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The basic cause of PTSD is no mystery. Traumatic experiences trigger what I call the “hot stove effect,” which happens like this: if a child touches a hot stove and burns his hand, the subconscious creates an association between the hot stove and the ensuing pain and injury. The next time it recognizes a hot stove, it spits out neurochemicals called peptides which cause the child to experience fear. This is designed as a protection from further injury.

The problem is that the subconscious often becomes overprotective. For example, if a romantic relationship ends, the pain and heartache may be associated with aspects of the relationship – attraction, vulnerability, etc. When the brain recognizes these elements, it may deliver the same anxiety response as caused by the hot stove.

Thus the subconscious inadvertently inhibits positive aspects of living in its efforts to protect us from pain and damage. Not only relationships may be adversely affected, but work, social situations, crowded, dark, or unfamiliar situations, and even getting out of bed in the morning may become unbearable for the sufferer.

Due largely to the large number of soldiers who suffer from combat stress and the difficulty of treating PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (or PTSS – Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) has become one of the most urgent issues facing the military medical establishment.

Known as “shell shock” in earlier wars, PTSD became better known following the Viet Nam war as thousands of vets returned to the USA but never really came home. Uncontrollable and debilitating anxiety obstructed careers, destroyed families, and paralyzed nearly every effort to heal and get on with living.

Initially, an uninformed public callously said “It’s all in your head” and expected vets struggling with PTSD to “deal with it,” but it was not that simple. Thousands of strong, intelligent, brave, competent men became jobless and homeless because they could not just “get over it.”

The current situation is exacerbated by budgets, politics, difficulty in diagnosis, and other factors. For example, because PTSD has often proven “uncurable,” soldiers are reluctant to get checked out since a diagnosis could seriously impede their future military career. The armed forces also increase their financial liability because a PTSD diagnosis may mean a lifetime of counseling expenses.

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