Are SSRIs a good choice for PTSD

I have decided on my 1st thread to ask what the use of SSRI s are doing to our COMBAT TRAINED troops.I have been given 5 types and all have been the same.I started thinking violent thoughts and refused to take them any more.Once that proved to be a mistake as I attempted suicide but decided not to(why did the voice in my hed that stopped me sound like R.Lee Ermy?) These meds have been shown to be dangerously addictive as well.Every time I hear of someone losing it I wonder which SSRI they are taking.It's happening too often,and no one wants to bust big Pharma's cash cow at our expense.When will the AMA link with science and heal instead of treat? Nevermind the fact that if someone can heal cancer without chemotherapy,radiation or surgery they are in violation of the law.
But I again digress..SSRIs send it.

No. SSRI dulls all emotions and generally makes people zombie like.

You're better off with xanax/klonopin but they are physically addictive

reply to post by cavtrooper7


Ssri's can benefit some people who are really stuck in a rut. But only for a short time. A recent dutch study ( can't give details now. Just google scholar: dutch study hrv ssri and i guess you will find it...) clearly stated that ssri's have a negative influence on heart rate variability.
Hrv is a very interesting topic. Studies are linking the workings of your heart and prefrontal lobe. To me it explains a lot of psychopathology. And it offers drugfree alternatives

goodbye and goodluck.

I personally dont think anybody should be on SSRIs. There are other options.
I think same thing, wondering what SSRI they must have been on.

They make you docile and not care about anything you might want to be paying attention to. Thoughts and opinions become distorted. They have serious side effects, some of which can be permanant.

They induce hostility and suicidal or homicidal thoughts and ideas.

If on them, you need to take them on a strict schedule, you dont want to deviate from for even one hour. The problem with that is, it is not realistic. Their addictive quality seems to be designed around making the body completely dependent on them.so you cant miss doses or get off them.

You must wean off at a very slow gradual rate over a period of weeks. Most cannot do this properly and the body and mind goes into withdrawal and the person will become even more depressed and act out. The typical diagnosis then is to say see johnny clearly does need the meds, look at his behaviour now. It is in this stage that the patient may have acted out in a manner that required hospitalization, or institutionalising. That is now on record confirming they are a mentally unstable. During their stay at the psych ward, the dosage will be increased. You always hear he had a history of going in and out of psych wards, suicide attempts.
A viscious cycle ensues.

Originally posted by RealSpoke
No. SSRI dulls all emotions and generally makes people zombie like.

You're better off with xanax/klonopin but they are physically addictive

he is correct.




There is no long term fix for PTSD.



The only way, block out the memories (your minds natural defense)

I would suggest moving to a state with medical marijuana. There are several veterans groups that can help you out with this as well. such as: www.veteransformedicalmarijuana.org...

A good friend, and veteran made a similar choice after the drugs the army was prescribing started to give him manic episodes and lost time( sometimes up to a week in duration). He is now furthering his education and pretty much able to deal with life like a normal person.
It can also help with combat injury pain as well. However, you do need to be somewhere that it is legal. My own state of Michigan is a good example.

reply to post by Metatronin


My results, with green, for injuries and PTSD were well below its exaggerated benefits. Others in my VA support groups would also report the same. I've never been given a SSRI. Klonapin works to numb the mind, but removes a possibility for productivity. Right now, I love to eat Ativan all day, but it can't be taken with Klonapin.

reply to post by Metatronin

You can't mean here in Colorado? Yes,just don't join any "Clubs" or they have you on a firearm charge for falsifying document 4473.
I cannot confirm or deny any knowledge..........
But yes ,I hate going out ,it is very stressful.

Im afraid that the anxiety that persists from being in a 'bang bang' situation can rewire your nervous system to some degree and will pop up in your dreams for many years. Although SSRI can deal with acute symptoms, they will mask the issues and avoiding the underlying issues and can only end badly. Benzos, like klonopin and ativan are a time bomb waiting to happen and erode your mental state and likely precipitate a full blown, un-inhibited incident.
I think PTSD should be viewed in 2 ways. Firstly that caused by 'bang bang' situation, the extreme of these experiencing violence on oneself or others, and Secondly, that caused by the guilt of perpetrating violence on others. With the former, time is the only real solution. The Latter, being a 'spiritual' wound requires some form of amends to be made.

I had to stop taking them after a few weeks due to suicidal/homicidal thoughts, I also found myself too indecisive to be able to drive in traffic, my doc switched me to tricyclics (deptran) and have had no problems.

reply to post by cavtrooper7


Hi Cav

Just bear in mind that asking this question on an open form is that the majority of posters on any internet forum may not be experts in this area.

They may have opinions and there is nothing wrong with that, but each case of PTSD needs to be treated based on its own symptoms, therefore there is not one easy answer.

It may be better for you to seek an opinion from maybe three different PTSD specialists. Not just any qualified shrink but someone who specialised in trauma and go with who you feel most comfortable with.

I think my brain is broken or something. I was taking SSRI for 6 months, always upping the dose every month. They had no effect on me whatsoever. My doctor said if I just stopped I would get withdrawal, I had to step the dose back down. I just stopped and nothing happened.

SSRI's, it must be said, are also handy tools for narcissists to control people with PTSD, including people they themselves have also traumatized.

Psychiatrists can't bill unless there is a diagnosis, and with it must come a prescription. So be cautious. Maybe seek a sociologist or psychologist instead.

I have it, and due to a medical interaction, could not take anti-depressants, though suicide from the constant physical pain was something my doctors feared. I had a grand-mal seizure from using them at first, so it was off the table pretty quickly. Believe it or not, some family members who preferred me in a doormat state insisted that I take them, to put up with their mistreatment better. At least that is how it played out.

Being forced to deal with things, however, and a great male/female therapist combo saved me. I learned to cut ties with people who were stopping my recovery from PTSD. Taking care of myself is a full-time job, but I still have my sexuality and my creativity, and the negative people I have to keep out of my life for my own survival.

Turns out that it is not so bad.

I am not knocking meds at all, but it is worth a try to get the bad tooth out, instead of continuing to use toothache pain-relievers, if you catch my drift. The pain is ten times worse when the meds wear off, whereas letting the pain be treated, then actually addressed, will lead to times when we don't need that pain-relief to get through tough times.

Coping with the pain and flashbacks of PTSD is what makes us able to cope with the pain. Every time we get through it with a minimum of Big Pharma help, if that is possible for us, we get stronger and more able to do the same thing next time.

Stressed out a thousand times a day by simple things that tear your nerves apart like you're in a tornado, but it is a sunny day? Then, like a thousand push-ups, we cope a thousand times and get super strong because of it.

Yeah, the first few days are hell, and there is hell waiting, but it is only a temporary hell. If we are here right now, we have survived the actual hell. Coping = reminding ourselves that it is a different day today. Days don't repeat exactly, no matter what details seem to.

This date is not the same as the date that event occurred. I am not the same person I was on that/those days.

Et cetera. Good luck and God bless. And yes, the green is our friend.

Also crucial to the process is the addressing of those we count on, whose role it is to help us, but who actually cannot deal with our pain, and perhaps can't deal with a healthier version of us.

This is the most difficult part. I certainly hope it is not the case with others, but in mine, a critical step was to cut ties with my mom and my son's father.

They could not fulfill their roles no matter what, and it was killing me to keep hanging around and trying to merit their efforts, being bargained with over simple decency and humanity.

Naturally, my son and I were better off without them! Was it scary? Yes. Was I lonely? Sometimes. Did I get the chance to heal?

Definitely! I feel sorry for who they became as they pursued their views and I had only one road to go on, without meds.

So if people start up some of that dysfunctional behavior now, I am able to see it, fear its power in my life, and courageously stand up for myself right at the start of it.

If I am afraid that I will die alone, I remind myself of all the people in my life now that there is room for them. Staying off meds led to that.

Otherwise, I would still be getting used for my broad mind while my sensitive heart gets trampled and mocked, like before.

This seems much better to me. And years of those other choices have showed me it was the best for me. I thank God I was unable to be medicated. And I remember those who didn't care what the meds would do to me. Seeing their lack of humanity or common sense made it much easier not to listen to their other negative comments and/or advice.

So take heart. Working through troubles is the healthy way. Even with meds, cognitive behavioral therapy is what makes the healing happen to the battered mind, i.e. realizing and reaffirming over and over and over that one is safe now, that whatever stressors we feel are not deadly, and that we will be able to respond accordingly if one is. God bless you!

It also may help to think of PTSD recovery as getting your own subconscious to trust you.

It is trying to protect you from further trauma by making sure you pay attentiona and remember. It is like an instant mutation, but the adaptation curve is rough!

Here are some links that might help understand how your active mind, the one you are using right now as you choose, works with your subconscious mind, which is monitoring your active mind and your surroundings for data relevant to your safety and mental health.

The more times you reassure yourself (out loud) that this is a different time and location from the trauma, and the more times that is true (nothing bad happens), the more your own subconscious will separate you from the trauma, and begin to trust you, i.e. calm down, and be less triggered.

It needs assurance, not medication alone.

en.wikipedia.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

psycnet.apa.org...

psycnet.apa.org... (from the American Psychological Association, academic paper)

And remember, with meds alone, all it takes is one more thing to go wrong in life, like losing a job or insurance, or something similar, and you are on the cliff face, hanging with nothing else to save you. That is when a lot of people lose it due to sudden withdrawal (if it has been working for you) and the sudden influx of strong emotions that need to be recognized so your mind can know you are handling things in a way that is non-threatening. With suppression (meds alone), all that overwhelms one in a flood that has little chance to pass harmlessly by.

Hi OP

Have often wondered about those SSRI's myself--are folk still being used as guinea pigs?

Good advice in some of the previous posts.

May I also add, that one should make sure to eat properly- This means a healthy diet. Lack of nutrition can play the culprit with the psyche: Our thinking processes are affected, bodies get run down. A lot of folks are unaware of just how big a role our diets do contribute to how we feel.

Some folks , if you are like me, when depressed , have no desire to eat having lost your appetite. We have to MAKE ourselves eat regardless of not feeling hunger.

So please eat heartily and healthily. Some of us have to stay on our toes to keep healthy and it is a daily battle.

Take care and good luck to you.

I would like to suggest an alternative of ingesting a psychedelic substance and having a planned healing session with it. Psychedelics produce a spiritual state and in this state you are moved more by the thoughts you have and affected in the long run by the experience. Surround yourself with loved ones and make the goal to get rid of the negative thoughts or to come to terms with them so you can move on. A therapist or close family member is vital to the process to keep you calm and help you through it. Doing this has helped many people I know. The illegal drugs are the best for changing your viewpoint and you can actually program yourself like a robot on certain substances. I have personally cured my depression this way. I was on SSRI's and turned hateful, not to mention the negative sexual side effects of them. Be extremely careful and do some research.

reply to post by hottoboggan


I've seen people have bad trips before ,usually they aren't really complex personalities and they flip out from the effect or they were somewhat unhinged in the 1st place so I do disagree with you on this one.
Unusual stimuli when you are scared and feeling threatened?

It's all about the control of the situation. People have a bad experience when they do not know what to expect and they are not in a controlled, safe environment with trusted friends/family. Fear is what you're trying to combat. Like I said, research and planning.

The linden method actually cures PTSD as it is an anxiety condition like GAD, OCD and others.

people who have ptsd have something called creative intelligence and the amygdala in the brain is responsible for reliving the past experience.

the only way to fully recover is build new nerual pathways in the brain "new memories" so that the person who has it doesn't relive it over and over again.

people can actually develop PTSD from just having an argument.

check charles linden out.