Each year, on average, 3.5 million population in the United States of America experiences PTSD. In an estimation, one in eleven adults will develop PTSD  at some point in their lives. Research suggests that women are at a higher risk of developing PTSD even if they have fewer encounters with traumatic events in their lives.

What is PTSD?

PTSD stands for Post-Traumatics Stress Disorder. In this condition, the patient experiences extreme anxiety caused by any traumatic event in that person’s life. However, only 10% of the people who have encountered any traumatic event in their lives will develop PTSD.

PTSD patients are often provided with different treatment options depending upon the severity of their symptoms. These treatment options include exposure therapy, virtual reality therapy, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

There has been a significant improvement in 40% to 70% of the patients undergoing such treatments. They have specially observed that their symptoms of being unnecessarily feared have improved greatly. However, high suicidal rates have shown that some of the patients experiencing PTSD may not respond positively to these treatments.

Marijuana in Managing PTSD

The ineffectiveness of other PTSD treatments has shifted doctors’ focus toward medical marijuana in improving their patients’ symptoms.

According to research conducted at the US Department of Veteran Affairs,  patients who use medical marijuana after developing post-traumatic stress disorder have fewer symptoms and recover faster than those who don’t use marijuana.

The biggest challenge that PTSD patients experience is difficulty in sleeping. The traumatic encounters in their lives give them nightmares, making it difficult for them to have a peaceful sleep. The different research studies conducted to study the symptoms of PTSD suggest that between 70 to 91 percent of the patients experiencing PTSD find it extremely difficult to sleep at night. Between 19 to 71 percent of the patients have also reported having nightmares every time they try to fall asleep.

Marijuana contains certain chemical components that interact with the receptors in the human brain to promote sleep by suppressing the brain’s arousal system and increasing adenosine levels.

Marijuana contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC contains sedative properties aiding in a sound sleep, especially for people who have never consumed marijuana before or are used to taking more doses. On the other hand, CBD creates alertness at low doses and promotes sleep at high doses. Research has shown that both these components, when combined and given to PTSD patients, help them fall asleep faster.

If you are experiencing any symptoms of PTSD and want to have a different treatment approach, then contact Indica MD. We provide medical marijuana card online. You can also get in touch with one of our medical marijuana doctors NY to discuss your treatment options in detail.