The Role For Alternative Medicine In Treating PTSD

Antidepressants and sleeping pills aren't the only methods known to relieve PTSD. Here are some other techniques that can augment what a medical doctor can do.

• A series of comprehensive scientific studies by the Samueli Institute confirm that acupuncture has sustained positive effects in PTSD. Acupuncture is particularly useful in managing pain, which makes PTSD much worse.
• Acupressure and progressive relaxation techniques bring on sleep. Progressive relaxation is particularly easy to learn. One simply tenses and relaxes muscles from feet to head in succession until one feels sleepy.
• Art therapy offers people who have been through trauma a way to express aspects of their experience they may find hard to put into words.

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (and a specialized kind of cognitive behavioral therapy known as cognitive processing therapy) give someone who has been trauma a renewed sense of control over events. The US military has created a virtual reality program called Virtual Iraq in which soldiers can replay common events in wartime with the ability to change their outcomes in order to break down feelings of helplessness. Although cognitive behavioral therapy is usually administered by a psychologist or social worker, there are some virtual reality programs available for at-home use. Cognitive behavioral therapy is considered a first-line treatment for PTSD, the first complementary therapy that should be attempted for the condition. Sometimes just a single session of cognitive behavioral therapy is enough to restore sleep patterns.
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) combines psychotherapy with directed eye movements that activate information processing in the brain. It has been used successfully in treating survivors of crime, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and war. EMDR doesn't get quick results, but it requires less time with a therapist or using a virtual reality simulator than cognitive behavioral therapy.

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• Diet can make a difference in PTSD. People who suffer stress tend to have poor diets, and people who have poor diets tend to suffer stress. War, natural disasters, and disease make it hard to eat properly. There are a few "quicker" fixes in diet for coping with stress, such as increasing consumption of foods that contain the amino acid alanine, which include beans, nuts, seeds, brown rice, whole wheat, meat, fish, and egg whites. Making sure some of these foods are included in the diet at every meal is enough. The curcumin in turmeric seems to prevent reactivation of fear memories. You can get curcumin either as a supplement or from eating curry regularly. Getting more of the n-3 essential fatty acids found in fish and fish oil reduces anxiety. You only need 1,000 mg a day; more is not better. The body does not use the n-3 essential fatty acids found in microalgae and seed oils the same way as it uses the fatty acids found in fish.
• Meditation can help reduce avoidance behaviors. The more you meditate, the better.
• While most people play music to improve mood, it also relieves pain.
• There is no reason Reiki should work for reducing emotional distress in PTSD, except it often does. If the treatments are affordable or free, there is no reason not to pursue them.
• Yoga is useful not just for achieving physical calm but also in relieving chronic pain. It's not necessary to be able to perform poses the same way the instructor demonstrates them to get benefits from practice. Even yoga that is performed in a chair and simple breathing exercises (pranayama) can reduce ongoing stress. Yoga can be especially helpful in controlling "jitters" and racing heart.

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Everyone who has PTSD benefits from a holistic approach to treatment, but not everyone who has PTSD responds to alternative therapies the same way. Most of these methods are not well suited for treating small children who suffer PTSD. They are mostly useful for PTSD treatment in teenagers and adults. However, there is at least one complementary or alternative therapy for everyone who has PTSD that will do at least a little good, and sometimes greatly exceed expectations.