I know this may sound stupid and the answer is prolly obvious but here goes.
Why is it that I have gotten PTSD from some incidents and there were other cops or EMTs there but some of them don't seem to be effected by them as I am. I'm sure it's got to bother them but they don't show it or they haven't gone to psyc. as much as I have. Rumors always get out in my business. I guess what I am wondering is, is there a pysical difference not just mental ?

I do not know how related this is but reading your question about physical differences reminded me of something I read and a thought I had because it might also be some complicated biochemical process. I remember reading somewhere a few years ago that the effects of anesthesia can take a decade and more to fully recede, I do not know whether this is really true but it has been in the back of my mind since reading that. During my stay in the hospital I know that I was given anesthesia repeatedly. There are probably giant tomes of scientific journals devoted to these sorts of details about the effects of emergency treatment, but I am not familiar with anything like that-I only know introductory biology myself. I suspect that my lengthy exposure might have played some part in making me more susceptible to having PTSD but I can not say I know of anything that supports this conjecture. Just as easily I could see it having to do with being in the middle of puberty at the time, that is another complex thing. To give some response to your question, maybe taking certain prescription drugs, other drugs, over the counter drugs, or some environmental toxins (lead, mercury, etc.) could have had some effect, but I do not know anything proven myself or if you had any exposure like that.

physical difference in your brain. i'm told you can see it on mri, chemical diff. too

I think the easy answer to that is that we are all different human beings with different perspectives of life. Some people look at a dead cat in the middle of the road and wonder why the city hasn't cleaned it up and some tear up a little.

Terry, if we knew the whole cause and effect more clearly... Honestly, no one has a clue. Theories are all over but full of holes. This one my dear has no defenitive answer. I have an identical twin with a very simuliar background, why did that flake who rolls over not get it? I did? So I poo poo on genetics. Weak willed or mined nope. She was the flake. But at the same time people who lack backbone and roll over get it too. We are just lucky until they find out why.

I don't know that one Terry, I wish I knew the answer. But why is it the Coppers and Firefighters get counselling straight away, but us poor buggers in the Armed forces don't.
Scott:loopy:

One perspective is that it's a culmination of factors: patterns of behavior experienced from our family (eg how things were dealt with), the age of first trauma or traumas, number, severity, and duration of traumas, coping mechanisms/skills, ... and then how all of this impacts our wiring = depleting the chemical resources in our brain (no, I am not jumping up and down about med management... esp since the med field really can't account for how medications work, I mean, really work. And yes, I am on medication).

I have felt alot of guilt the past about how much my parents' treatment of me has impacted me in comparison to my cousins who grew up in Trinidad. However, that was a really unfair and peripheral view. The things I experienced many of them didn't. Totally different variables involved/interacting/banging the hell out of each other. And trying to firmly incorporate this in my process helps to "normalize" the presentation of symptoms.

Terry,

on page 3 here on PTSD chat is a threat--Hope this helps --PTSD soldiers & their families .

It is long a couple of pages, research was done for a psychology class and a DR was the instructor. She stated it was a well done paper...

see if anything there sheds any light on your question....

D (wildcritter)

If I understood corectly when I was researching the paper that wildcritter mentioned, I found that it is not a physical thing that is responsable as the change people are mentioning has taken place in all cases of PTSD. Yes it can be seen on an MRI but that is as a resault of this change having already taken place, combined with the lack of timely treatment. I believe that the reason some get it, and others don't, is due to the thought proceses and beliefs of the individuals them selves. Not a pre-existing psychological or physical issue that a traumatic event has exacerbated.

Speaking for myself, it's part nature and part nurture. I am the kind of person that is affected by trauma. That is to say that if I find a dead animal I find it disturbing and can be haunted by the sight for days after. Also when my traumas occurred I didn't have any supportive network in place to be able to deal effectively with them. That is to say that I had to cope with trauma on my own. I find that both of these factors have had a profound effect on my ability to cope with trauma.