Smells and PTSD

Sunday evening as I was driving home in the rain I listened the following interview on NPR.http://ttbook.org/book/olga-nunes-voice-mail. In this interview artist Olga Nunes explains her project. She asked people to call into her Google voice mailbox. The voice mailbox greeting walks the caller through an explanation of how smells trigger memories and asks the caller to give their own example. You can find links to Olga Nunes Project at the above link.  There you can listen to even more personal stories of memories triggered by scents. You can also participate in Olga's project at This is a Memory Of.com.

If you listened to the interview many of the memories are of sad or traumatic events. It is important to consider a scent or aroma being a trigger to PTSD flashbacks.  An aroma trigger can be difficult to identified out of context of other recognizable triggers.  If someone is having strangely timed and unexpected flashbacks it is important to take a note of the circumstances. Once the situation has dissolved attempt to identify what may have been the trigger and how to avoid or manage that trigger.  Try to note time, day, location, situation, people around you. Physical reactions, sensations, feelings,emotions and automatic thoughts are not likely to be triggers but they can be a road maps or indicators.Stress is not a trigger but it does make a person more sensitive and weakens the ability to manage. However under stress some triggers may effect the person that don't  typically effect them. 


Unfortunately there is little research on the olfactory triggers for PTSD. Here are some interesting tidbits .

A 2006 study researched olfactory identification and war veterans with PTSD. The study reported a correlation between veterans with more sever symptoms of PTSD had more trouble identifying smells. Another article at Science Alert explains more about the study.  In that news article the authors of the research study explain that smell identification is correlated with other psychological disorders such autism, ADHD and schizophrenia. The authors suggest

CONCLUSIONS: This research contributes to emerging evidence of orbitoprefrontal dysfunction in the pathophysiology underlying PTSD. This is the first study to report OIDs as a predictor of aggression and impulsivity in this clinical population. It prompts further exploration of the potential diagnostic utility of OIDs in the assessment of PTSD. Such measures may help delineate the clinical complexity of PTSD, and support more targeted interventions for individuals with a greater susceptibility to aggressive and impulsive behaviors. [Author Abstract](Dileo & et al., 2008)

 In a 2009 study suggested hypnotherapeutic olfactory conditioning (HOC) for individuals with PTSD that is influenced by smells. The researchers report a 50% or more reduction of Impact of Event results. They also reported a maintenance of that reduction at a 12 month follow up.(Abramowitz & Lichtenberg, 2010) In earlier published case studies by the same authors, I discovered that the authors have developed this technique.  I do not endorse this treatment because a lack of research and information. Below is the information for further investigation.

In 2011,the Orlando Sentinel and the Miami Herald reports that  psychology professor Dr. Deborah Beidel, of the University of Central Florida led a study that incorporates smells in to the utilization of a virtual Iraq program. Check out those articles and keep an eye out for the possible publication of this study. 

Bottom Line: Don't underestimate the sense of smell.

References

Abramowitz E. G. , Lichtenberg, P. (2010). A new hypnotic technique for treating combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder: A prospective open study. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis (58)3.

Dileo, John Frank, Brewer, Warrick James, Hopwood, Malcolm John, Anderson, Vicki Anne, Creamer,Mark Christopher. (2008). Olfactory identification dysfunction, aggression and impulsivity in war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychological Medicine, 38(4), 523-531. doi:10.1017/S0033291707001456