An injection of cortisol shortly after exposure to a traumatic event could prevent the onset of PTSD.

Prof. Joseph Zohar from the Sackler Medical School, Tel Aviv University, has found that an injection of cortisol shortly after exposure to a traumatic event could prevent the onset of PTSD.

What a brilliant idea! Why wait for symptoms of PTSD to debilitate a person when prevention can address and effectively eliminate the problem altogether. Further, as inoculated trauma victims are returned to their families and societies, they are more likely to be more productive, better able to cope with their home environments, and quicker to adjust to later possible traumas.

Dr. Zohar’s idea of an injection shortly after exposure could backfire for those people susceptible to cortisol build-up or who’s bodies don’t process cortisol well. Many overweight people have difficulty processing the stress hormone and thus their bodies collect body fat instead of dealing with stress properly.

I propose that those exposed to traumatic events instead, use a quick de-stress process like RET or EFT to better utilize the cortisol they already have. In those cases where cortisol injections might be especially useful, I propose they be accompanied by RET or EFT sessions so that the cortisol is better utilized.

As it takes about 30 seconds to a minute to learn how to de-stress using RET or EFT, de-stressing techniques could be easily taught and administered along with the cortisol injections for soldiers returning from a fire-fight, for example. I see this as a one-two punch against an often-debilitating affliction. And it could be so easy to do – a ten second injection followed by a 30 second education in Rapid Eye Technology Immediate Release Technique or basic Emotional Freedom Technique – possibly accompanied with a 30-minute session of either process – and the affected person is “inoculated” from the effects of PTSD.

Sounds reasonable to me.