge of what is stored in the emotional brain
or limbic system. The recent sniper attacks are a good example of
trauma with a small 't' on populations
affected statewide.
That which is stored in the limbic system is stored in images, feelings,
colors, textures, sounds, tastes and not readily available to the
intellectual brain. Often a mugging victim will have physical body
memories of what happened but have no memory intellectually because
it is not stored in that area.
We also find that PTSD plays a large part in ADD (Attention Deficit
Disorder) and hyperactivity. Among many children and adolescents
that suffer from severe ADD or hyperactivity, they may not have
the same severity once work with PTSD is complete and the trauma
cleared, we find they do not have or have much lower levels of hyperactivity
and ADD.
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