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PTSD in older adults may contribute to frailty, linking trauma to physical decline.

Trauma is often missed because it presents as physical or cognitive symptoms.

EMDR shows early promise in reducing both PTSD symptoms and frailty.

This post was co-authored by Sierrah Hamilton and Robert T. Muller, Ph.D.

Aging is accompanied by a great many challenges. New research highlights a crucial connection between mental and physical well-being. It demonstrates how addressing trauma can not only alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in older adults but also significantly reduce a major health concern in this population: frailty. Frailty refers to a state of diminished physiological resilience, increasing vulnerability to falls, injuries, and other health complications.

According to Ellen Gielkens, a prominent researcher in the Netherlands, whose primary focus is the application of eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy with older adults, the recognition of underlying PTSD in this population is often missed. She explains, “PTSD is often overlooked in older adults........

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