Many people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have reported positive results from using cannabis to treat their symptoms. Nightmares, panic attacks, hypervigilance, emotional overwhelm, social isolation, and destructive conduct are just some of the long-term effects of this terrible disorder. These debilitating sensations can become so severe that they can cause people to take their own lives. Despite the lack of a clear consensus in the data, many people with PTSD say that cannabis helps them.
Recent studies have provided clues as to the molecular mechanisms responsible for this curative impact.
There has been some promising research on the potential benefits of cannabis for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For example, one demonstrates that cannabinoids in cbd oil for lower back pain suppress activity in the amygdala, a brain region crucial for processing threats and initiating fear responses. Cannabinoids, which are found in the cannabis plant, may help erase painful memories, according to a different study. New research suggests that both impacts may have therapeutic value for those with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Researchers at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, investigated the effect of cannabis on the amygdala response in people with PTSD and other trauma-related anxiety disorders. Previous studies have shown that cannabis can help calm nerves and even stop them from getting the better of you in tense situations. However, there had been no research looking into this reaction in adults living with trauma, such as individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The Wayne State University study tackled this issue head-on by comparing the amygdala responses of three distinct groups of people: healthy controls who had never experienced trauma, adults who had been exposed to trauma but did not develop post-traumatic stress disorder, and people who had developed PTSD after experiencing trauma. The 71 participants were randomly assigned to receive either a little amount of THC or a placebo. The amygdala responses were then recorded after the subjects were exposed to threatening stimuli.
The amygdala of THC users was less reactive to threats.
This indicates that people who ingested modest amounts of THC showed statistically significant reductions in fear and anxiety when exposed to scenarios meant to elicit such emotions. These findings were consistent across all three groups, suggesting that even people with PTSD felt safer when under the influence of THC.
To sum up, the study's findings imply "that THC alters threat-related processing in trauma-exposed persons with PTSD," and the substance "may prove helpful as a pharmacological approach to treating stress and trauma-related psychopathology," the authors write.
Researchers at Brazil's Federal University of Parana conducted a second study looking at how cannabis can aid people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by reducing the emotional intensity of traumatic flashbacks. It was Yale associate professor of psychiatry R. Andrew Sewell who initially proposed the use of cannabis to aid in the process of extinction learning, whereby patients "overwrite" unpleasant memories with new ones.
Sewell, in an interview with East Bay Express, described how the extinction learning process might facilitate natural healing of trauma. He used the scenario of a veteran of the Iraq Battle who suffers from PTSD whenever he drives beneath a bridge since he had to avoid explosives dropped from above during the war. "Life gets really hard," Sewell said, "if some part of your reptilian brain thinks if you go under a bridge you're going to die."
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