PTSD

Case Study 2:
Hannah, age 55, was in a major car accident 20 years ago during a cross country trip. Ever since, she has been unable to drive on major highways. Although she does drive, she goes to great length to travel only on back roads and scenic routes. She is able to go where she wants but it often takes her much longer to get there than it should.


Hannah is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This disorder is often seen in people who have experienced or witnessed an event involving actual or threatened death or serious injury. Every time she is exposed to a highway, she is reminded of the traumatic event.

Treatments for PTSD usually include psychotherapy and medications. Medicines that act on the nervous system, such as antidepressants, can help reduce anxiety and other symptoms of PTSD. Some types of therapy used in treating PTSD are cognitive therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and exposure therapy. All these different approaches can help you gain control of the fear and distress that happen after a traumatic event. They can also help you learn more about why you have certain feelings and thoughts, and how to replace them with more positive and realistic thinking. Through psychotherapy, you learn ways to cope so that you don't feel overwhelmed by thoughts and feelings related to your traumatic experience.




http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/ptsd.htm

http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/overview.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/DS00246/DSECTION=treatments%2Dand%2Ddrugs

Katharine McPhee and Bulimia

Beginning at the age of 17, Katharine McPhee, American Idol runner-up, struggled with bulimia for 6 years. After her successful audition in San Francisco in August 2005, she decided it was time to get some help. She then spent three months at LA's Eating Disorder Center, going through therapy and treatment for six days a week. McPhee said, "I entered the program because I wanted to give myself the best shot I possibly could on the show."

Katharine says American Idol had saved her life because she looked for help out of fear that the vomiting from her bulimia was damaging her vocal cords. She believes that if she didn't audition for the show, she never would have sought help and would still be struggling.

McPhee's illness started in her high school years. She says she was always concerned about her appearance and remembers starving herself and exercising to an extreme. "I was binging my whole life away for days at a time."

Katharine took the stage in her quest to become the next "American Idol" as she went up against eventual winner Taylor Hicks in the finale.

Shortly after the show, she hinted that she had dealt with body issues. "As women, we should not be starving. We should be feeding our bodies and our souls and there is a way to have a healthy body and not have to diet, not have to restrict yourself from food. As soon as you tell me I can't have this chocolate bar, I'm going to want it. I had a lot of fear foods – foods that I would binge on and stuff like that."

But, it turns our her problem was bigger than she would admit. Only a few months before the show, Katharine was literally destroying her vocal cords by purging. She had a very rough time with bulimia, throwing up up to seven times a day. Right before starting American Idol, she went in for treatment for bulimia, which she said she'd been battling for five years.

McPhee last binged two weeks before entering LA's Eating Disorder Center, yet she still managed to drop 30 pounds throughout the Idol process. "You start doing something you love doing and the weight just started falling off me. I was still eating," McPhee said. "It was a really amazing thing that happened with me and my body has just been kind of falling to its natural state and I don't know if it's finished going where it wants, but it's doing its thing."

A healthier and happier Katharine said she likes her new role as an idol to young girls. "I love being a role model. I think it's great."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/conditions/06/22/bulimia.mcphee/index.html

http://www.caringonline.com/eatdis/celebrities_k.html#Katharine