foreword
"A seed must completely destroy itself to become a flower" by "Baby Boy"
In the film, the therapist used exposure therapy for Otis' childhood emotional trauma stress syndrome in adulthood. I personally did EMDR, but not PE. I was very interested in this, so I went to check the relevant theories and theoretical basis for We all exchange and learn.
This article is not a movie review, and requires some background in neurobiology to read.
The interesting point in the query is that I always thought that natural disasters, car accidents, wars, etc. are more likely to lead to PTSD. As a result, studies have shown that trauma caused by interpersonal relationships and interpersonal interactions is more prone to post-traumatic sequelae reactions, especially those like As shown in the film "Baby Boy", physical or psychological abuse as a child, and abandonment at an early age are the top contributors to PTSD (Note 1).
Next, I will talk about movies through 1. the concept of PTSD, 2. the neurobiological mechanism of traumatic memory and its sequelae, and 3. the means and principles of treatment. Part1. Definition
Post-traumatic stress disorder, referred to as PTSD, also known as post-traumatic sequelae refers to a mental illness that occurs after a person has experienced emotional, war, traffic accidents and other traumatic events. Its symptoms include unpleasant thoughts, feelings or dreams, exposure to related things There will be mental or physical discomfort and tension from time to time, trying to avoid contact or even destroying related things, sudden changes in cognition and feelings, and frequent stressful states. Part2. Traumatic memory and sequelae.
The formation of traumatic memory has neuroscience as a biological basis. When a traumatic event occurs, the circulation of a large number of hormones (such as adrenaline) produced by the human body under the stimulation of stressful emotions will promote the episodic memory in long-term memory. Encoding (specifically, synapses forming new links), at this time structural changes have occurred in the brain, making people's memories of a certain moment particularly clear in people's brains and cannot be easily forgotten and erased.
"Repetition is necessary for long-term memory. In principle, however, a highly emotional state, such as that triggered by a car accident, could also bypass conventional constraints into long-term memory. In this case, a large number of MAP kinase molecules is rapidly transported to the nucleus, deactivating all CREB-2 molecules, making it easier for protein kinase A to activate CREB-1 and transfer this experience directly into long-term memory. This may be the principle of so-called flash memory (Note 2), it brings vivid recall of events that are full of emotional memories”
And why these traumatic memories develop into stress disorders has to start with neurology.
Neuroscientist Paul MacLean put forward the hypothesis that there are three brains in the human cranial cavity. These three brains, as the products of different stages of human evolution, cover the existing brain layers in order of appearance. However, each brain is connected to the other two through nerves, and each operates as an independent system, each performing its own duties. The human brain is essentially composed of three structures, namely the reptile brain, the limbic brain (mammalian brain), and the neocortical brain (human brain).
Reptile brains evolved for survival, including the control of basic life functions such as heartbeat, breathing, fighting, escape, feeding, and reproduction. In short, govern the survival strategy of fight or flee.
The limbic brain (mammalian brain) contains the hippocampus and amygdala and evolved 50 million years ago. The human mammalian brain, like all mammalian brains, is essentially the same, containing sensations and emotions, including
The hippocampus — which is responsible for short-term and long-term memory, and the amygdala — controls social behavior, sexual behavior, and other emotions.
The cortical brain (human brain) is located in the prefrontal cortex, the brain of the third stage of evolution, which is our conscious mind, and the source of needs, consciousness, abstract thinking, and imagination.
When a traumatic event occurs, external stimuli cause excessive stress in the brain, the reptile brain and limbic system brain will take over control, shut down higher brain functions, and the body's fight-and-flight response (heartbeat, breathing, etc.) is over-involved, and a large amount of adrenaline and cortex alcohol, when the only job of the brain is to escape from a potentially dangerous or unwilling situation, it activates an automatic program that escapes the scrutiny of the cortical brain, decisions and judgments, and the brain freezes, indistinguishable What is dangerous and what is safe, and then when the brain experiences the trigger, it cannot distinguish whether the traumatic event is imagined or real, and the memory of the past (replay in the head) triggers the same physiological as when the traumatic memory was generated. Response, this is PTSD.
Part3. Treatment The common treatment methods for PTSD are as follows: 1. Stress immune training (SIT) 2. Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) 3. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) 4. Extended exposure therapy / Imagine Exposure Therapy (PE) and Extended Exposure Therapy (PE) has been shown to be one of the most effective treatments for PTSD. Extended exposure therapy originated from exposure therapy for the treatment of anxiety disorders. It was initially applied to female patients who had been sexually assaulted. Later, it was found that it had a certain effect on various PTSD patients through continuous attempts. How it works: In exposure therapy, the therapist helps the patient face up to safe but fear-evoking things and situations, so that the patient understands that they can live with the anxiety situation and that there is nothing to be afraid of when confronting the traumatic memory Occurs, in order to reduce the patient's excessive fear and anxiety. After treatment, the patient can see the traumatic event as a very special event in a specific time and space, overcome the idea that the whole world is dangerous, give up the idea that he is completely powerless in the face of the trauma, and bring the patient a sense of control and self-confidence. Prolonged exposure therapy includes the following steps: ⑴ education about "common reactions in the trauma field" ⑵ breathing retraining ⑶ repeated field exposures of situations or objects ⑷ repeated prolonged imaginary exposure of traumatic memories
(To be continued)
Note 1. People who experience interpersonal trauma such as rape or child abuse are more likely to develop PTSD as compared to people who experience non-assault based trauma, such as accidents and natural disasters. It has been speculated that interpersonal traumas cause more problems than impersonal ones, but this is controversial. Note 2. The flashlight effect is a term in psychology, also known as flashlight memory, which means that individuals tend to leave deep and accurate memories of shocking events, and the accuracy of memory does not change with time. phenomenon that diminishes over time.
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