How PTSD Affects Cognition

June is PTSD Awareness Month, and we would like to highlight the impact that PTSD has on individuals, specifically how their cognition is affected.

What is PTSD?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that can occur after someone is exposed to threatening or horrific events, such as war, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, serious accidents, abuse, etc. PTSD can develop after a single traumatic event or from prolonged exposure to trauma.

Most people exposed to trauma do not develop PTSD. In the days after an event, individuals may show symptoms like PTSD. However, PTSD is distinguished by symptoms that persist for over a month and cause significant distress, affecting daily functioning.

PTSD can happen to anyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, nationality, gender, or culture. Around 4% of adults in the US have PTSD, and 8% of adolescents aged 13-18. The lifetime prevalence of PTSD among Americans is 6%.

What are PTSD symptoms?

• Intrusion: This includes intrusive thoughts, such as reliving memories on repeat, and dreams or flashbacks related to a traumatizing event.
• Avoidance: An individual with PTSD may try to avoid reminders of the traumatic memory, which can result in avoiding people, places, objects, activities, and situations that could trigger unwanted memories.
• Changes in personality: People with PTSD can experience symptoms of depression, such as an inability to feel happiness, low mood, and loss of interest in activities. They can also experience changes in cognition, including difficulty remembering details of the event and distorted thoughts and beliefs about themselves and the event, often leading to self-blame.
• Reactivity: Individuals with PTSD become more likely to react strongly. They may be irritable, reckless, self-destructive, overly observant of their surroundings, and have trouble concentrating and sleeping.

PTSD and Cognitive Decline

Extreme stress over time can wear the body down. Unfortunately, this holds true with PTSD. PTSD can cause cognitive decline across multiple brain regions and functions. One study found that women with PTSD are more likely to have deficits in attention and working memory than women without PTSD. Research has also shown that PTSD can negatively impact verbal learning, information processing speed, and verbal memory. PTSD is also linked to an increased risk of dementia. In one study, veterans diagnosed with PTSD were two times more likely to develop dementia compared to those without the condition. The severity of an individual’s PTSD has also been shown to correlate with the severity of cognitive decline in memory and attention.

All of these deficits can create daily problems. Someone with PTSD may forget appointments, struggle to keep their responsibilities in order, lose focus during conversations, or find it difficult to take in information. Everyday actions that were once done without thinking can become effortful, may take longer to complete, and can intensify an already overwhelming mental load.

There is Hope

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

CPT is a specific type of CBT that helps patients understand how to modify and challenge obstructive beliefs related to their trauma. The therapy helps individuals gain a new perspective on their experiences and reduce the negative effects on their lives.

Prolonged Exposure

This is a specific type of CBT that teaches how to approach memories, feelings, and situations related to trauma, and to learn that these memories are not dangerous and don’t have to be avoided.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)

This therapy involves the client briefly focusing on a traumatic memory while experiencing stimulation, often eye movements, that help diminish the memory’s vividness and emotional impact.

Conclusion

PTSD is a disorder that continually hurts those who have already gone through trauma. Although symptoms of PTSD can feel very frightening and real, it is important to remember that they are just feelings and will pass. It is also important to seek treatment to improve your quality of life and cognitive health.