Does Using Tranquilizers Help Veterans With PTSD?

There are a number oftreatments available for people with PTSD, including both psychological treatments such as "talk therapy" and medications such as tranquilizers.

With regard to medications, the American Psychiatric Association recommends selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of PTSD.

What Are SSRIs?

SSRIs are generally considered "anti-depressant medications." Serotonin is a chemical in your brain that's involved in regulating mood, as well as other functions. Some people have imbalances in the serotonin systems in their brains, contributing to feelings of depression or anxiety. SSRIs prevent the breakdown, or "reuptake," of serotonin by your brain — increasing the available levels of serotonin, which is thought to eventually improve mood.

What Are Benzodiazepines?

Benzodiazepinesare another medication that may be prescribed for PTSD. The term benzodiazepines refer to a class of drugs that have a sedative effect and are often used to successfully alleviate anxiety. These drugs, often referred to as tranquilizers, result in a relatively quick reduction in anxiety.

Although benzodiazepines may be prescribed for PTSD, certain organizations, including theDepartment of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), do not recommend benzodiazepines for the long-term management of PTSD. While these medications may be useful for some symptoms of PTSD, such as anxiety and difficulty sleeping, studies do not support their usefulness in the treatment of most PTSD symptoms, including avoidance symptoms.

In addition, when not taken properly, there's potential for dependence on, or abuse of, benzodiazepines. People withPTSD and substance-abuse problems(two conditions which frequently co-occur) may be particularly at risk.

Certain uses of benzodiazepines may also interfere with psychological treatments for PTSD, such asexposure therapy,in which people are instructed to confront feared situations, thoughts, and feelings and are then taught to maintain contact with these things until the fear and anxiety naturally lessen. The decision to use a benzodiazepine to instead reduce this anxiety would interfere with this process.

Benzodiazepine Use in Veterans

Given that the VA and DoD do not recommend the use of benzodiazepines for the long-term management of PTSD symptoms, a group of researchers from the Iowa City VA Medical Center wanted to see if benzodiazepine use in veterans changed over the course of 11 years. They looked at medical records (from 1998 to 2009) of a large number of创伤后应激障碍的退伍军人有and found that, although the number of veterans with PTSD being treated in the VA increased, the frequency of benzodiazepine use among veterans with PTSD decreased from about 37 to 31 percent.

New patients were the least likely to be prescribed benzodiazepines and those who did receive a benzodiazepine received a low dose. Finally, the number of long-term users of benzodiazepines also decreased.

Addressing Your PTSD Symptoms

The results of this study show that mental health professionals appear to be prescribing benzodiazepines less for the treatment of PTSD. Although the exact reasons for this are not clear from this study, the findings are promising. They may suggest that mental health professionals are more aware of the potential risks of prescribing benzodiazepines for PTSD, and they may also suggest that mental health professionals are relying more on the wide variety of other treatments or medications that have been found useful for people with PTSD.

Although the long-term use of benzodiazepines may be associated with some risks, it's important to remember that no treatments for PTSD are risk-free. Even psychological treatments for PTSD are associated with some side effects, such as a potential initial increase in anxiety. In addition, your doctor may recommend the short-term management of certain symptoms of PTSD with benzodiazepines.

In getting treatment for your PTSD, it's important to work with your doctor or other health professionals to identify the best treatment for your symptoms. In addition, it's incredibly important to make sure you follow the guidelines set up by your doctor or other health professionals, especially when it comes to medications. Doing so can help minimize risks as well as maximize the benefits of any treatment.