These Feelings Are An Early Indicator Of More Severe PTSD, Depression, And Anxiety

leszekglasner - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purpose only, not the actual person
leszekglasner - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purpose only, not the actual person

A new study led by researchers at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts has found that feelings of detachment may be an early indicator of post-traumatic mental health disorders.

This research, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, is now the most extensive study of its kind.

Scientists used data from the Advancing Understanding of Recovery After Trauma (AURORA) study, which included over one thousand and four hundred adults.

These adults received care at twenty-two hospital emergency departments across the nation following incidences of trauma.

Moreover, the hospitals all reported whether the patients experienced derealization.

Derealization is a more severe form of dissociation in which people might feel alienated from or unfamiliar with surroundings, feel emotionally disconnected from loved ones, and have distorted visual perception, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Then, three months after the patients’ initial hospital visit, the researchers gathered follow-up information about any depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, pain, and functional impairment.

The study found that patients who initially reported experiencing feelings of derealization were at a greater risk of suffering more severe post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, pain, and functional impairment.

Interestingly, through the use of brain imaging, the team also discovered that this derealization stems from unusual brain region activity.

leszekglasner – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purpose only, not the actual person

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These findings underscore how vital it is to screen trauma patients for dissociative feelings.

By identifying at-risk individuals, doctors can more proactively provide early intervention treatments and try to mitigate the severity.

“Persistent derealization is both an early psychological marker and a biological marker of worse psychiatric outcomes later. And, its neural correlates in the brain may serve as potential future targets for treatments to prevent PTSD,” explained Kerry J. Ressler, a senior author of the study and the chief scientific officer at McLean Hospital.

Moreover, Lauren Lebois– the director of the hospital’s Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program– hopes that this study will push medical professionals to work on their patient care by forging deeper connections.

“With any luck, this [the study] will enable more clinicians to connect empathically and communicate thoughtfully with patients to help them understand their symptoms and available treatments,” Lebois said.

To read the study’s complete findings, visit the link here.

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Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing ... More about Katharina Buczek

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