Patients typically meet with a therapist once a week for three to four months. For example, a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) may cause collapse trauma blackout because of unilateral loss of postural tone. However, a patient might remain fully conscious throughout the evolution of a CVA.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) was developed as a treatment for PTSD. It involves processing the memory and the way it is stored in the brain, which reduces problematic triggers and symptoms. Results were that three patients had recurrent spontaneous symptoms during monitoring (symptom/ECG correlation (SECGC) 0.9%), and none showed any concurrent arrhythmias. Speculation surrounds the reflex underlying reflex syncope, and its role in evolution. Some have suggested that it represents a “play dead” response to a threat from a predator, whereby the prey might escape death by collapsing and appearing dead.
This term is used extensively in emergency medicine, and this is an important setting for the triage of patients with T‐LOC towards the appropriate care pathway. However, if the terminology used is confused and misunderstood, it is more likely that the clinical evaluation will go wrong and patients will see the wrong doctors. They may then get “trapped” with the wrong diagnosis in the wrong care pathways. Next time you experience an episode, revisit what you were feeling and thinking just before the flashback or dissociation occurred. The more early warning signs you can come up with, the better able you will be to prevent future episodes. For example, if a child is raised in a loving home with good child development, they are more likely to process a traumatic event—such a natural disaster, war combat or abuse—better.
Repression is related to large-scale and deeply impactful experiences. Suppression, on the other hand, is typically related to more temporary thoughts and emotions, such as anxiety or anger. Someone may intentionally suppress certain memories, but it can also occur automatically in people who suppress things often. As I’ve written previously, it’s a great way to lull people into forgetting that oil and gas are terrible for our health. We aim to empower individuals to overcome anxiety and reclaim control of their lives.