After the Diet™

Helping Humans Overcome Eating Problems

"I learned that if I didn't respect and care for my body...I'd have no place to live."  ~~After the Diet client

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Sleep Disorders

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Does this sound like you?
  • Do you easily startle?
  • Do you have trouble sleeping?
  • Do you feel on edge a lot of the time?
  • Do you have intrusive thoughts or dreams?
  • Do you have an overly sensitive sense of smell">

     

    After the Diet™

    Helping Humans Overcome Eating Problems

    "I learned that if I didn't respect and care for my body...I'd have no place to live."  ~~After the Diet client

    Home Page

    Other Resource Centers

    Bipolar Disorder    Depression     Eating Disorders      Eating Disorders--Men    

    Fibromyalgia Syndrome     Irritable Bowel Syndrome    Omega-3 Fatty Acids

    Polycystic Ovary Syndrome     Postpartum Depression     Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

    Sleep Disorders

    Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
    Does this sound like you?
    • Do you easily startle?
    • Do you have trouble sleeping?
    • Do you feel on edge a lot of the time?
    • Do you have intrusive thoughts or dreams?
    • Do you have an overly sensitive sense of smell, taste, touch, etc.?
    • Do you feel like you space out and lose track of time?
    • Did these symptoms seem to start to happen after a traumatic event?

    If you answered yes to some of these questions, you may have post-traumatic stress disorder.  A medical doctor specializing in psychiatry or a licensed psychologist is best qualified to talk to you about whether or not this diagnosis fits your symptoms.

    Is PTSD affecting your eating? 

    Is your eating affecting your PTSD?

    Click here to find help near you.

     

     

     

     

    An educational booklet by

    Monika M. Woolsey, M.S., R.D.

    Illustrated by Michael and Matthew Woolsey (kids who love to draw)

    Topics include:

    • Stop The Madness!
    • Brain Function 101
    • Your brain's Emergency Response System
    • What is PTSD?
    • Fight--What Your Stress Hormones Do
    • Flight--More About Stress Hormones
    • Freeze--Why you do some of the things you do
    • Forget--Where have all the memories gone?
    • Feel--How to get those feelings out where they can help
    • Feed--Nutrition and PTSD
    • Feed Your Soul--How has PTSD affected your spirituality?
    • Flashback!--Why food can be hard
    • Regrouping, Repairing, and Refueling
    • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
    • Talk Therapy                                                                                
    • Rebuilding Your Nervous System
    • Mother Nature's Stress Management Program
    • Have You Become Addicted To Stress?
    • Family

    To order - click here

    Meet Monika M. Woolsey, MS, RD, PTSD Resource Coordinator for After the Diet Network.  Monika is a registered dietitian and exercise physiologist who who specializes in nutrition, stress, and mental health.  She works in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area.  Monika has some thoughts about PTSD.


    Where did you get your training in PSTD, Monika?

    I have worked with eating disorders in inpatient settings, where I worked alongside psychiatrists and psychologists.  I was able to learn from their mentoring.  Many of the patients we treated had bulimia, which can develop as a result of untreated PTSD.  My most important teachers have been clients who have PTSD.  It has been very educational to hear their stories.  While each person I have worked with has a different path they have walked and a unique trauma that triggered their symptoms, there are some very interesting commonalities between them.

    In writing my textbook on eating disorders, I spent a lot of time reading neuroscience research, which provided a technical explanation for the patterns I was seeing.  I continue to read this research and attend workshops on neuroscience and to use this in my writing.

    On a personal note, I lived in Palo Alto, California during the earthquake of 1989.  It took me awhile to feel comfortable driving across bridges and to sleep soundly.  Part of my interest in PTSD is probably related to my personal experience and curiosity about why my brain became so sensitive to things that never used to be a problem.

    What is the biggest problem for your clients?

    PTSD creates a situation in which all the senses are on overdrive.  Because food is so sensory, it has great potential with its smells, textures, and even sounds, to promote the stress response.  Sometimes, the reaction happens before you can even realize where it came from.  Sometimes food is associated with a trauma, and individuals learn to eliminate foods to eliminate the way those foods make them feel.  Either way, PTSD has great potential to affect nutritional status.  And when nutritional status is compromised, it becomes even harder for the brain to do its job.  Thus, a vicious cycle begins.

    Can people with PTSD be cured?

    That is a question mental health professionals are best qualified to answer.  My purpose in working with people with PTSD is to help them understand how the syndrome affects food choices and food behaviors, and to help them develop strategies for taking the power away from PTSD.  (I like to say,"We're going to change it from POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER to PUT THE STRESS DOWN.")  My work is NOT a substitute for medication and psychotherapy, but it can help to make those treatments more effective.