Turning on the bedroom light can knock the teeth out of all kinds of terrors. This same concept - seeing things as they are, not as we fear them to be - also forms the basis for many therapies used to treat the estimated 5.2 million people living in the U.S. with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Now, research shows that treating a victim of trauma with a certain type of therapy within six hours of the event - when most memories are formed - can reduce his or her risk of developing PTSD.
In the study, researchers from King's College London and the University of Oxford investigated the effect of two treatments: "updating" therapy, where the patient talks about traumatic memories to update them with more factual information, and "exposure" therapy where the patient revisits the source of fear to decrease its emotional effect. These two techniques were applied to 115 participants after they watched six film clips containing real-life footage of humans and animals in distress.
The researchers found giving the participants "information about the fate of the films’ protagonists" (i.e., using the updating technique) significantly reduced the occurrence of fearful feelings, and it reduced these intrusive thoughts better than the exposure treatment and no treatment at all.
As psychologist and lead author Victoria Pile, PhD, explains in a press release, this study is important because there are currently no established therapies to help victims of trauma fend off PTSD. And, she said, "this research implies that finding out what actually happened as soon as possible after the trauma might change the way the memory is stored and so limit the devastating effects of PTSD."
The researchers note that these findings could be especially helpful for people who are routinely exposed to traumatic situations, such as emergency service workers, military personnel and people working in conflict zones.
Previously: Study shows benefits of breathing meditation among veterans with PTSD, Examining the scientific evidence behind experimental treatments for PTSD, Using mindfulness therapies to treat veterans' PTSD and In animal study, sleep deprivation after traumatic events lowers risk of PTSD symptoms
Image by Capture Queen
