Mental Health
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
A set of emotional and physical symptoms following an extremely difficult or traumatic experience — including flashbacks, hypervigilance, and depression — treated through structured routine, social support, and nutritional nerve support.
Also known as: PTSD, post-traumatic stress, trauma response, anxiety disorder, nausea (definition: feeling of sickness or urge to vomit)
📝 At a glance
Likely root causes: PTSD: Any extremely traumatic experience — accidents, violence, loss, disaster, combat.; The body's stress response fails to deactivate after the event ends.; Anxiety disorder: complex physiological overactivation of the adrenal system, producing an emergency response when no real emergency exists; may have a hereditary component..
First thing to try: Discuss the traumatic event with a trusted person — talking it out is very helpful. Seek someone who has also experienced a difficult situation, their understanding is invaluable. Maintain careful daily routine — regular mealtimes and bedtimes restore a sense of control and predictability. Be actively grateful and cheerful. Help someone else — service to others shifts attention away from inner suffering.
See a doctor if: Reaching out to a trauma counselor is strength, not defeat — effective therapies exist and work
🔎 Start with the cause
Lasting relief rarely comes from covering a symptom. First find what is feeding the problem, change what you can, and then help the body do what it was designed to do — heal.
Likely root causes
- PTSD: Any extremely traumatic experience — accidents, violence, loss, disaster, combat.
- The body's stress response fails to deactivate after the event ends.
- Anxiety disorder: complex physiological overactivation of the adrenal system, producing an emergency response when no real emergency exists; may have a hereditary component.
Change what you can
- Discuss the traumatic event with a trusted person — talking it out is very helpful. Seek someone who has also experienced a difficult situation, their understanding is invaluable. Maintain careful daily routine — regular mealtimes and bedtimes restore a sense of control and predictability. Be actively grateful and cheerful. Help someone else — service to others shifts attention away from inner suffering.
- Daily nutrients: calcium (2,000 mg) and magnesium (1,000 mg), full B-vitaminA natural substance your body needs in small amounts to stay healthy, like vitamin C or D. More → complex, vitamin B1 (200 mg) reduces anxiety and calms the nerves, vitamin B2 (200 mg) reduces anxiety and energizes, niacinamide (300 mg) supports brain chemistry, vitamin C (1,000–5,000 mg in divided doses) strengthens adrenals and has a calming effect, vitamin E (400–800 IU) improves oxygen transport.
- Calming herbs: chamomile (350 mg capsules, 2 times daily, or 1 Tbsp steeped in water, 3 cups daily), valerian root (150 mg, 2 times daily, 400 mg at bedtime). Multivitamin daily.
🩺 When to see a doctor
- Reaching out to a trauma counselor is strength, not defeat — effective therapies exist and work
- If flashbacks, nightmares, or hypervigilance are disrupting work, sleep, or family life, seek professional help
- Thoughts of self-harm: call or text 988 now
🌿 The seven pathways to health
Seven pathways for your post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) — tap the circle to check one off (saved on your device), or ask Remy for help.
“Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health... In case of sickness 1cause should be ascertained, 2go to work intelligently to remove the disease. 3Unhealthful conditions should be changed, 4wrong habits corrected. 5Then nature is to be assisted in her effort 6to expel impurities and 7to re-establish right conditions in the system.”
🌿 Overview
Post-traumatic stress disorder occurs when a person cannot readjust after experiencing an extremely traumatic event. The nervous system remains stuck in a state of alert, replaying the experience through flashbacks and generating persistent anxiety, depression, and hypervigilance. While the condition can be severe, practical approaches — routine, talk therapy, nutritional nerve support, and purposeful activity — may help reduce the symptom burden for many people. Anxiety disorder, closely related, involves a chronic state of excessive worry with physical manifestations.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after experiencing or witnessing a deeply distressing event, and involves the mind and body remaining in a state of alarm long afterward — with flashbacks or intrusive memories, nightmares, avoidance of reminders, heightened jumpiness, and changes in mood. It is a natural response to overwhelming experience, not a weakness or character flaw.
Recovery is genuinely possible, and professional help — especially trauma-focused therapy — is highly effective, so reaching out is an important and courageous step. Alongside that care, supportive natural measures help regulate an over-activated nervous system: regular exercise, time outdoors and in nature, good sleep, relaxation and breathing practices, reducing alcohol and caffeine, and the steadying presence of trusted people and community. This is a tender area, and patience and self-compassion matter greatly. If distressing thoughts ever include harming oneself, that warrants reaching out for urgent support right away — to a crisis line, doctor, or trusted person — as effective help is available.
Common signs
- PTSD: flashbacks (intrusive thoughts, feelings, or memories of the traumatic event)
- depression and emotional numbness
- hypervigilance (continuous, excessive alertness)
- physical problems including digestive difficulty. Anxiety disorder: rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing, worry and stress, shortness of breath, dizziness, hot flashes or chills, trembling, sweating, or nausea.
⭐ Community-ranked natural supports
Vote ▲ on everything that helped you, and ▼ on anything you tried that didn't — the ranking updates live. Tap 💬 to share what worked, so others can find it faster.
Addressing the sleep disruption of PTSD is foundational; good sleep hygiene, a safe sleep environment, and sleep aids where needed begin the neurological healing process.970
Slow, diaphragmatic breathing — especially box breathing (4 counts in, 4 hold, 4 out, 4 hold) — directly deactivates the fight-or-flight nervous system response that drives PTSD symptoms.940
Regular walks in nature are among the most evidence-based non-pharmacological interventions for PTSD; they lower cortisol, improve mood, and create new non-threatening sensory associations.930
Lemon balm calms nervous system hyperactivity, reduces stress hormones, and promotes a sense of peace; it is particularly helpful for the anxious, hyperalert state characteristic of PTSD.850
Chamomile tea taken before bed or during anxious moments provides mild sedation and reduces the physical tension that PTSD keeps chronically activated.850
Regular therapeutic massage reduces muscle hypertonicity, lowers cortisol, and activates the body-based somatic healing that talk therapy alone cannot provide for trauma held in the body.850
Passionflower's GABA-boosting flavonoids calm the anxiety, hypervigilance, and panic attacks that make daily life so difficult for PTSD sufferers.820
Lavender's linalool compounds reduce sympathetic nervous system activation; applied to the temples, diffused during sleep, or added to a bath, it provides meaningful anxiety and sleep support.810
Ashwagandha is an adaptogen with the strongest evidence base for cortisol reduction; chronic PTSD involves HPA-axis dysregulation that ashwagandha helps normalize over weeks of consistent use.780
Valerian root addresses the insomnia and nighttime hyperarousal that are hallmarks of PTSD, helping to restore the restorative sleep that PTSD so severely disrupts.780
How the numbers work: this is a weighted voting system — every published book or article recommending a remedy counts as an endorsement vote, and your ▲/▼ counts too. Not medical advice. *Ties are broken by our editor score (sources, safety, simplicity, cost, lifestyle fit, eight-laws alignment).
🍽️ Eating to help
Food is one of the gentlest medicines — small, steady changes help most.
Eat nourishing whole food at regular mealtimes. No refined sugar, no junk food, no stimulants (caffeine, alcohol, tobacco) — all amplify anxiety. Adequate protein and complex carbohydrates stabilize blood sugar, which directly affects emotional stability. Avoid skipping meals.
⚖️ Good to know
- Severe PTSD — especially with flashbacks, inability to function, or suicidal ideation — warrants professional evaluation.
- Anxiety disorder that is constant and limiting should be medically evaluated to rule out thyroid disease, adrenal conditions, or cardiac arrhythmia.
- Do not use alcohol to cope with PTSD — alcohol dramatically worsens the condition long-term.
💙 If it ever feels like too much
Heavy feelings are not a failure of faith — and you don't have to carry them alone. If you or someone you love is thinking about self-harm or suicide, please reach out right now:
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US): call or text 988 — free, confidential, 24/7.
- Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741.
- Outside the US: findahelpline.com ↗ lists free helplines by country.
- If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 (or your local emergency number).
Natural supports can walk alongside professional care — never in place of it when life is at risk.
⚕️ What a doctor may offerConventional treatments for this condition — for your information.Show ▾
RemedyRank's heart is natural healing — and honest information. Here is what conventional medical care commonly involves for this condition, listed to inform, never to promote. Decisions about treatment belong with you and your own physician.
PTSD treatment is most effective when trauma-focused psychotherapy is combined with pharmacotherapy; trauma-focused therapies have the strongest evidence base and are considered first-line treatment.
Commonly offered
- Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy — most evidence-based psychotherapy–
- EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)–
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)–
- SSRIs: sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil) — FDA-approved for PTSD–
- Prazosin for trauma nightmares–
- SNRIs (venlafaxine) as an alternative to SSRIs–
- Group therapy and peer support programs–
👍/👎 shares whether a treatment helped you — community experience, not medical advice. For full professional details, see the sources under “Learn more” below.
📚 Learn more
Sources for further reading. These open in a new tab.
💚 Was this page helpful?
A quick tap helps us improve these guides. Saved on your device in this preview.