![]() The change has major consequences: the event, which is not measured during diagnosis, treatment, and research, is removed from its etiological status and is replaced by the memory of the event, which is measured. We examine the implications of a diagnosis based on a pathogenic memory rather than a pathogenic event. The memory report, in practice, is not questioned ( McNally, 2003b). However, in practice, the diagnosis does not involve measuring the occurrence of an actual event, only the patient’s report of the event at least one month, and sometimes years, after the event occurred. By its current diagnostic criteria in the U.S.A., which we refer to as the DSM, (i.e., the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, American Psychiatric Association, 2000) and by the World Health Organization (2006), the diagnosis of PTSD requires the occurrence of a traumatic event. We evaluate basic theoretical assumptions underlying the PTSD diagnosis and present an alternative model. This paper is a about posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and more specifically about its assumed etiology. Special mechanisms that apply only to traumatic memories are not needed, increasing parsimony and the knowledge that can be applied to understanding PTSD. Loss or enhancement of the trauma memory affects PTSD symptoms in predictable ways. The inability-to-recall-an-important-aspect-of-the-trauma symptom does not correlate with other symptoms. Predisposing factors that affect the current memory have large effects on symptoms. Negative events and emotions that do not satisfy the current diagnostic criteria for a trauma can be followed by symptoms that would otherwise qualify for PTSD. The diagnosis needs objective information about the trauma and peritraumatic emotions, but uses retrospective memory reports that can have substantial biases. The model accounts for important and reliable findings that are often inconsistent with the current diagnostic view and that have been neglected by theoretical accounts of the disorder, including the following observations. The model is an alternative to the current event-based etiology of PTSD represented in the DSM. Farsightedness: Difficulty seeing objects up close causes blurry vision for objects near you.In the mnemonic model of PTSD, the current memory of a negative event, not the event itself determines symptoms. ![]() Epiretinal membrane/cellophane maculopathy: Membrane forms over the retina (often inside the macula) causes blurred vision that may become very distorted.Dry eyes: Eyes feel dry, gritty, or scratchy causes blurry vision.Diabetes: Blood sugar is too high causes blurry vision, double vision, and vision loss.Cataracts: Eye lens becomes cloudy causes blurry vision, halos, vision loss, and problems seeing in dim light.Brain tumor: Growth of abnormal cells in the brain causes double or blurry vision and vision loss.Autoimmune conditions: Disorders that cause the immune system to attack healthy tissues and organs in the body causes blurry vision and vision loss.Astigmatism: Problems with the curvature of the eye causes blurry vision at both near and far distance.Aneurysm: Enlargement of an artery causes vision loss.
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