Trauma and Stress (PTSD)

Please cover these objectives:
Define stress and differentiate it from trauma. Explain the
epidemiology of psychopathology (i.e., PTSD) as a result of experiencing stress
and trauma. Introduce the Stress Response and explain fight, flight, or freeze
(immobility) as innate responses which will result in dysfunction, if not
allowed to naturally return to homeostasis by way of spontaneous recovery. Introduce evidence from animal research,
which has helped in the understanding of biological processes, as complex
systems like the nervous and immune systems often follow the same organization
and functions in all animals. Reveal pre-existing risk factors involved in
preventing spontaneous recovery from short-term functional impairments after
experiencing a traumatic event, such as genetics and environmental factors
(e.g., ACEs). Conceptualize PTSD from a psycho-physiological perspective, which
includes the brain, nervous and hormonal systems, psychological systems of
memory, cognition, emotion, perception, and behavioral expression of organic
changes caused by trauma. Finally, discus controversies within the field
regarding diagnostic challenges, lack of multidisciplinary field collaboration
and inability to adequately treat the disorder.

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