What is PTSD? CBD as a support for the treatment of post-traumatic stress.

Post-traumatic stress - PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a set of symptoms that develop in approximately 20% of people after a traumatic experience. It is diagnosed in people whose symptoms persist for more than a month after the traumatic event. The basis of PTSD treatment is psychotherapy, often combined with pharmacotherapy (antidepressants and antianxiety drugs). Hemp cannabinoids, including: CBD may support the treatment of post-traumatic stress.

What is trauma?

Trauma is an event in connection with which a person experiences extreme stress resulting from fear for their health and life. According to the definition of the American Psychological Association, a traumatic event results in a significant level of fear, helplessness, dissociation, disorientation, or other emotions that interfere with normal functioning and that are strong enough to cause long-term consequences for the person's life, sense of security, view of the world and society. myself.

There are two types of trauma: 

• Type one trauma: a single, extremely stressful event that may result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• Type two trauma – relational trauma: repeated, highly stressful events, most often occurring in close relationships or everyday functioning. Type two traumas include long-term exposure to physical violence, psychological violence, emotional abuse and neglect, or sexual harassment. People exposed to this type of trauma experience other consequences, e.g. they may develop personality disorders, dissociative disorders, the so-called “complex PTSD”, the diagnosis and treatment of which is different than in the case of PTSD .

Not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will develop PTSD. Immediately after an extreme situation, 30% of people experience an acute stress reaction (ASR). ASR symptoms usually disappear on their own within a few days of the single trauma if the person is in a safe, supportive environment. PTSD develops in approximately 20% of people after a traumatic experience and can be diagnosed if the symptoms persist for more than a month and have a significant impact on their daily functioning.

What experiences can trigger PTSD?

Initially, PTSD was only diagnosed in soldiers returning from the front. The set of symptoms was called "soldier's heart" during the Civil War or "veteran's fatigue" during World War I. As psychiatry and psychology and diagnostic methods developed, post-traumatic stress began to be discussed in the cases of people who had experienced other extremely stressful events.  

Events that, according to current knowledge can cause PTSD:

• rape (49%),*
• physical violence, assault (32%),
• traffic accidents (16.8%),
• threat to the child's life (10.4%).
• witnessing the above / the above affected a loved one (7.3%), 
• natural disasters (3.8%).

(*percentage of people who may experience post-traumatic stress after a given experience)

In each of the above-mentioned cases, we are dealing with an extreme experience that makes the person feel that his life and bodily integrity are in danger. This person experiences extremely severe stress that exceeds the person's emotional ability to cope.  

Diagnosing PTSD according to DSM-5

DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is the current classification of mental disorders by the American Psychiatric Association. According to her, post-traumatic stress can be diagnosed when a person after a traumatic experience develops the following symptoms :

• re-experiencing a traumatic situation (at least 1 of the following): 

• intrusive memories
• dreams related to the event,
• flashbacks,
• intense, prolonged stress reaction to factors that remind us of the event (also physiological).

• persistent, unyielding avoidance of thoughts, feelings, places, conversations related to the event, situations and people associated with the event, difficulty remembering the circumstances of the traumatic situation, isolation, alienation, feeling of no future,
• hyperactivity (min. 2 symptoms from the list): high alertness, anxiety, sleep disorders, concentration disorders, irritability, outbursts of anger,
• symptoms disturb the person's functioning,
• the symptoms are not related to the use of psychoactive substances,
• optional: depersonalization, derealization.

Davidson Trauma Scale - diagnosing PTSD

The Davidson Trauma Scale was created in the late 1990s and is a questionnaire tool that helps psychiatrists and psychologists assess the scale of trauma in people after experiencing trauma. The scale is used for an initial assessment of the mental state, which helps to select appropriate therapeutic procedures . 

CBD as support for the treatment of PTSD

Hemp cannabinoids , including CBD, have a number of properties that can support the therapy of people after a traumatic experience. These include:

• regulation of circadian rhythm, facilitating falling asleep,
• mood regulation,
• anti-anxiety and calming properties,
• supporting the body's regeneration, 
• improvement of appetite,
• supporting processes related to remembering and processing memories,
• relieving stress.

Hemp cannabinoids are currently the subject of scientific research around the world, scientists see the huge potential of hemp medicine in somatic diseases and mental disorders. Medical cannabis is already prescribed to patients experiencing post-traumatic stress, anxiety , depression and insomnia.