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Zachary Marsh

Professor Slye

English Composition II

March 19, 2021

What exactly is PTSD and what are some of the treatment options for someone

experiencing PTSD?

When we talk about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD for short, there is a

common misconception the someone who is prone to experience PTSD might be someone who

has or is served in the military. Someone who has experienced and seen unimaginable

hardships during a time of war. Although this is proven to be true, this is only half of the truth.

Experiencing PTSD is not only limited to soldiers. If you have a heartbeat, you are susceptible to

experiencing some sort of trauma potentially leading to the individual experiencing some form

of PTSD. Understanding what Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is and how to treat the disorder is

our best way to help the individuals who suffer from the condition.

We have all heard of the “Fight, Flight or Freeze” response. When someone is faced with

a fight, flight, or freeze situation, the amygdala actives and allows the person to evaluate the

threatening situation. Stress hormones like adrenaline and norepinephrine are released

throughout the body causing a surge of energy allowing the individual to deal with the present

danger. The Amygdala is the part of the brain that allows you to process and handle potential
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life-threating and dangerous situation. When someone is faced with one-to-many dangerous

situations. The fight, flight, or freeze mechanism in your brain is essentially stuck in danger

mode even when the danger is no longer present (Greenberg).

The Hippocampus is the part of your brain that helps you process memory. One of its

jobs is to convert short term memories into long term memories. When you remember a

traumatic event, it is because of the Hippocampus and because the event was so traumatizing

the Amygdala is activated triggering the fight, flight or freeze response again. The individual

falls into a vicious cycle of reliving the trauma which can eventually leading to symptoms of

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

People have been suffering from PTSD for centuries. Only in modern times have we

been able to deal with the disorder and treat the patients as needed accurately. Cognitive

Processing Therapy is a 12-week program with weekly 60–90-minute therapy sessions. In these

sessions you will talk with a therapist about your traumatic event. Together you will find a way

to cope and overcome the event that traumatized you so badly (Bhandari).

Some individuals walk through life avoiding things and situations that might trigger

them into reliving the traumatic experience. Prolonged Exposure Therapy can be beneficial

because it forces the individual to face their fears head on. Fifteen 90-minute sessions will be

conducted where the therapist will teach the individual various exercise such as breathing

techniques to help ease the anxiety one might feel from their traumatic experiences. Later

sessions you will speak to a therapist about the event. Once the session is over you will listen to

a recording of the conversation between you and the therapist (Bhandari).

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In recent years there has been controversy in finding new ways to treat patients with

PTSD. Perhaps the most controversial yet groundbreaking is treating the sufferer with

Psychedelics. Studies show that there can be extreme benefits to treating someone with PTSD

with a controlled dosage of methylenedioxymethamphetamine, ketamine, classical

psychedelics, or cannabinoids while in a controlled environment. The patient will talk about

their traumatic experience with a therapist while being monitored by medical professions

through the duration of the Psychedelic treatment session (Krediet).

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a serious condition that if left untreated can have

detrimental on an individual’s livelihood. It can affect every aspect of one’s life if he or she does

not accept the fact that they have a problem and need help. No matter what kind of issue,

illness, or disorder someone has. The first step is admitting that is affect their lives. The second

step is talking about it and seeking the proper help they need to regain control of their life.
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Work cited

 Erwin Krediet, Tijmen Bostoen, Joost Breeksema, Annette van Schagen, Torsten
Passie, Eric Vermetten, Reviewing the Potential of Psychedelics for the
Treatment of PTSD, International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, Volume
23, Issue 6, June 2020, Pages 385–400, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyaa018

 DerSarkissian, Carol. “What Is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? Can I Have

It If I've Never Been to War?” WebMD, WebMD, 6 Nov. 2019,
www.webmd.com/mental-health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-
ptsd#:~:text=PTSD%20causes%20your%20brain%20to,active%20in%20people
%20with%20PTSD.

 Bhandari, Smitha. “6 Common Treatments for PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress

Disorder).” WebMD, WebMD, 21 Jan. 2020, www.webmd.com/mental-
health/what-are-treatments-for-posttraumatic-stress-disorder.

 “PTSD and the Brain.” YouTube, YouTube, 30 Apr. 2018,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVALpu4H5XU.

 Greenberg, Melanie. “How PTSD and Trauma Affect Your Brain Functioning.”
Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 29 Sept. 2018,
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201809/how-ptsd-
and-trauma-affect-your-brain-functioning.

 “PTSD and the Brain.” YouTube, YouTube, 30 Apr. 2018,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVALpu4H5XU.
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