Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a serious psychiatric disorder that can affect someone’s life for months, years or even permanently. While you may never be able to cure PTSD, you can treat it.
There are common medications designed to lower anxiety, stress, and depression to treat PTSD symptoms, but this approach doesn’t work for everyone. Fortunately, there are a number of alternative treatments for PTSD. Some you may not have heard of before.
Alternative Treatments for PTSD
Keep in mind, PTSD comes in many different forms. While we all have a tendency to relate this disorder to military veterans, the truth is, anyone can be experience PTSD. PTSD is caused by a traumatic event, which can include physical, mental, and emotional trauma.
Likewise, there isn’t a single cure or treatment for PTSD. People respond differently to different types of treatment based on their personality, experiences, background, religion, and the event that caused PTSD.
1. Meditation
The practice of meditation is growing throughout Western Civilization. There are countless benefits of regular mediation, such as reduced stress, improved emotional health, and more.
However, for PTSD sufferers, meditation can help process emotions and gain a better understanding of themselves. It provides relief from depression and a place of solitude to quiet their minds.
2. Acupuncture
Like meditation, acupuncture is an alternative medicine treatment that began in the east and has slowly gained traction in the west. Acupuncture is a Chinese medicine that uses tiny needles inserted into specific areas of the body to promote health and wellness.
The practice is based on the concept of Qi or Chi (universal energy found in everything, including us). The needles are inserted along specific meridians (energy pathways) of the body. Acupuncture is designed to unblock or improve the flow of life’s energy throughout or bodies.
PTSD sufferers who use acupuncture report feeling significantly less stress and anxiety.
3. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
With the aid of a therapist, cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the most effective alternative treatments for PTSD. It helps people recognize the thought processes that lead to PTSD episodes. It helps patients learn how to identify negative thoughts and thought patterns to provide a more accurate perception of any given situation.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy also teaches patients how to start changing the way they react to such scenarios. We teach our brains how to automatically respond through practice. The same thoughts, patterns, and reactions form stronger pathways the more we repeat ourselves, creating difficult habits to break.
4. Ketamine Infusion Therapy
Ketamine is a drug designed for anesthesia. However, research is showing positive results with low-dose infusions in PTSD patients. It helps reduce anxiety and other PTSD symptoms, sometimes quickly as 40 minutes into the first session.
At Therapy Reset, ketamine infusion therapy is being used to treat all symptoms of PTSD, such as depression, anxiety, guilt, stress, and more.
5. MDMA-Assisted Therapy
There are also some controversial alternative treatments for PTSD, such as MDMA-assisted therapy. MDMA, also known as Ecstacy, allows patients to relieve and re-experience their traumatic memories in a less threatening process.
MDMA is used also used for other mental health or psychiatric disorders.
Looking for More Information?
If you or a loved one suffers from PTSD, know that you’re not alone. There are plenty of people out there willing to help and a nearly endless supply of alternative treatments for PTSD. Reach out to friends, family members, and professionals.
And if you’re looking for more information or advice, be sure to check out the rest of our articles before you go.