Surviving Hanukkah for Survivors of Child Abuse

Hanukkah starts on Tuesday, and for some adults who may have experienced sexual abuse as children, it could be a time for painful and traumatic memories.

Examiner.com offers several tips for abuse survivors to get through the holidays, and also offers advice for people who know abuse survivors:

Surviving Hanukkah: Jewish Survivors of Child Abus

On a similar note, Fearless Nation PTSD Support offers a great list of holiday coping tips for people with PTSD.

PTSD Infographic

Earlier this year, the School of Social Work put together this great infographic: "What Is PTSD?"

Check it out:


Brought to you by: Masters in Social Work | MSW@USC

PTSD & The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I keep meaning to read the "Dragon Tattoo" books, especially with the first US movie looming on the horizon. But psychologists who have read it say lead character Lisbeth Salander obviously has PTSD from a traumatic childhood.

Everyday Health has the story about "diagnosing" this fictional character, along psychologists' thoughts on how she should be treated:

Asperger's? PTSD? What's Wrong With the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? 

[Edited 1/18/2002 -- I've now read all three books, and yup, that's one traumatized main character. Wow.]

Northern Ireland has highest levels of PTSD worldwide

Decades of violence and strife have led the citizens of Northern Ireland to have the highest levels of PTSD in the world, according to a newly released study carried out by psychologists from University of Ulster and trauma treatment experts from Omagh. (Both the University of Ulster and the city of Omagh are in Northern Ireland.)

The study actually examines the economic cost of PTSD -- it's called "The Economic Impact of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Northern Ireland" -- and it says that PTSD costs the country close to £175 million (about $275 million ) a year. That includes both direct costs (e.g., medical costs) and indirect costs such as productivity loss.

According to the research, 8.8% of the adults in Northern Ireland have met the criteria for PTSD at some point in their lifetimes. (Worldwide rates, in at least one previous study, have been cited at 7.8%.)

Read more:
University of Ulster press release, BBC, Belfast Telegraph