On top of all the stresses that every human experiences in his/her lifetime, the stress associated with the coronavirus (fear of becoming sick and possibly losing one’s life and/or fear of losing loved ones, monetary worries, being stuck inside without fresh air and sunshine, and being cooped up with relatives) are all sufficient to trigger PTSD.
As a result of the unprecedented stresses associated with the coronavirus, we must accept the painful truth: The coronavirus is triggering a global PTSD pandemic.
Let’s take a moment to review the main symptoms of PTSD symptoms. As you will see, PTSD symptoms are identical to those associated with low magnesium:
Depressed mood, avoidance behaviors (such as not doing what you know you should be doing, such as exercising or eating correctly, etc.) distorted and debilitating feelings, hopeless emotions, feeling like the world is coming to an end, a sense of despondency (who cares if I eat right or exercise, the world is ending); frightening thoughts, feeling stressed, anxious and/or suffering panic-attacks, irritability, angry outbursts, disturbed sleep, feeling tense, jumpy, jittery or on edge, having aches and pains and/or stiff muscles, physical sensations of pain, low energy, poor sleep, self-damaging behaviors (such as binge TV or internet watching and eating poor food) and the urge to self-medicate with food, drugs or alcohol or engaging in addictive behaviors (such as engaging in binge internet or TV viewing).
I also must say a few words regarding flashbacks and PTSD.
PTSD causes its sufferers to experience flashbacks of past trauma. Trauma creates what I call the Echo Process in which the mind associates current triggers with trauma we suffered in the past. For example, if someone was yelled at as a child, raised voices can trigger associations to the previous trauma, resulting in anxiety, panic and/or avoidant behaviors in which we avoid circumstances that evoke memories and physical reactions associated with the original trauma.
I have observed that the stress associated with the coronavirus is causing PTSD flashback reactions on a global scale. For example, one of my patients has been feeling stressed over limited food supplies, which is bringing up distressing flashbacks of growing up with a mother who controlled her food intake.
Another patient of mine just described how powerless he feels over the pandemic, which has triggered flashbacks of life in his first family where his mother controlled him to the point of keeping him on a leash—literally.
The point is clear: We are experiencing a global PTSD pandemic.
As an aside, the reason why we become sicker and more stress-intolerant as we age is because the physiological effects of stress are cumulative, resulting in magnesium levels that grow lower and lower over time.
Research proves that over 50% of the population is deficient in magnesium. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6683096/.
Yet another NIH research states that, “The vast majority of people in modern societies are at risk for magnesium deficiency.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5786912/
Given the unprecedented global stress, I suspect that future research will demonstrate that the vast majority of the population is not “at risk” for deficiency, but actually deficient.
Given all the stresses our bodies have been subjected to from birth, beyond accidents, illnesses, and mental and physical abuse and family traumas, poor diets riddled with glyphosate, fluoride, impure water, packaged foods containing gluten and refined sugar, vaccines, and pharmaceutical drugs, further deplete magnesium levels, which means we have all been teetering on the edge of PTSD for some time now.