A clinical psychiatrist with decades of experience in areas ranging from forensic psychiatry to neuropsychiatry, Stephen Raffle, MD, maintains a private practice in Kentfield, CA. Through his practice, Stephen Raffle, MD, treats conditions ranging from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to emotional distress.
Often a romantic breakup can cause serious enough emotional distress that it presents similarly to PTSD. Those not responsible for the breakup tend to suffer more and may find themselves reliving the experiences, avoiding circumstances that trigger memories of their partners, numbing their emotions, and living in an aroused state, making them more anxious and irritable. They may also have trouble sleeping.
Studies show that such heartache has a neurological basis. Brain scans with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) indicate activity in certain areas of the brain similar to the activity in response to a hot probe placed on the arm. Hence, neurologically it seems that people experience emotional pain similarly to physical pain.
That fact has led psychologist Alain Brunet of McGill University in Montreal to explore treatment combining physiological suppression of the pain with the beta-blocker propanolol with therapy. He proposes this treatment to allow people to process through their memories, storing them without the associated pain.
Often a romantic breakup can cause serious enough emotional distress that it presents similarly to PTSD. Those not responsible for the breakup tend to suffer more and may find themselves reliving the experiences, avoiding circumstances that trigger memories of their partners, numbing their emotions, and living in an aroused state, making them more anxious and irritable. They may also have trouble sleeping.
Studies show that such heartache has a neurological basis. Brain scans with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) indicate activity in certain areas of the brain similar to the activity in response to a hot probe placed on the arm. Hence, neurologically it seems that people experience emotional pain similarly to physical pain.
That fact has led psychologist Alain Brunet of McGill University in Montreal to explore treatment combining physiological suppression of the pain with the beta-blocker propanolol with therapy. He proposes this treatment to allow people to process through their memories, storing them without the associated pain.
