When a person experiences a traumatic event they often internalize the event and re-experience it. In effect, they are not only traumatized during the “activating” event, but every time something triggers a memory of the event. A traumatic event is an experience that causes physical, emotional, psychological distress, or harm. It is an event that is perceived and experienced as a threat to one’s safety or to the stability of one’s world.

The most well known cases of PTSD are seen in war veterans. Vietnam War vets who suffered from PTSD showed significant impairment in their ability to re-integrate into the “normal” (that is, non-combat) world. Many of these vets did not seek treatment, but even more disheartening is the fact that many probably could have been treated if effective programs had been available. Now with Iraq War veterans also showing significant signs of post-traumatic stress, we are poised to either end up with another generation of battle-rattled young men or to face the problem with the resources these war vets deserve.

Read more about EMDR to Treat Underlying PTSD in Drug Addiction