Does Stress Damage the Brain?: Understanding Trauma-Related Disorders from a Mind-Body Perspective - Hardcover

Bremner M.D., J. Douglas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393703452 ISBN 13: 9780393703450

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2002

Synopsis

Everyone who has ever experienced stress, or wondered about the effects of stress on their minds and bodies, will benefit from the insights in this clearly written and accessible book.

Why is it that we can remember exactly where we were when John Kennedy was shot, or when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, or on September 11, 2001? Does what we see, hear, feel, and in other ways experience, especially during times of stress, result in permanent changes to our brains? Is this one of the reasons stressful events become seared in our memories? These provocative questions, and many others, are answered here by J. Douglas Bremner, a leading scientist whose discoveries, and that of his colleagues, showed that extreme stress may result in lasting damage to the brain, especially a part of the brain involved in memory.

Readers will join Bremner as he recounts the harrowing stories of people under stress-from WWI soldiers to Vietnam combat veterans to survivors of the September 11 terrorist attacks-and gathers evidence for his intriguing proposition that stress actually damages the brain. As this book will explain, scientists now believe that stress-related brain damage may cause certain psychological disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There are in fact a range psychological disorders related to stress, what we are now calling the 'trauma spectrum disorders,' that may be manifestations of stress-induced changes in the brain.

This new understanding of trauma-related problems as essentially neurological disorders has many important implications. What a difference it would make if someone who experiences anxiety or depression realized that they were not at fault for these experiences, but rather these experiences were the result of brain-based changes as a result of stress? In certain cases, thinking about the effects of stress on the brain may help understand puzzling phenomena, like delayed recall of childhood abuse.

The scope and breadth of traumatic stress today make this book especially relevant. Our country will be sorting out the many patterns of response to recent traumatic events for years to come. If knowledge is power, then all readers will benefit from a greater knowledge of the potential effects of traumatic stress on mind, brain, body, and spirit. With over ten years of experience in researching the effects of stress on people, Douglas Bremner is uniquely qualified to help us make sense of the ways in which we experience stress.

About this title

About the Author:

J. Douglas Bremner, M.D., is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Radiology and Director of the Emory Center for Positron Emission Tomography at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, and Director of Mental Health Research at the Atlanta VAMC in Decatur, Georgia. He has authored over 150 publications, and written or edited three books, most recently Does Stress Damage the Brain? Understanding Trauma-Related Disorders from a Mind-Body Perspective.

Review:

“[...] The benefit of [this book] (perhaps more for clinicians and educated laypersons than for neuroscientists) is in the integration of well-known biological evidence from a 'mind-body' perspective.”
- Thomas Elbert and Brigitte Rockstroh, Dept. of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Germany, Nature

“A clearly written book on the topic of neurobiology of stress.offers creative solutions to treatment of stress-related disorders.”
- Jennifer J. Jasterling, The Lancet Neurology

“Timely, intelligent and clinically accurate. Bremner clearly describes the hidden knowledge that stress hurts the brain and body. And more-he offers the reader important solutions.”
- Charles L. Whitfield, M.D., author of The Truth about Depression, and Barbara Whitfield, R.T., author of Final Passage

“Posttraumatic stress disorder is among the most common and disabling of all neuropsychiatric disorders. In recent years, research conducted by J. Douglas Bremner has identified substantial effects of psychological stress on brain structure and function. This work has led to a revolution in thinking on how to conceptualize PTSD and, most importantly, to discover new treatment approaches. This book eloquently describes these advances and the clinical implications for all people exposed to severe stress.”
- Dennis S. Charney, M.D., Director, NIMH Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, Bethesda, MD

“Never before has the impact of stress and trauma experiences on the functioning and structure of the brain been so clearly and convincingly demonstrated as in this book by J. Douglas Bremner. This book is characterized by clear-headed thinking, careful analysis, and sound research, and also has important implications for the therapeutic management of trauma patients. It will therefore become a historical landmark in the trauma field and is a 'must read' for all clinicians, researchers, and mental health workers.”
- Johan Vanderlinden, Ph.D., Catholic University of Leuven and University Center St-Jozef, Belgium

“Dr. Bremner has written an exceptionally interesting and useful book. In lieu of focusing on a single avenue of stress-related psychopathology, Dr. Bremner cogently recognizes that trauma spectrum disorders (PTSD, dissociation, depression, anxiety, and borderline personality) share common brain abnormalities and overlapping psychiatric symptoms. The chapters are well written and provide significant information regarding the history, epidemiology, etiology, and treatment of stress-related disorders. This is a state-of-the-art work that will serve as an outstanding reference for practitioners and researchers.”
- Philip A. Saigh, Ph.D., Professor of School Psychology, City University of New York

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0393703452
• ISBN 13: 9780393703450
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 328