Psychedelic Drugs and PTSD Treatment
A single, controlled dose of MDMA (ecstasy), psilocybin (mushrooms), or ketamine could provide long-term symptom relief for PTSD patients.
Recently, Ukraine’s special parliamentary commission responsible for the medical care of veterans and service personnel, voted to establish a working group to assess the effectiveness of MDMA-assisted therapy on PTSD. “We have to deal with mental health issues,” Minister of Healthcare Viktor Liashko, who still needs to sign off on the group, told Ukraine’s official parliament TV channel, “[and examine] how new methods will help quickly and qualitatively.”
The adoption of psychedelic-assisted therapy could represent a tectonic shift in psychiatry around the world. Research suggests that the psychedelic drug MDMA, an empathogenic stimulant also known as Molly or ecstasy, can spark changes in the brain that induce a childlike state of neuroplasticity and help forge new neural connections. It could well be approved for PTSD by the Food and Drug Administration in August after two advanced stage trials showed significant benefits. Researchers are also studying other psychedelics as well, like the powerful drug ibogaine.
PTSD Science
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not a “processing disorder” that affects some people at random. Instead, PTSD is a specific kind of physical brain injury.
Extreme stress, such as the events discussed below, alters the brain’s chemical composition. High stress levels, from a one-time event or a cumulative series of events, enlarges the amygdala and shrinks the hippocampus.
The amygdala controls emotional responses and the hippocampus controls logical responses. When these two areas of the brain are out of balance, the victim has symptoms like:
- Nightmares,
- Flashbacks,
- Depression,
- Hypervigilance, and
- Anger.
These symptoms are usually much worse among adults. The suicide rate among these victims is alarmingly high, mostly because many victims self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. The symptoms are almost equally as severe in children, mostly because children cannot tolerate powerful PTSD drugs.
Medical treatment is the biggest part of the PTSD therapy approach. Chemical problems have chemical solutions. These victims also require extensive therapy. Not everyone responds to therapy the same way. So, PTSD therapy is often a trial-and-error process.
Even if under control, the aforementioned symptoms usually make it impossible to function normally at home, school, work, or anywhere else. As a result, a Carlsbad personal injury lawyer can usually obtain substantial compensation for these victims. This compensation typically includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.
Civilian PTSD Causes
Vehicle collisions are, by far, the leading cause of PTSD brain injuries. High-speed wrecks that cause catastrophic (life-threatening) injuries are almost impossible to forget.
A low-speed collision could cause PTSD as well, even if the crash causes no other physical injuries. As mentioned, the cumulative effect of smaller events causes PTSD. No one is sure how many events cause this brain injury, so anything could be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
To obtain compensation in these cases, a San Marcos personal injury lawyer must prove negligence, or a lack of care, by a preponderance of the evidence, or more likely than not. Sometimes, a third party, such as the tortfeasor’s (negligent driver’s) employer, is financially responsible for car crash damages.
Third party assaults often cause PTSD as well, on both the battlefield and on California streets. Evildoers are legally responsible for such injuries. Typically, property owners are financially responsible for them, if negligent security, such as a burned-out light, created the opportunity for the crime.
In California, the extent of property owner liability hinges on several factors, such as the owner’s knowledge of the injury-causing hazard, the nature of the business or property, and the likelihood of serious injury.
Reach Out to a Thorough San Diego County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Oceanside, contact the Pursley Law Firm. Virtual, home, and hospital visits are available.
Source:
time.com/6898881/psychedelics-ptsd-us-ukraine/
