Rave party narcotic may help in psychiatric treatment

(Originally appeared in The Times of India)

NEW DELHI: Ecstasy, an infamous drug common among high-end rave party revellers, could be effective in patients suffering from post-traumatic stress, according to a new study.

The pharmaceutical version of the drug also known as MDMA has been found effective in treating patients who have experienced traumatic experiences and are undergoing mental stress after that, a condition known as PSTD.

PTSD patients get disconnected from society and develop feeling of fear after a traumatic experience.

At present the treatment is ‘exposure therapy’ wherein psychiatrists ask them to repeatedly recall the experience or expose the patient to situations that are safe but still trigger their traumatic feelings.

But in 40% of cases, this treatment is not effective and they continue to suffer from stress.

Psychiatrists across the world are looking for a drug therapy which can boost the results of exposure therapy. The results published in Journal of Psychopharmacology suggest that Ecstasy could be that drug.

“We have noted that MDMA promotes emotional engagement; decreases emotional avoidance; and improves tolerance for recall and processing of painful memories,” Teri Krebs, one of the researchers from Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway said.