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Poll Can PTSD Be Cured?

Can PTSD Be Cured?

  • Yes

    Votes: 78 26.6%
  • No

    Votes: 215 73.4%

  • Total voters
    293
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My opinion ...

A cure : removal or extinquished illness through medical treatment.

PTSD is an emotional disease that as a consequence can alter the brain function. However, there is no treatment to 'remove' the neural pathways created by this disorder. There are treatments to provide relief either chemically through drug treatment and cognitive restructuring.

NO, I don't believe a cure is available, but I do believe the disorder is manageable and through treatment many strategies can be applied to diminish the overall affect of the disorder to lead a 'mostly' normal life.

The hardest part is attaining the management skills and applying them in timely fashion to reduce the overall impact. But eventually the skills added to your toolbox do become automatic once you recognize what is happening.
 
I believe we can all learn the skills to deal with PTSD. I believe that all of us as individuals could fail to do so. Some will, some won't.
 
from Cindy's post:
" PTSD is an emotional disease that as a consequence can alter the brain function. However, there is no treatment to 'remove' the neural pathways created by this disorder. There are treatments to provide relief either chemically through drug treatment and cognitive restructuring. "

Cindy,
Many people believe this to be true. I have discovered this is not the case. Far from it.
I do not know if you have read any of my posts.
I was once so ridden with PTSD, and with issues of grief, I would not have been long for this world. I was hanging on by a thread.
I have been free from PTSD symptoms for almost 5 years. If what you wrote were true, most likely I would not be here today.
 
If "cured" can be construed as "well managed" to the point that it is no longer a negative influence, then yes. They say an alcoholic is always an alcoholic... but does that mean they stay the same? NO. They become something other, in many cases something better than they've ever known.

As I've said to others before, "It's both blessing and a curse, depending on what time it is". But the further I get down this "road less taken", the more blessings I percieve and the less of a "curse" it becomes.

It makes me think of the Chinese symbol for "crisis". It's composed of two characters: the symbol for "opportunity" alongside the symbol for "danger". We've got to lean one way or the other, I think.
 
Dave that's so true- what is the "focus", which way to "lean".

When I was a little kid, my dad was an AA -since 2 1/2 months after I was born- but never talked about it too much. But one of the few things I remember him saying was, "My best day drunk was never as good as even my worst day sober".

That brings me a tremendous amount of (tentative) hope in the comparison of that to "curing" ptsd; if I could "achieve" that I would be more than satisfied.
I can also think of him & his perseverance/strength/honesty to "get" or reinforce my own (-I hope!)

And yes, I too can say my "Blessings" have still been infinitely more important and of value than my "Curses".

Thank you.
 
I read the question some months ago and have been thinking on it for a while. I haven't read any of the other responses yet...I will definitely have to go back and do that...but I really wanted my response to be my own, if that makes sense.

Can PTSD be cured? I answered no. I don't believe that PTSD can be 'cured' any more than cancer can be 'cured.' When someone has cancer, receives treatment, responds positively, and then no longer has cancer, I don't think of them as cured. I wouldn't say someone who broke their ankle, had it set and cast, and then did PT to rehab it was 'cured' of a broken ankle. In both cases, the issue was treated and is now no longer a problem...but I would not call it curing because it involved major effort or difficulty to get well. To me, a cure would be something more like, "Here, drink this," and wham! it's all better, all gone, no effort. Just doesn't really happen with, well, much of anything.

Do I believe PTSD can be treated? Absolutely, at least for me. I believe I will recover from it and not have to live with it forever. I'm fortunate in that I have limited trauma and began competent treatment very quickly. It didn't fester long at all. I feel like my brain just didn't have a lot of time to burn in the neural activity associated with PTSD (I don't know if I'm saying that correctly). It did not become the norm for me, nor a way of life. There just wasn't time. I have worked hard and made huge progress over where I was when I was diagnosed last April. My symptoms are getting fewer and father between, as well as less severe. I feel there will come a time when I will say, "I HAD PTSD," instead of using the present tense, just like my pseudo-mom says she HAD cancer. Had it, treated it, don't have it now. That is my belief for me.
 
Mri?

MRI.....they can show you the difference in a brain with PTSD and without it....so if your brain has been permantly altered....then there is no cure. BUT...if I am understanding this right....the definition of cure is pretty much to heal which is what we are all doing now. Again, this all comes down to a persons perception of cure, healing and how things are worded. I think that if your brain is altered and that is medically proven..No cure but we learn to live healthily with it.

How does that work? how can they see a change unless they have something to compare it to?
 
sallysellsseashells
You are right, complete recovery is like you are fully functioning again. I have had PTSD for almost 4 years and will get another year of therapy. Complete recovery is when I can stand with my back to a flight of stairs, drive the car, manage my daily life and work without physically burning out.
With any illness you have to be realistic about recovery. I know I won't be the same person but hey, stay positive, and imagine I will be a better person because of it all. It's easy to despair when things are bad though.
Biggest Hugs to Everyone xxx
 
I voted yes but maybe that's because I like to be hopeful.

It depends on what you call 'a cure'. I think I'm content if I reach a point where I can live well with who I am, as I am.

Peter Levine writes that trauma can be transforming and I like that.
 
No cure but an opportunity to live "in the moment"

As one with decades of PTSD behind me and my colleagues, I too find myself often wondering why not and when is the cure coming? This is also that suggestion we might also try: what would you do of there were only one day left to live? I find it more than just an interesting top tune but a chance to live now.

Steve "K"
 
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