How self‐kindness can help our patients

Abstract

It is well established by research that the prefrontal cortex of the brain goes “offline” when persons with post‐traumatic stress (PTS) become vulnerable to remembrances of their trauma. The most challenging manifestation of this is a full‐blown, often physically and emotionally debilitating panic attack, perhaps resulting in hospitalization. This agitated state can also prompt the use of mind‐altering substances to “re‐regulate” one's emotional state in an effort at homeostasis. But there are more subtle impingements, which also affect the health and well‐being of individuals with PTS.