A PTSD vaccine sounds like something out of a medical fairy tale. It is fast becoming a reality. While it won’t prevent sexual abuse or other conditions that can cause PTSD, it can make things better for the victims.
Dr. Rebecca Brachman has become a pioneer in the field of preventative psychopharmacology. Dr. Brachman and her team have been developing a drug, that would be the first of it’s kind. A vaccine for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. This would truly be a groundbreaking discovery and would help millions of people.
The Immune Cells Key
While Dr. Brachman was completing her P.hD. at Columbia University, she discovered that immune cells carry a memory of psychological stress and that white blood cells can act as antidepressants. It was her interest in whether depression influenced the immune system, or if the immune system helped trigger depression. If this new drug is a success, we’d be able to cure depression before it happens. Currently, the best solution to depression and PTSD are just suppressing the symptoms.
While Dr. Brachman’s drug will target the stress response of the body, enabling the body to treat itself, she is not trying to completely cut off a person’s stress response because that could prove counterproductive to a cure. Instead, her goal is to stop PTSD and depression before it triggers mental illness. This research and PTSD vaccine could prove to be a game-changing discovery of mental health advancements.
The Possibilities of a PTSD Vaccine
This is exciting because it shows when a chemical process in the brain goes awry, there are things that can be done to curtail it. Using this on those experiencing PTSD early on following trauma could dramatically improve quality of life and the cost of healthcare.
Let us know if we can help you dealing with your family’s sexual abuse situation. For ideas to get started please check out our book on what to do during the early days after disclosure.
