Thread: PTSD Abuse
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Old 12-04-2006, 05:52 PM
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anthony anthony is offline Gender Male
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Everyone with PTSD has something to help control it, and there are a known quantity of things which do that, for example:
  • Pot (acceptable)
  • Cigarettes (acceptable)
  • Drugs (not acceptable)
  • Alcohol (acceptable in small amounts)
  • Medications (acceptable in required prescribed limits)
  • etc etc
There are things that are just known to those with PTSD that help control the symptoms. From my point of view, if it works, do it, but as long as a user is doing it within acceptable limits.

Pot usage where a person smokes one or two joints a day, I would see as acceptable. If a person where smoking the stuff from when they got out of bed, and then using during the day and night, I would say that is unacceptable. The same would be said for someone who uses nicotine... if the are smoking what is "normal" usage of cigarettes, that would be ok, but if they are chain smoking, then that would not be ok.

I guess how I see it from what I know about it, is that there is a use and abuse. I know people, and did this myself, with the prescribed medications, where I was prescribed "x" amount, and abused it to exceed the prescribed amount because it wasn't working at those levels. The reason I never said anything to my doctor, is that he said first, if I need 40+mg of lexapro daily, then I am bordering being locked up. Whilst I needed it for a short time, I am now medication free... though use cigarettes in an acceptable dosage to help keep me calm. About 10 - 15 per day. Alcohol, barely touch it nowadays. I might binge twice a year, if that, and that is generally only when someone invites me out on the town for a night. Even then, I still don't drink anywhere what I used to when going out for the night.

When PTSD had control over me, it was nothing to spend $300 a night when I went out on alcohol. Now, I might spend $100, and that is only because you pay $5 a beer generally, or $7 a spirit.

You have to really be honest with yourself I think, in that if you "use" something to help keep PTSD under control when your still working through the issues, then that is quite acceptable, but if you abuse, then that is not, and you would need to take action to reduce your dependance upon it.