The only cure I have ever heard about was done with war veterans. They were given the drug 'ecstasy' (can't remember the medical name) then guided through a memory of trauma with the resultant good feelings from the drug curing the bad feelings of the trauma. This is not to be tried by oneself, it was experimental and followed strict therapeutic guidelines. Gives one a little hope though, hope it becomes mainstream within my lifetime. Apart from that PTSD can be managed but it can take a lot of effort. Maybe some can be cured and others can't, we are all individuals.

Oh boy. Tough one.

Even the ecstasy-related thearpy is not one hundred pecent effective from my understanding of it, so PLEASE DO NOT TRY EVER.

HM, my understnading is as follows:
1. There is no CURE.
2. There is still a rich and wonderful life for those with PTSD.

Think of it like I do my epilepsy or as someone might think of their diabetes, or perhaps a bad knee even. No cure. Just treatments that mean its impact on your life is minimized and can stay minimal for longer and longer periods of time. (For epilepsy, for me, it's meds and avoiding certain things that might trigger seizures; diabetics watch their diets and may need insulin; someone with a bad knee can do exercises to keep the surrounding structures stronger to compensate, etc.)

That's how I am getting through this. I keep comparing it to the process and so on of physical stuff. No magic cure or pill (damn it) but with time and trial-and-error of therapies, you can find what works and helps you function at your best possible You-Ness. You may alwys have to make accommodations (like, I don't drive b/c of my epilepsy) but it beats having the PTSD run things, which is where I'm still at. *(sigh)*

BTW, IMHO, ALL PTSD is complex.... Complex is just a way to differentiate "sustained over time and/or etc." to "one big event-related" PTSD. (still not a picnic, I presume, tho' I have complex PTSD myself.)

I will only add that I never rely on a blog on wordpress or similar for my medical advice. Doctors Google Yahoo and Bing did NOT go to medical school.... and I have no way of knowing if the person claiming X Y or Z did, so.... while the internet has some gems of information, it is like most mines---a lot of waste to get to the good stuff. OK, my rant is over, sorry.

Also, "CURE" is a tricky word. Cure like how? You never sufer a symptom again (cure) or.... cure as in "as long as you do this treatment, you'll be fine" which is actually not a cure but.... effective treatment (like me and my epilepsy meds---I dont' have seizures, doesn't mean my epilepsy is cured, just that I don't have seizures.)

Sorry to ramble, tired, and it IS confusing.

Gentle healing,
Leo

I don't know about 'cure'. I'd just like to say, I had complex PTSD from 1987 - and was extremely traumatised back then, plus a psychotic illness. Now, 27 years later, I am free of most of what was troubling me - I'm free of the extreme emotions like anger, fear, conflict, paranoia, pain, grief, anxiety, shame, self blame, self criticism.
For this reason, I feel largely better off. However, I find that I can't handle stress very well at all - had a very anxious shift at work last week. And, I'm stable on psych meds, and I'm needing lots of sleep and rest time still.
However, I'd say that I'm immensely better off now - have peace of mind a lot of the time, a sense of 'complete' in my heart, I have good friends now. I still see a psychiatrist every few weeks - he's doing EMDR with me, which has been fantastic.
Can only talk for myself.
Hang in there.

I think -I guess- how "fully", how "completely" you're healed depends on what you wish to accomplish in your life?
There are no two stories and bucket lists the same, right? :) And labels like "average", "normal", "good enough" don't really exist in my opinion.
I'd rather ask: what's the reality you wish to create for yourself as your personal best? What can you do now to move yourself towards that goal?...

Lots of hugs and blessings to every PTSD angel out there! (((((((you)))))))

Sea

I too Have PTSD and was told that there is No Cure just that over time you learn to function, manage, and live without many of the effects. In fact I was diagnosed with PTSD 10 yrs ago after a Major Trauma and over 5 yrs was manic. Then for about 4 yrs I did fine with min struggles, Triggers...etc. No meds and No needed Therapy! Until this past yr and recently I was triggered and Now back on meds and seeking PTSD support groups. I guess it would depend on Life Circumstances. Things that happen from day to day can change Instantly

I'm leading one of those "rich stable lives" for the most part, but because I'm here every day keeping up maintenance on my PTSD, which I've had for 47 years, when my car was hit by a bomb at age 9.

I wouldn't follow that lady's advice to find a new provider if they didn't offer a cure, though I don't know the lady. My best counselor was one I found at the VA. Not all the counselors I had were as informed as he was about PTSD as a specialty.

When I hear us talk about a cure, sometimes I wonder what we mean. If we mean time traveling back to a time before our trauma happened, that's a sincere wish I've had, too, in my moments of pain. But it's not going to happen. If it's amnesia, or forgetting what happened, I wonder what else we'd have to forget with it.

Living with it seems to be the option before me, just speaking for myself. Sometimes that's so painful I wish it weren't so, and other times I actually draw wisdom from experience to go forward in my life. The best approach I've found to PTSD has been that, though flashbacks pull me to the past daily, I concentrate on being here now. Turns out that applies to humanity in general, too, and not just to me with PTSD.

I don't know if this will help or not...

My PTSD, from a near death experience that I won't even let myself remember, has been ongoing since 1996.For two years I was a complete shut in and for four years I could not drive a car because all the input would completely freak me out. I was having two or three, curl up on the floor wrapped around my Service Dog and scream myself unconscious attacks a day.

Then something happened to me that made 90% of my symptoms go away - we call it the year from H###. So many bad things happened in this one year (car accidents, horseback accidents, broken back, death of friends, and more that my mind won't let me remember) anyway, I just sort of shut down. There was so much bad input that my mind could not handle anymore and it simply stopped taking new input. I started having three or four full panic attacks a YEAR instead of a day.

My Psych doctor explained it like my mind was a barn that could only hold so much and after that point the doors shut and I just became an emotionless robot. The complete numbness lasted three or four years and slowly faded back to something close to 'normal'.

Many times, when things get too overwhelming, I use meditation to get myself back to the place of numbness where I can at least function.

Am I cured? No, I live on prescribed tranquilizers and so far this year I have had two full panic attacks and dozen of anxiety attacks. I keep my 100+ pound teddy bear of a Service Dog between me and the world and take it one day at a time.

Yadlim and my Misha

My asthma's not curable either. But I can run now.
PTSD can be treated and get a lot better.

Manageable is the word. No cure, but you can manage the heck out of it.

Consider one cannot "cure" something that has yet to be accurately defined... Combined with the the fact that humans (brains) are complex with both biological and psychological meditating variables... Each person will vary in degree of vulnerability.

As with anything in mental health, there will be variations in experience, along with treatment efficacy.

Thank you all for your replies, I understand now.

"The tomato" said it in the clearest way. : )

How many times are patients with cancer "cured" and then the cancer comes back.

If you treat the symptoms and do a lot of work, you can make most of the issues remain dormant. But then, certain circumstances might cause a "flair up" and then you need to use your skill set and/or get back into therapy for a "touch up."

That's what I do and I'm mostly "cured."

So I guess I like to think of it as either being active or dormant...

But even "normal" people have highs and lows.

The only difference between "normal" and us is that we have a label!

: D

I agree, there is no cure. We do not do ourselves a favor if we think there is a cure.

I know people who are guilty of causing others getting PTSD too, and none of those ever admitted to it.

Pampass- what if we could sue???

It's curable. I feel like PTSD is something you can always be considered to have, but no longer have the symptoms of it.

I feel like you could go years without symptoms and then have a flashback. That's probably why they say it's "incurable". Because there's still a chance of that happening. But you can still heal and become better.

I believe that there is no cure for PTSD. However, I believe that you can learn to control your symptoms and have a fairly normal life. However, the return of the symptoms or some of the symptoms can be use one event away at anytime.

I use to be on the fast track in my career. Earmarked for a high profile job in a major corporation. I had it all going for me. Respect for employees, and management...a great reputation. Then PTSD came along...work related. I could not sleep, was having horrible nightmares. Days and nightmares blurred together as I got more exhausted. I started drinking to sleep and it got bad. I eventually lost it all and ended up in the hospital.

When I woke up in the hospital it was like I was someone else. I looked like me, but I no longer functioned at a high level, I could not focus and a lot of the things I use to be very good at I was not. It changed me completely...I missed my old self and mourned for that person. Frustrated, humiliated and broken it was a life changer.

Now, going on 3 years I am still trying to find myself. I went back to school and took purchasing to kick start my career again. I like purchasing in the past and was good at it. I am not any good at it now. School was fine, but I am now working as a purchaser and I cannot handle it. I make a ton of mistakes, and I am frustrated that this is another thing I cannot do that I use to be able to. I have had 3 jobs in 3 years, the last 2 lasted 7 months and my lack of trust for people, paranoid thoughts and my x-employer have got me let go from all of them. I don't think I can hold a job. I keep trying..doctors say I am not bad enough for disability so I have to. Each time I get let go it gets harder. Yesterday I was so upset at work I was crying in my office and thinking I should just kill myself.

My point, there is no quick cure, no magic pills. You are going to take 2 steps forward and fall, get up and go in a new direction. Eventually you will find what works for you, that is the cure for PTSD. I keep getting up and trying again. I work every hard at having a normal life. I will eventually win...I have too the odds are with me. lol.