I am taking a college course in psychopharmacology, (drugs used for psychiatric problems like PTSD, Depression, Bipolar and Psychosis, eg). One of my class-mates, Jennifer, asked about alpha adrenergic agonists (like clonidine) and beta blockers (like propranolol) being used for preventing chronic PTSD syndromes vs treatment of acute symptoms. While it's true that these drugs may be useful in ameliorating acute symptoms by controlling primarily blood pressure and heart rate, thereby breaking the positive feed-back loop that would otherwise trigger a massive stress-response, I doubt these drugs would be useful in PREVENTING PTSD to begin with. This is because traumatized minds are not just responding to neurochemical transmitters and hormones, but also to energy and consciousness. Western allopathic medicines are famous for only covering up symptoms and not truly healing anything. Meanwhile, science, mostly funded through the US National Institutes of Health, are demonstrating that the Power of Prayer is real.
For example, prayer over prematurely born crack-addicted babies. Studies so less morbidity and mortality in the study group vs the control group that had not received prayer. Qigong practice by post-cardiac patients while still in hospital, has demonstrated a significantly different and better health outcome over the usual outcomes. No drug can truly heal any psychiatric illness permanently.
The holistic approach, for example, with Traditional Chinese Medicine where balance/harmony and multi-modalities are customized for each unique diagnosis/presentation, is often more effective in completely healing mind-body-spirit problems such as psychiatric disorders with somatic presentations. The Nurses in the USA, along with open-minded Physicians, have many, many clinical studies showing that REIKI and THERAPEUTIC TOUCH (energy medicine developed from ancient medical qigong theory & practice), improves the medical outcomes for all kinds of patient problems. I have many testimonies about the miraculous power of prayer and blessings.
I will tell you a little story about this 'theory' that energy can affect physiological responses through cell-membrane receptors, just like actual chemicals. I was doing research at UC-Davis Medical Library afew yrs back. I came across a journal that specialized in researching radiation and all kinds of other energy emissions from modern technology like Telephone Wires, Microwaves, Cell-phones, etc.
It seemed that the journal was moving to studying more and more subtle vibration/ radiation effects on human biochemistry/physiology over the years (80-90's). My research led me, finally, to a key article validating a physio-biochemical model of how a vibration/energy can travel through propagation along tissues and, through a brilliant ATP/signal amplification sequence at the cell-membrane, can trigger an intracellular cascade to the RNA/Nucleaus level.
In simple language, this land-mark article proved that non-chemical catalysts can affect physiological responses, i.e. the wave part of the wave/particle theory, has physical affective potential in real time/space. It was interesting to note that the UC-Davis Medical School quickly stopped the library subscription to that journal, and this particular journal is one of the most signed-out journals I had ever seen.
Clearly, the AMA does not want to recognize anything but allopathic medicine as being real and legitimate. We should never believe that traditional counseling and drugs is all the world has for our psych clients, patients or members of our congregation (Sangham). May everyone Keep their minds and hearts open to the Lord and the power of Grace, the greatest, most powreful, and most sublime 'energy' in the universe.
