Getting Treatment for PTSD
29% of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom veterans will experience PTSD in their lives. Sadly, many of these veterans won’t seek treatment for their condition.
For those who do seek treatment, options are improving. But many VA recommendations jump straight to medication when this isn’t the only route to recovery.
Are you looking at treating PTSD for yourself or a loved one? Then please read on for our PTSD treatment guide. We’ll briefly explain the choices available to veterans, including VA prescriptions and other options.
Treatment Options for PTSD
Treating PTSD is a complex process. There is no one-size-fits-all treatment. That’s why therapeutic options are growing in popularity.
And psychologists are developing new ways of processing trauma, such as exposure therapy. This method walks them through many situations, training them to identify and work through their triggers.
Non-pharmaceutical techniques like these treat the cause of PTSD. They address and treat psychological trauma. In time, patients recover to a point where they no longer need treatment.
But many doctors default to medication.
VA Prescriptions and Protocols for PTSD
VA prescriptions have long been the default solution to PTSD. Many patients appreciate the relief they feel when taking anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication.
These drugs mask and override the brain’s trauma response, making everyday life easier.
However, PTSD medication treats the symptoms, not the cause. When patients stop taking the drugs, symptoms can return because they haven’t been addressed.
This can lead to prolonged drug use, as well as mixing drugs to treat growing symptoms. However, this can worsen symptoms or lead to addiction. Most devastatingly, the combination of prescriptions can kill.
Many veterans have lost their lives to medication that VA prescriptions shouldn’t have mixed. The heavy prescription doses were prescribed by a doctor but directly caused their death.
What Should You Do?
Of course, medication has its place in treating a PTSD diagnosis. For example, anti-anxiety drugs could calm overwhelming symptoms to help a veteran get started with therapy.
But we urge you to do your research. If you want to accept a VA prescription, look into what happens when the drugs mix. Make sure that your or your loved one’s health will not be at risk by combining all the medication on the prescription.
Too many people have been lost to drug concoctions prescribed by doctors. The veterans’ symptoms continued to worsen, so more drugs were prescribed, and it cost their lives.
Support for Veterans With PTSD
VA prescriptions have helped many to manage their immediate symptoms. But please be cautious to trust it as a long-term solution.
What heals trauma is support from loved ones, those with similar experiences, and psychologists. That’s why we created the Cpl. Chad Eric Oligschlaeger Foundation for PTSD.
Please make use of the resources on our site to find a solution that works for you. Our list of treatment centers can help you or your loved one address their pain, not mask it with drugs. And if you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
