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Research An Interesting Report on The Use Of Psychoactive drugs for Treatment Of PTSD

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National Public Radio is broadcasting a story about the use of controlled substances for PTSD treatment. If you can Access NPR online you should be able to find it.

I was aware that there were studies about the use of ketamine and MDMA ,also Psyllocybin and THC. Anyone who isn't going to listen to the report shouldn't take this post as an OKEY-DOKEY to try it at home, all of what I heard was all about guided use and medicinal/healing approaches to the use.

I am torn, I have seen so many of the minds of my generation turned to cottage cheese by overuse of these drugs or the street variations that were supposed to be these drugs. I know psilocybin mushrooms carry the risk of falsely identified and collected mushrooms causing severe liver damage. If there was a state control and pharmaceutical supplies, I would feel differently about it.

Has anyone here been involved in these studies? Would you please share your experiences with us?
 
I heard the same program, I think. And, a weird coincidence, was talking about this stuff with my T yesterday. I've read a bit about it. It's definitely a "don't try this at home" kind of thing. But, is sounds like sometimes it's helpful....... The psilocybin isn't exactly magic mushrooms. It's the actual refined compound. (So you know what you're getting, dosage & all.) And, from what I've read and heard, the setting and intent is important. I hope you get some replies from people who know more about this than I do!
 
And, from what I've read and heard, the setting and intent is important.
That is the biggest aspect right there. Psychoactives are trialled in therapy sessions typically with a psychiatrist under strict controlled conditions. Too many people love to water this important aspect down, talking about personal use instead as a treatment option. It doesn't work that way.
 
Yes, the report I listened to stressed mindset and setting. The drug was only used after several one hour sessions with no drugs, and then in an uninterrupted 8 hour or more session.
 
It was interesting how they reportedly can reach us when we have a total lack of ego because of the effects of the drug. We can answer their questions more truthfully and give the therapist a better idea of how to uproot some of the deeper stuff.
I know that in my own case I have a hard time talking about the worst stuff because I have been suppressing it for so long it is like a habit I cannot break. Strip that away and holy crap! Someones gonna have to get the AC guys to clean that up. I know I would be very afraid of using a psychedelic recreationally for that very reason. No thanks
 
We can answer their questions more truthfully and give the therapist a better idea of how to uproot some of the deeper stuff.
Yes... but there is a con to that too. You can't do this in hourly sessions, because you can't bring stuff out under such honesty without then accepting the repercussions that come with that. Those take time, and that is where the danger truly lay in this approach.

It is good, and can be bad, equally. Talk therapy the person controls what they talk about, thus they only talk about things as their brain is happy to release them to discuss. Yes, more stuff comes up, the person goes sideways too with just talk therapy.

I think this approach has a lot of merit under very controlled circumstance, especially say in-treatment facilities where they can control you and are available for you 24/7 for a short period of time in order to get through everything totally evil that has detrimental outcomes if left unchecked for even something such as overnight.
 
and that wouldn't happen in a few one-hour sessions.
I'm not sure that it necessarily has to. It sounds like the best way to use this is when there's already a strong therapeutic relationship. But, yeah, I think I'd be reluctant to try it too, and "trust" would be the issue. A couple of things I've heard mentioned.....maybe it "works" because of some characteristic of the people who are willing to try it? Also have read one researcher say it seems to overcome some kind of "roadblock". (Might not the word they used.) And, I'm wondering if the "roadblock" might be related to trust, or the lack thereof. I suspect that one of the things these drugs probably do is put you in a place where "trust" isn't an issue, and I'm wondering whether, or if, that might be important all by itself.
 
And, I'm wondering if the "roadblock" might be related to trust, or the lack thereof. I suspect that one of the things these drugs probably do is put you in a place where "trust" isn't an issue, and I'm wondering whether, or if, that might be important all by itself.
I think this is related (science-wise) to the effect the drugs have on the fear response/"fear extinction" neural network...using the assumption that one major aspect of the phenomenon of traumatic memory is compartmentalization that is driven not by conscious choice, but by a kind fo fear-response feedback loop. The concept of fear extinction - that there's a way to eliminate those trauma 'blocks' (walls) by de-activating the looped fear response.

Sigh, hard to articulate well. But extremely interesting stuff. It doesn't preclude the need for memory processing, it's not like one erases one's trauma response...only that the compartmentalization that is keeping the memory "stuck" - which in turn keeps the memory filed under "present" instead of "past" - can be overcome chemically. You hit the right psychoactive elements in the brain, and you will cease to have fear-based compartmentalization. Which THEN makes it easy (easier) to verbalize the trauma event, which then allows the therapist to walk your brain through re-integrating the memory, which files it into the past, which eliminates the PTSD response....

Something like that.
 
I don't know how relevant this is but over ten years ago I was put on Queteapine. I now take Olanzapine instead because Queteapine turned me into a zombie. I've never had hallucinations or heard 'voices'. I used to have terrible insomnia and anxiety which is why they put me on those drugs.
 
it seems to overcome some kind of "roadblock".
As @joeylittle outlined to my knowledge too. To put simply, people sit in therapy with a tonne of things going through their mind. They choose what to disclose. A person can not disclose an important aspect of their trauma history for years, subconsciously, sometimes not, all based on their fear to disclose, their weight they give to a detail (shame, etc) as to whether they want to disclose that due to fear of how the therapist will view them.

MDMA and such treatment therapies are aimed to remove those aspects via deep relaxation. Basically, its similar to what alcohol does. People are often brutally honest when drunk, especially if pushed into an argument. Afterwards a person may regret what they said, try and say it was the alcohol, but more often than not, its how you actually felt to begin with and where suppressing it for various reasons (social, environmental, so forth). Alcohol just isn't as efficient as MDMA at doing this job with the brain. The therapist does not want to be attacking you to retrieve this data, thus MDMA allows them to keep questioning you and you are much more likely to give the information up without a fight, and maintain a relaxed state with the information coming forward that you may otherwise have gone into panic or such over.
 
The VA has been studying MDMA for about 5 years as a treatment for ptsd - they are in the last stage of trials and from what I've read they are having surprisingly good results. As in 68% no longer meet the critera for ptsd. Here's the short version from a couple years ago.

When I first looked into it I was concerned because they had some patients report an increase in psychosis - even in patients who didn't have it to begin with. But I haven't seen that in a while so it might not apply in the later studies.

My T and I are already looking into getting me into a program once it's approved - hopefully in the next year or so.
 
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