rockymcg

I think my girlfriend is suffering from PTSD. She was violently raped when she was a high school student, abroad in the Philippines. She is seeking treatment, but I'm not sure how honest she is with her psychiatrist about her symptoms. She is currently being prescribed drugs that are commonly used for major depressive disorder, as well as generalized anxiety. She suffers frequent panic attacks and dissociation. She's essentially wholly unwilling to talk about her past traumatic experience, to the extent that she isn't completely certain that it even happened.

After reading "Acid Test" I realized that my girlfriend exhibits a lot of the behaviors that Nick does. I understand that my opinion on her behavior holds carries less weight than that of a licensed physician, but I see more of her than her physician does. She's more honest to me than she ever is to them. She's gotten really good at locking anything she's feeling into the deep recesses of her mind, and I see the toll it takes on her every day.

Right now, her psychiatrist is happy to hand her scrips for seroquel, celexa, and buspar with little to no therapy. The drugs have had some effect on mellowing out her symptoms, but she still struggles constantly with acute feelings of panic and dissociation.

I'm sorry, I get this is a lot. My question is, how can I encourage her to explore the possibility of PTSD with her doctor? Is there a way I can recommend her for a clinical MDMA study?

I think it's very likely that this is what she's suffering from. I have personally witnessed her experiencing most of the symptoms described in the DSM. I'm a firm believer in the potential of MDMA therapy, and would ideally like to get her involved in a study in Northern California.

EDIT: For clarification, I only want to encourage her. She and I have talked about the possibility of PTSD. She has agreed with me that she sees many of the symptoms in herself. At the same time, she's completely hopeless about the treatment she's receiving. She doesn't trust her physician, and she hasn't liked a single therapist who has been assigned to her case. A lot of this, I think, has to do with the nature of her illness. As it stands, she's willing to accept the drugs and try the regimen because she believes it's the best thing she can get right now. I wouldn't ever try to do anything without her permission. All I'm trying to do is give her more options than what she currently believes she has.

I don't know if they really kept in touch, but Dave C. and my sister Mandy used to be pretty good friends. I don't know if he knew, but she passed away a few years back. Dave used to send me new stuff from PlayWithKnives all the time. I still have a comic that was signed by him.

I guess I don't really have a question, but I wanted to let you know that it makes me really happy to see you and your crew finding success out there. You're all some really talented people, and you deserve that. Wanna grab a beer sometime?