What if a PTSD sufferer could learn how to self-regulate their Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)? Would they be less likely to abuse alcohol, use illegal drugs, commit violent acts, or take their own lives? Is this self-destructive behavior a form of self-medication? Is this a natural response because they know no other way to mask the pain? I think so and here's why.
This diagram shows a healthy Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).
The sympathetic and parasympathetic parts of the ANS are like the gas pedal (sympathetic) and brake pedal (parasympathetic) of a car.
Your body speeds up and slows down all day long, just like stop and go driving in traffic.
Under normal circumstances your body will not exceed the upper limit or lower limits.
However, traumatic events push the ANS beyond its normal boundaries and your cycle looks like this: Your body is no longer on a smooth wave, the transitions are sharp and jagged.
A trigger can thrust you into hyper-arousal or go the other way into hypo-arousal.
You can also become stuck on high, stuck on low, or bounce back and forth between the two.
The main point I want to emphasize is, with PTSD your ANS doesn't return to a normal balance between high and low.
At times you may feel relatively normal, but in the blink of an eye a trigger can immediately put you outside of the normal range.
I think this is why some PTSD sufferers turn to drugs, alcohol, violence, and suicide.
They are searching for a way to escape the high or the low.
I think it's like standing on the brakes and having the gas pedal on the floor at the same time and the alcohol or drugs helps to quiet the high-revving engine down to an idle, even if only for a brief respite.
Part 2 will discuss self-regulation.