Adverse Childhood Experiences and complex PTSD: A Theoretical Model Exploring Psychedelic Drugs as a Therapeutic Treatment
ICSPConference Proceedings 2022 April 1, 2022 Abigail Corpuz
Complex posttraumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) has severe consequences including anxiety, emotional detachment, mood irregularities, and flashbacks, often linked to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Psychedelic drugs may be beneficial for cPTSD but are understudied due to Schedule I classification. This theoretical model clarifies mechanistic links between ACEs and cPTSD, proposing that toxic stress from ACEs dysregulates the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, elevating catecholamines, cortisol, and proinflammatory cytokines, causing cPTSD. Psychedelics may unlock repressed memories and engage with negative self-concept and dysregulated emotions characteristic of the Disturbances of Self-Organization symptom cluster, offering a potential treatment mechanism.