Thinking differently could affect power of traumatic memories

People who may be exposed to trauma can train themselves to think in a way that could protect them from PTSD symptoms, according to a study from King's College London and Oxford University. Clinical psychologists Rachel White and Jennifer Wild wanted to test whether a way of thinking about situations called concrete processing could reduce the number of intrusive memories experienced after a traumatic event. These intrusive memories are one of the core symptoms of PTSD. If we consider groups more at risk of PTSD, like military personnel, emergency workers or journalists in conflict zones, they are all groups known to be likely to experience traumatic events. This means they have the opportunity to train themselves in strategies that might protect them from the ill effects. Dr Jennifer Wild, Department of Experimental Psychology - Dr Rachel White explained: 'Concrete processing is focusing on how a situation is unfolding, what is being experienced and what the next steps are. It differs from abstract processing, which is concerned with analysing why something is happening, its implications, and asking 'what if' questions with no obvious answer. 'Previous research has shown that emergency workers who adopted the abstract processing approach showed poorer coping.