Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Will Help Finally Come? Essay example

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a relatively new diagnosis that was associated with survivors of war when it was first introduced. Its diagnosis was met largely with skepticism and dismissal by the public of the validity of the illness. PTSD was only widely accepted when it was included as a diagnosis in 1980 in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) of the American Psychiatric Association. PTSD is a complex mental disorder that develops in response to exposure to a severe traumatic event that stems a cluster of symptoms. Being afflicted with the disorder is debilitating, disrupting an individual’s ability to function and perform the most basic tasks.

He discusses the effectiveness of this method and even that it has been proven to completely cure PTSD in some patients, mainly veterans which are my target patient of discussion. This article is credible because it was written by a good psychologist and was published in a credible medical journal.

Psychedelic chemicals are currently banned for any medical use and strictly limited in research to determine if they can be used effectively to help patient. With one out of ten people in America suffering from depression and one out of four people struggling with some type of mental illness not using every tool available to use seem foolish to limit the tools used by psychotherapist. During the next few pages I will discuss earlier uses for MDMA in psychotherapy and whether these results support or contradict these uses. This will be broken up into four sections; a brief overview of effects, couples therapy, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and schizophrenia.

MDMA has not always been viewed in a negative light. Its health benefits can be traced back to the mid-twentieth century. With the homecoming of World War II soldiers, MDMA use was found to be more prevalent in society. The correlation between the homecoming of the soldiers and the spike in MDMA usage led scientists to research the situation further. The scientists found that MDMA held psycho-related benefits which was most prominent in those who suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Those suffering with PTSD had a hard time coping with their emotions. They felt more detached from others and had sporadic behaviors that could lead to verbal or physical abuse. In the wake of World War II, the discovery that a drug could lessen

Historically, the use of drugs as fixers of the world's private ills has run into serious, if unanticipated, snags. At the turn of the century, the medical community thought that Cocaine was a completely appropriate, nonaddictive drug, and widely prescribed it. In the 1950s and '60s, first barbiturates and then amphetimines were recommended for various psychological ailments. It

The conducted interviews heightened my knowledge and were all unequivocal which efficiently assisted in my comprehensive understanding of methamphetamine and its leads to major depressive disorder. This research process enabled me to integrate information from exceedingly credible sources and incredibly validated my research through providing real life experiences in regards to the various effects of methamphetamine. It was through this research method that empowered me to pose further questions and encapsulated the articles, which lead me to the fact that it is through the insufficient dopamine sources that significantly induces adverse effects as opposed to the initially desirable effects. These interviews were paramount to my outcome as it fundamentally underpinned the success of my research through expanding the reliability of my collated data. Nevertheless, some interviews lack depth and incorporated information which are commonly in online sources. The interview which addressed the psychological effects of methamphetamine was comprised of biased information which merely elucidated how methamphetamine leads to schizophrenia. The responses did not cover the scope of my topic as it demonstrated no correspondence to the aspect of my research and was therefore not applicable as it disregarded major depressive disorder and its link to methamphetamine.

“The drug is also infamously known for its “bad trips,” which [give] some users feelings of panic, confusion, sadness, and scary images” (This Is Your Brain On Drugs…, Olsen, 1), a common description of what those included in MK-Ultra experienced. These effects varied in intensity, with some being pleasant, and others describing it as “A demon [invading them], [taking] possession of [their] body, mind, and soul. (Olsen,1). Those who were involved in these testings, including the huge amount of those who were forced to participate, were brought to believe that the testing’s main intent was to help “cure” things such as mental illness. However, “ [The testing] wasn’t being done to try to cure insane people, ...[but instead], it was being done to try to make people insane—to weaken people, and to be able to put them under the control of interrogators” (Listverse.com,1). This, of course, had a huge impact on those who were included in these studies, whether their consent was given or not. There are also cases in which the subjects in these studies are psychologically affected only by the conditions that they’re subjected

When mentioning psychedelics, the majority of people think of hippies taking drugs and hallucinating. Even though psychedelics is connected with a negative view it can be a catalyst in psychological growth and a medicine that has the potential to help treat patients with mental disorders. Most people believe that mental disorders are rare and occurs in “other people”. In fact, mental disorders are a lot more common than people believe. Most families are often caught off guard when learning one of them has a mental illness. To many families, it can be physically and emotionally exhausting, and can make us feel vulnerable to the judgments of others.

Past experimentation on psychedelics (MDMA, LSD and Psilocybin) found an overwhelming amount of evidence that proves they help people suffering from psychological disorders; this has since been halted as a result of government regulations and cuts on funding for research. The drugs became glamorized and became heavily abused by the public from the 60s to 70s and resulted in the authoritative attempt to maintain control by issuing The Controlled Substance Act. The act declared various drugs in 5 different schedules and a ruling that they have “no currently accepted medical use” (DEA). Because

My personal reaction to the article was that it was interesting to read all the surprisingly good outcomes of MDMA (Molly). I thought it was interesting that drug companies are taking advantage of the high level's that "Molly" has on the blood stream and have turned it into a benefit for treatments dealing with autistic disorder. I also found it interesting that psychiatrists are looking for ways to push MDMA for use in psychotherapy because they recognize the potential the drug could have in the lives of their

In the year of 1912, a new drug had appeared among the world, ecstasy, rolls, or X. While the drug was created in 1912 ecstasy had gained a small amount of followers among some psychiatrists in the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. Even though ecstasy had not fully undergone the FDA, some psychiatrists believe that the drug helps communication skills with the patience and allowed them to express their feelings and issues more clearly and calmly. These psychiatrists believed that this drug help turn their patience back to a more innocent and calm state. During this time period, there was more ecstasy available upon the streets. In the mid 1980s, the DEA banned the pill. One the other hand, in the 1990s, the FDA approved the first human test

Croft, Ph.D. Anthony Klugman, M.D., Torsten Baldeweg, M.D and John H. Gruzelier, Ph.D. the authors of the aforementioned article. Their findings were published in The American Journal of Psychology, issue # 158, volume 10, in October of 2001. (1) In their experiment 22 long-term MDMA users, 19 long-term cannabis users, and 20 drug-naïve comparison subjects were evaluated in an attempt to determine the effect MDMA use has on serotonergic function in humans.

3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), more commonly known as Ecstasy, is a synthetic amphetamine which causes psychotropic actions as well as entactogenic effects (stimulating the emotions), particularly empathy, euphoria and pleasure (Rietjens et al., 2012). In order to avoid and prevent severe complications as well as a dose-dependent increase in frequency of unfavourable reactions, rapid and effective treatment is needed (Ferigolo et al., 2003). Appropriate medications must be administered to those who present the signs and symptoms of MDMA overdose (Meyer, 2013).

"LSD was introduced into the United States in 1948 as a psychiatric wonder drug . . . curing everything from schizophrenia, criminal behavior, sexual perversions, and alcoholism," (Henderson, p.3). Sandoz recommended that psychiatrists take LSD in order to gain insight to the ideas and sensations of their mental patients. LSD was expected to create fundamental changes in attitude and personality, and shorten the time consuming, expensive process of psychotherapy by enabling patients to uncover unconscious material more quickly than conventional methods, (Henderson, 47). It was reported that "subjects would become less depressed, anxious, guilty, or angry, and more self tolerant, religious, and sensually aware.

Could illicit psychedelic drugs be used in modern medicine to treat individuals who suffer from mental health issues and life stress? Even farther, could LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) be used to help those struggling in their marriages? Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, commonly known as LSD or even more informally by its street name “acid” has long been a topic of controversy both in public policy and in the medical field. Despite its controversy and its illegal status, it has been used both recreationally and for research concerning its potential healing machinimas. LSD owes its fame to the counterculture in the late 1960’s, Hippies