Ecstasy for treatment of PTSD??? Some things just defy all logic, and this is one of them…..

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29779272/from/ET/

A very close friend of mine who knows how much I suffer from PTSD sent me the above article that was firstly published on Reuters, then MSNBC. I really don’t give a shit whether Reuters was first to run it, then MSNBC or what their contracts or bullshit agreements are with sharing news stories.

I care about responsible and professional journalism, and in the gospel according to MC, this is certainly not an example of one of them. I argued this point with my brother, who was a broadcast journalism major and works for CNN with no success. He said, they were just reporting a story- you don’t have to agree with it.

Maybe so, but I think that using Ecstasy as method of bonding with your therapist to cope with exposure therapy is the following:

1) Dangerous
2) Defeating the purpose of its cathartic intent

Now- I fucking hate exposure therapy- it’s like reliving your worst night mare X2. But, by going through it, it supposedly desensitizes you to things that remind you of and trigger your past trauma. For any of you reading this that has experienced a flashback, you know first hand how terrifying and disorienting one can be. Why add illegal and mind altering drugs to enhance this state? When I am in one, I already feel like I am on drugs. I don’t need any freaking more.

A physician endorsing the use of illegal drugs as a form of therapy violates professional ethics, common sense, and physical safety. It further alters and impairs the patient’s mental state, putting them at risk to possibly be victimized by the provider, or anyone else for that matter. Let’s not forget that a large percentage of rapes have occurred by scumbags who drug women’s drinks with Ecstasy. Need I mention Andrew Luster???

Can a video game help with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

I saw this in the Post and on the Today show this morning.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/01/playing-tetris.html

A new study reports that the game Tetris can help with symptoms of PTSD for those victims who suffer from traumatic memories. I think it is a fascinating study, but I was a little surprised by the fact that it's really not a theory that's very new and that's how they are marketing it.

It almost exactly mirrors a popular treatment for PTSD called EMDR therapy- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a treatment that I have undergone to help cope with my flashbacks. The process involves a lot of eye movements either following a light or movement underneath the guidance of a therapist while recalling traumatic memories. The theory is that by focusing on something repetitive, it can help reduce the frequency of flashbacks or at least help get you through them that can distract you from feeling like you are reliving the event in the present even while it's in the past- a symptom all too familiar for those of us who suffer from PTSD.

The more interesting thing is that, nobody seems to know including the people who invented it, why it works. I can not sit here and say that EMDR or therapeutic tactics such as this recent study have eliminated all of my awful memories from what I went through, but focusing on repetitive tasks and learning how to ground myself with my surroundings has worked to help soothe me through the fires of hell when friends or family are not around. Whatever works says the Gospel according to Michele Christine.