Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a very stressful event.
Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Someone with PTSD often relives the traumatic event through nightmares and flashbacks. They may experience feelings of isolation, irritability, and guilt; feeling emotional distressed to something that reminds them of the traumatic event; and avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event and avoid places, activities or people that remind them of the events. They may also have problems sleeping, lack of interest, depression, difficulty to concentrate and poor memory etc.
Symptoms can vary over time or vary from person to person. These symptoms are often severe and persistent enough to have a significant impact on the person's day-to-day life causing significant problems in social or work situations and in relationships.
A key component of posttraumatic stress disorder is traumatic memory which makes a tremendous impact on physiological and mental capacities and consequently on the individual’s ability to function appropriately in the present.
The treatments for PTSD are limited.
There are pilot studies showing acupuncture may be an efficacious, safe, and acceptable treatment for PTSD. Studies demonstrate that acupuncture can regulate the autonomic nervous system, improve sympathetic/ parasympathetic balance and affect parts of the limbic system and cortical regions associated with memory. Acupuncture results in decreased activation of the brain where control emotion and memory and increase resting-state functional connectivity while the strength of this connectivity was positively associated with corresponding clinical improvement.
References
Amir Assouline et al Translational Psychiatry (2022) 12:110
