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Accelerated forgetting of a trauma event after a single dose of hydrocortisone

nature.com

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Re: Accelerated forgetting of a trauma event after a single dose of hydrocortisone

#2
Combine with propranolol for maximum effect.

A very overlooked drug that can be used in the treatment of many disorders related to anxiety, stress and fear. Without the risk of debiliating addiction benzos and benzolikes bring.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14573324/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3692719/

Re: Accelerated forgetting of a trauma event after a single dose of hydrocortisone

#3
In the US it seems like it is extremely in vogue to talk about trauma and PTSD. From a layman's POV, it seems pretty obvious that talking about something very often (whether it be with a therapist or just friends) would elevate the amount of times someone thinks of something. From my understanding of the paper, this drug is a success if it lowers the amount of time someone thinks of a traumatic memory

>We found that participants receiving hydrocortisone showed a faster reduction in daily intrusion frequency. Voluntary memory was assessed once, at the end of the week, but was unaffected by hydrocortisone.

Ultimately I see some contradictions in what the goal of different types of psychiatry/therapy is. Is the end goal to just be as happy and functional as possible? Is it to avoid the worst case scenarios the most while not caring as much about baseline? Or is there a moral/humanistic good to processing the world even if it results in being less happy and more functional in concrete tasks?

I'm really not an expert in any of these things - but it does sometimes bother me that the discourse on this is jointed. I think it comes up in political/cultural talk quite often.

Re: Accelerated forgetting of a trauma event after a single dose of hydrocortisone

#4

In the US it seems like it is extremely in vogue to talk about trauma and PTSD. From a layman's POV, it seems pretty obvious that talking about something very often (whether it be with a therapist or just friends) would elevate the amount of times someone thinks of something. From my understanding of the paper, this drug is a success if it lowers the amount of time someone thinks of a traumatic memory >We found that…

It doesn't take much thought to refute this idea. Talking about something can help you process it and feel better.

If you have a bad day, talking to someone about it usually helps.

Hell, bitching to a coworker about the idiot you just got off the phone with is a pastime for the average office workers.

Re: Accelerated forgetting of a trauma event after a single dose of hydrocortisone

#5

In the US it seems like it is extremely in vogue to talk about trauma and PTSD. From a layman's POV, it seems pretty obvious that talking about something very often (whether it be with a therapist or just friends) would elevate the amount of times someone thinks of something. From my understanding of the paper, this drug is a success if it lowers the amount of time someone thinks of a traumatic memory >We found that…

What they are reffering to as "intrusions" is not just having thoughts about the traumatic event, it is having intrusive and uncontrolable toughts pop into your mind when triggered - it's very disrupting and distracting. Depending on the level of trauma, these intrusions can be debilitating.

In general, PTSD treatment involves changing one's perspective towards the traumatic event so that when triggered, the thoughts it recalls are not intrusive and debilitating - making it so the patient doesn't feel shame, fear, loss of control when trigered.

Re: Accelerated forgetting of a trauma event after a single dose of hydrocortisone

#6

In the US it seems like it is extremely in vogue to talk about trauma and PTSD. From a layman's POV, it seems pretty obvious that talking about something very often (whether it be with a therapist or just friends) would elevate the amount of times someone thinks of something. From my understanding of the paper, this drug is a success if it lowers the amount of time someone thinks of a traumatic memory >We found that…

It doesn't take much thought to refute this idea. Talking about something can help you process it and feel better. If you have a bad day, talking to someone about it usually helps. Hell, bitching to a coworker about the idiot you just got off the phone with is a pastime for the average office workers.

I'm still a bit confused - sorry if I don't sound earnest.

This drug eliminates the amount of time you think about a past event. This is pitched as good. Is the model that thinking about something is bad but talking about something is good? What if talking about something changes how or when you think about something? As you said with your co-worker example (which I realize is not PTSD levels) I think it could be pretty easily argued that fixating about your current situation is actually contributing to negative mental processes.

I have done therapy for specific issues and it worked for me - but nonetheless still dont see some contradictions between therapy and a pill that makes you think about something less.

Re: Accelerated forgetting of a trauma event after a single dose of hydrocortisone

#7

In the US it seems like it is extremely in vogue to talk about trauma and PTSD. From a layman's POV, it seems pretty obvious that talking about something very often (whether it be with a therapist or just friends) would elevate the amount of times someone thinks of something. From my understanding of the paper, this drug is a success if it lowers the amount of time someone thinks of a traumatic memory >We found that…

It doesn't take much thought to refute this idea. Talking about something can help you process it and feel better. If you have a bad day, talking to someone about it usually helps. Hell, bitching to a coworker about the idiot you just got off the phone with is a pastime for the average office workers.

And there's a big difference between suffering from intrusive thoughts about a traumatic experience, and talking about that experience voluntarily. The former is stressful; the latter is therapeutic.

Re: Accelerated forgetting of a trauma event after a single dose of hydrocortisone

#8
post #5

In the US it seems like it is extremely in vogue to talk about trauma and PTSD. From a layman's POV, it seems pretty obvious that talking about something very often (whether it be with a therapist or just friends) would elevate the amount of times someone thinks of something. From my understanding of the paper, this drug is a success if it lowers the amount of time someone thinks of a traumatic memory >We found that…

What they are reffering to as "intrusions" is not just having thoughts about the traumatic event, it is having intrusive and uncontrolable toughts pop into your mind when triggered - it's very disrupting and distracting. Depending on the level of trauma, these intrusions can be debilitating. In general, PTSD treatment involves changing one's perspective towards the traumatic event so that when triggered, the thoughts…

There’s also the very important distinction between remembering something and experiencing something. People with PTSD and unresolved trauma relive the entire episode with emotions and all.

Re: Accelerated forgetting of a trauma event after a single dose of hydrocortisone

#9

In the US it seems like it is extremely in vogue to talk about trauma and PTSD. From a layman's POV, it seems pretty obvious that talking about something very often (whether it be with a therapist or just friends) would elevate the amount of times someone thinks of something. From my understanding of the paper, this drug is a success if it lowers the amount of time someone thinks of a traumatic memory >We found that…

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