PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, affects more of us than you may think. It’s thought that as many as 1 in 11 Americans will be diagnosed with PTSD at some point in their lifetime. Since it affects so many people, you would think that natural and holistic PTSD treatments would be more readily accessible. Fortunately, they are starting to be! But first, a little context:
- PTSD is when trauma, either recent or in the past, causes mental health symptoms that are so severe they interfere with everyday life.
Millions of dollars of research have gone into learning how to deal with PTSD. Often, the first treatment that medical doctors and therapists use to treat someone with PTSD is prescription drugs. At Twin Waves Wellness Center, we believe that there are natural ways to heal the body, mind, and soul. Not every illness or disorder should be put into a box, labeled, and covered by a bandaid. With that in mind, we’ve taken the time to research and discuss 5 holistic treatments for PTSD.
Why Should You Consider Natural Ways to Treat PTSD?
There’s no denying that people in the throes of, or directly following, particularly traumatic events may need immediate care under the guidance of physicians and other professionals who are trained in how to deal with PTSD. This can include staying in a hospital or taking medication to enable them to get through the most challenging time.
However, once the initial shock of trauma has worn off, or in some cases has been under the surface for many years, medication may no longer help. Instead, the answer lies in knowing how to deal with PTSD in ways that look after the body, not just the mind.
This is where it can truly help to implement natural and holistic ways to treat PTSD. Rather than masking the symptoms with drugs, the primary goal for those looking to deal with PTSD using holistic methods involves taking care of the body and the mind as one.
Now, let’s look at some of these natural and holistic ways to treat PTSD.
1) Receive Network Spinal Care
The beauty of receiving Network Spinal Care with the Twins Wave Wellness team is that we’re specially trained in natural and holistic ways to treat PTSD. Gentle techniques that have been specially crafted to serve as one of several natural ways to treat PTSD can enable the body to relax, putting each client on the road to healing from their PTSD.
Emotional Release & Stored Trauma
Network spinal analysis (NSA) works with stored tension in the body, oftentimes which occurs from past traumas experienced by someone. Our bodies all have different defense mechanisms and coping strategies. While these strategies are extremely useful at times when we need them to survive, they do not serve us long-term.
By receiving network spinal adjustments, we work with these areas of stored trauma within the nervous system and help you release it. After a session, people can experience huge emotional releases. Sometimes, it can be overwhelming. It’s not easy to fully face troubling events from our past. We always provide a safe space for people along their healing journey. You are not alone, and we are here for you.
Network spinal is an effective treatment for PTSD that is both holistic and natural.
2) Therapy and Counseling
We take for granted how powerful talking therapy can be when it comes to looking for a way to treat PTSD. Therapy doesn’t require pesky prescriptions. Talking is natural! In fact, with the beauty of phones and the internet, it’s possible to have therapy without even leaving the house. The choice is up to you and your preference.
Receiving counseling with a trained therapist is one of the most important of all the natural and holistic ways to treat PTSD. Most people feel a huge weight lifted from them as they begin to talk about their trauma, and this helps them begin to move on, in conjunction with other natural ways to treat PTSD, like network spinal analysis.
Here are several natural therapries recommended by the APA:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Narrative exposure therapy (NET)
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR)
These all have excellent results, too, but can be expensive. Simply finding a good therapist to talk to can be one of the less expensive, natural ways to treat PTSD.
3) Nourish Your Body with the Right Foods
As much as we might want to reach for the carbs, they can make our brains foggy and leave us tired and lethargic. When you eat clean, your mood increases. Instead, consider chowing down on lean meats and fish. Additionally, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will clear brain fog and leave us mentally and physically stronger to begin to deal with PTSD.
The need to drink plenty of water also can’t be overstated. Limiting your caffeine intake will do wonders for your anxiety levels, and it can help to instead replace regular caffeinated drinks with herbal teas.
Herbal tea has been proven to help aid in relaxation and peaceful sleep, both of which are excellent natural and holistic ways to treat PTSD. Popular herbal teas that a lot of PTSD sufferers drink to help treat PTSD include:
- Chamomile – known for its calming properties and help in getting people to sleep, especially when drunk an hour or so before bed.
- Valerian Root – drunk as long ago as Ancient Greece as a natural sedative, and a great way to fight the anxiety that often comes with having to deal with PTSD.
- Peppermint Tea – which gives a soothing and cooling effect that can help with raised stress levels and body heat arising from panic attacks and other PTSD symptoms.
4) Gentle Movement and Exercise
You may find that once you begin to use natural and holistic ways to treat PTSD, such as with the use of Network Spinal Care, your body responds in ways you may not have felt for a while. As tension begins to leave your body, you may feel less inclined to remain huddled up in bed or on the couch. Instead, you feel able to move more freely.
Take this feeling and use it! You can conquer post-traumatic stress disorder. This is your body responding to the natural and holistic methods that you’ve begun to use to deal with PTSD. Gentle movement and exercise will help you even further.
Going for walks in nature, engaging in gentle yoga, and participating in mindfulness activities are natural and holistic ways to treat PTSD. They can feel enjoyable and relaxing. By finishing your day with gentle exercise, you will also find that you sleep better. This brings us to our final holistic treatment for PTSD.
5) Get Ample Sleep
Sleep often doesn’t come naturally for those who are struggling with knowing how to deal with PTSD. Flashbacks, night sweats, nightmares and insomnia are all some of the ways our sleep patterns can be affected.
However, getting into a regular and healthy sleeping routine can go a long way to helping to treat PTSD symptoms. Those who have successfully fought PTSD symptoms can attest to the importance of good sleep patterns in understanding how to treat PTSD.
You should be sleeping for around 7 to 9 hours every night, but it can help to prepare the mind for rest an hour before. Turn off your cell phone or put it on silent, and instead pick up a book, or listen to a calming radio program or podcast.
A hot bath, some chamomile or valerian tea, and some meditative exercises are all excellent practices to engage in before trying to rest. Sleep without the use of drugs and other sleep aids is one of the most vital of all-natural and holistic ways to treat PTSD because once you wake in the morning you won’t feel the brain fog and sluggishness that drugs leave behind.
Try All 5 of these Natural and Holistic Ways to Treat PTSD
There’s no reason why you can’t use any or even all these natural and holistic ways to treat PTSD. It’s important to always remember that the mind and bodywork as one, and that it’s crucial that we look after both together, to heal from past trauma and truly know how to deal with PTSD.