Facebook challenge grant aims to donate 100 service dogs to vets with PTSD

My article on the Dog Bless USA Challenge Grant, written for Mother Nature Network:

Facebook challenge grant aims to donate 100 service dogs to vets with PTSD

Fearless Nation issues call for volunteers and donations

Founder Colleen Crary writes: "Fearless Nation Needs Your Help NOW. Friends, we are being flooded with incoming soldiers and trauma sufferers. I am doing everything myself and working 16 hour days. I have also been financing FN for more than 2 years out of my own dwindling pocket."

Read more and find out how you can help.

Respiration, CO2 and PTSD

A new study entitled "The effects of CO2 inhalation in patients with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)", published in the journal European Psychiatry, examines the link between the "psychometric effects of CO2 on panic anxiety and PTSD symptoms in subjects with PTSD."

I can't access the entire paper, but there is previous research linking getting too much carbon dioxide (and at the same time not getting enough oxygen) with anxiety disorders (especially in children).

What does all of this suggest? Nothing conclusive.

But it does lead us to remember one key word:

BREATHE.

PTSD affects childrens' DNA

Childhood trauma can lead to PTSD in adults, while also affecting them on a genetic level.

According to a study published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, adults with PTSD who had a history of childhood trauma had a significantly shorter region of DNA proteins known as the telomere -- a region of repetitive DNA sequence at the end of a chromosome which protects the chromosome from deterioration. Previous studies have linked short telomere length with accelerated aging and a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other degenerative conditions.

The study examined a total of 90 people -- 47 with PTSD and 43 without. The subjects with PTSD were found to have an average telomere length shorter than that of the non-PTSD subjects.

Read more here:

Risk of Accelerated Aging Seen in PTSD Patients with Childhood Trauma

Veterans' agencies launch free PTSD Coach iPhone app

Got PTSD? There's an app for that.

Okay, now that I got that awful joke out of my head, here's the news: The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense have teamed up to launch a free iPhone app called PTSD Coach. Intended specifically for people who are in or have served in the military, the app "provides users with education about PTSD, information about professional care, a self-assessment for PTSD, opportunities to find support, and tools that can help users manage the stresses of daily life with PTSD."

You can find more info on the app here.

US soldiers 7 times as likely as UK troops to develop PTSD

Does culture impact how you react to trauma? The UK newspaper The Independent examines the possibility that PTSD is not a universal response:

The invisible division: US soldiers are seven times as likely as UK troops to develop post-traumatic stress - Americas, World - The Independent

10 Common Misconceptins about PTSD

Read the story at Veterans Today