We live in a fallen world, a stressful world, and too many walk through such intense stress that they develop a condition called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. For these individuals, life changes from one with sporadic stresses to one in which nearly everything becomes a source of stress. Not only do those with PTSD find that much more of life becomes stressful, but the intensity and duration of those stresses amplify, synergize, and thus interfere with life. The random sounds and interruptions of life can themselves become traumatic, speeding their pulse, raising blood pressure, and causing anxiety. Hormones clearly are involved in the symptoms of this process, but a recent study demonstrates that the cortisol hormone also plays a role in its initiation.
For many with PTSD, family and friends may initially understand that someone who lived through a car accident or was mugged could have some nightmares or feel some apprehension about going out at night. The understanding may not extend to compassion when the person with PTSD will not leave the house or cannot endure a simple car ride to the grocery store without panic. The person suffering from PTSD can fall into a very limited lifestyle with fewer friends and family who tolerate the PTSD imposed limitations.
Understanding how to help these individuals requires time and attention to understanding what led to their PTSD in the first place. Much of these requires careful listening and calm interventions, but a study by researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in France suggests that the levels of cortisol present at the time of the trauma can play a role in the condition’s first taking root.
Prior years of research noted that individuals with PTSD tended to have a blunted release of cortisol from their adrenal glands in response to traumatic events. Many had questioned whether this was a result or a contributing factor in the PTSD. By looking at genetically engineered rats, they determined that those with lower levels of cortisol release showed a higher level of stress responses as well as demonstrated reduced hippocampal volume (brain area associated with memory) and disturbances in rapid eye movement sleep.
To further support their theory that the lower initial cortisol response contributed to higher rates of rat PTSD, they administered a steroid to the rats during therapy to calm them. Those that received the steroid dosing demonstrated lower fear responses and improved rapid eye movement sleep. To top it off, the brain’s levels of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter associated with stress responses, returned to normal.
In our patients with PTSD of any initial suspected trigger, we often see abnormal cortisol responses in their salivary testing. While conventional medicine shows less interest in these more subtle changes in daytime cortisol fluctuations, studies like this do suggest that addressing cortisol imbalances could contribute to improving outcomes for PTSD sufferers. In helping our patients return to healthier, more abundant lives, we already focus attention on rebalancing adrenal hormones. This study supports our practice.
Original Article:
Silvia Monari, Isabelle Guillot de Suduiraut, Jocelyn Grosse, Olivia Zanoletti, Sophie E. Walker, Michel Mesquita, Tobias C. Wood, Diana Cash, Simone Astori, Carmen Sandi. Blunted Glucocorticoid Responsiveness to Stress Causes Behavioral and Biological Alterations That Lead to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Vulnerability. Biological Psychiatry, 2023; DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.09.015
Thanks to Science Daily:
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. “Why we don’t all develop posttraumatic stress disorder after trauma.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 November 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231107105359.htm>.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
