PTSD

Ms. Anders is a veteran with combat-related PTSD who was referred for a neuropsychological evaluation because she was having difficulty paying attention in class and remembering information from lectures. During the evaluation, she endorsed the following symptoms:

Frequent, intrusive memories of her trauma
Negative emotional reactions when the trauma memory is triggered
Constantly feeling revved up, stressed, and on guard
Always feeling tired
Getting physically sick more often

Consider what you have learned about PTSD this week, and imagine you were asked to explain the underlying physiology of why Ms. Anders is experiencing these symptoms. What would you tell her?