Tag Archives: PTSD

GR Public Museum and John Ball Zoo partner to become Sensory Inclusive-certified

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Image by Andrea Don from Pixabay

By Kate Kocienski and Darci David


People with autism, dementia, PTSD and similar conditions often experience sensitivities or challenges with sensory regulation. A big barrier for these folks is sensitivity to overstimulation and noise — the norm for environments at public spaces like the Grand Rapids Public Museum and John Ball Zoo.


What to do?


Well, thanks to passage of the Kent County millage in November 2016, funding was made available for the Grand Rapids Public Museum and John Ball Zoo to help highly sensitive individuals enjoy their experiences. The duo partnered with KultureCity — a nonprofit based in Birmingham, Alabama — to make their organizations, including all of the programs and events hosted, sensory-inclusive. The goal: to promote an accommodating and positive experience for all guests with a sensory issue.


To obtain sensory-inclusive certification, JBZ and GRPM employees underwent training by leading medical professionals on how to recognize guests with sensory needs and how to handle a sensory overload situation. Sensory bags, equipped with noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, verbal cue cards and weighted lap pads will be available to guests beginning in early April at the GRPM and in May at John Ball Zoo.


Families can prepare for visits to JBZ or the GRPM by downloading the free KultureCity App where one can view what sensory inclusive features are available and where they can be accessed. Also on the app is the Social Story which will provide a preview of what to expect while visiting.


“Having the opportunity to collaborate with KultureCity and the Museum to offer sensory kits to our guests embodies the Zoo’s value of diversity within the culture, talents, and experiences of our communities,” said Peter D’Arienzo, CEO of John Ball Zoo.


“We strive to be a place where all people feel welcome,” said Dale Robertson, President and CEO of the Grand Rapids Public Museum.




Severe stress may send immune system into overdrive

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Stress disorders are tied to a 36 percent greater risk of developing 41 autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and celiac disease. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)

By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay

 

Trauma or intense stress may up your odds of developing an autoimmune disease, a new study suggests.

 

Comparing more than 106,000 people who had stress disorders with more than 1 million people without them, researchers found that stress was tied to a 36 percent greater risk of developing 41 autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and celiac disease.

 

“Patients suffering from severe emotional reactions after trauma or other life stressors should seek medical treatment due to the risk of chronicity of these symptoms and thereby further health decline, such as the increased risk of autoimmune disease,” said lead researcher Dr. Huan Song, from the University of Iceland in Reykjavik.

 

The body’s immune system protects you from disease and infection. But autoimmune diseases turn the body’s natural protection against itself by attacking healthy cells.

 

In comparing people who had stress disorders with more than 1 million people without them, researchers found that stress was tied to a 36 percent greater risk of developing 41 autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and celiac disease. It’s not clear what causes autoimmune diseases, but they tend to run in families. Women, particularly black, Hispanic and Native-American women, have a higher risk for some autoimmune diseases, the researchers said.

 

Song added that treating stress-related disorders may help reduce the risk of developing autoimmune diseases.

 

“There are now several treatments, both medications and cognitive behavioral approaches, with documented effectiveness,” she said.

 

For example, treating patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may help lower the risk for autoimmune disease, especially when taken in the first year after diagnosis, Song said.

 

But she cautioned that because this is an observational study, it’s not possible to prove stress causes autoimmune diseases, only that the two are linked.

 

In the study, Song’s team looked at patients in Sweden diagnosed with stress disorders such as PTSD, acute stress reaction, adjustment disorder and other stress reactions from 1981 to 2013. The researchers compared these individuals with siblings and people in the general population not suffering from a stress disorder.

 

The effects of severe stress have been associated with a variety of health problems, one PTSD expert said.

 

“Many studies have linked stress conditions as well as adverse childhood events, such as trauma and neglect, to future medical problems, including immune problems,” said Mayer Bellehsen. He directs the Unified Behavioral Health Center for Military Veterans and Their Families at Northwell Health in Bay Shore, N.Y.

 

“It is also notable that when people received effective treatment, their risk was lessened,” he added.

 

Although it isn’t known why stress can increase the chances of developing an autoimmune disease, Bellehsen suggested several possible explanations.

 

These include the impact of stress on lifestyle—for example, getting less sleep or increased drug or alcohol use. Stress might also directly affect the immune system, he said.

 

“Regardless of cause, this study adds to the evidence of the link between stress conditions and physical well-being, warranting further attention to the reduction of trauma and other causes of stress conditions, as well as improving treatment of these conditions,” Bellehsen said.

 

The report was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Have questions about your health or autoimmune diseases? Contact the Spectrum Health Neurology team or the Spectrum Health Allergy/Immunology team for more information or to make an appointment.

 

 

Is stress or PTSD so common in your life that it feels normal? Do you experience stress or PTSD without even realizing it? For additional information, call 616.447.5820 or schedule an appointment with the Spectrum Health Medical Group Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine Program today.

 

Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.

Pets soothe vets with PTSD

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Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat

By Robert Preidt, HealthDay

 

Service dogs may help reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol in military veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder, a new study finds.

 

For the study, researchers compared a group of veterans with PTSD who had a service dog to a group of veterans on the waitlist to receive one.

 

“Our previous research suggests that the presence of a service dog reduced clinical PTSD symptoms and improved quality of life,” said study co-leader Maggie O’Haire. She is an assistant professor of human-animal interaction at Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, in West Lafayette, Ind.

 

“In this study, we wanted to determine if those beneficial effects also included changes in the physiology of stress,” O’Haire said in a university news release.

 

The researchers focused on cortisol, a biomarker involved in the stress response system, and one that is detected through saliva.

 

According to study co-leader Kerri Rodriguez, “military veterans with a service dog in the home produced more cortisol in the mornings than those on the wait list.”

 

Rodriguez explained that “this pattern is closer to the cortisol profile expected in healthy adults without PTSD.”

 

In addition, “having a service dog was also associated with less anger, less anxiety and better sleep,” she noted. Rodriguez is a human-animal interaction graduate student.

 

The findings are the first of their kind and offer insight into how service dogs may provide mental health benefits to veterans with PTSD, according to the study authors.

 

The researchers are now conducting a large-scale, long-term U.S. National Institutes of Health clinical trial comparing veterans with service dogs to those without.

 

The report was published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

 

Benefits of owning a dog:

  • Fight heart disease. Owning a dog has a positive impact on blood pressure, which is one of the main factors in heart attack and stroke, according to Thomas Boyden, MD, MS, Spectrum Health program director of preventive cardiology. The American Heart Association reports a link between pet ownership and lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Studies also show you’ll be more likely to survive a heart attack if you have a dog.
  • Relieve stress. “Being around pets, and dogs in particular, actually changes your body at a hormonal level,” Jared Skillings, PhD, ABPP, Spectrum Health chief of psychology said. Of course, it’s not a cure-all. “Getting a dog won’t cure depression or clinical anxiety, but it certainly can help.”
  • Reduce loneliness. Dogs provide unconditional love. They’re caring, excited to see you and glad to be by your side. Need to talk? “Dogs are good listeners and they’re not going to argue with you,” Dr. Skillings said.
  • Improve sociability. There’s also the added benefit of the camaraderie among dog owners. “Having a dog can connect people to other pet owners, which can reduce isolation, too,” Dr. Skillings said.
  • Inspire exercise. A study published in the journal BMC Public Health said the average dog owner walks 22 minutes more per day than those who don’t own a dog. Daily walks have lots of added benefits, from controlling chronic conditions to burning weight and improving moods.
  • Add purpose. Having a dog or any other pet can give you a reason to get going in the morning. Size doesn’t matter. In fact, cats, horses and birds can all have a similar effect. Even tiny pets—hamsters, mice, fish, insects—can imbue you with a sense of purpose. In one study, elderly people were asked to care for a cage of five crickets. After eight weeks, the people who had the crickets in their homes were less depressed and had better cognitive function than those in the control group.

Is stress or PTSD so common in your life that it feels normal? Do you experience stress or PTSD without even realizing it? For additional infromation, call 616.447.5820 or schedule an appointment with the Spectrum Health Medical Group Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine Program today.

 

Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.