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420 Therapy
Sometimes it’s the best treatment for PTSD
No kid ever expects to grow up and an be a pothead. If you grow up like I did, with parents who had expectations for your success, a pothead is the last thing you expect to become. I was a decent student when I wanted to be, despite the ADHD I didn’t know I had, and the psychological stressors of growing up in a physically, mentally and emotionally abusive home.
People like to say kids are resilient, and that’s true. Kids are resilient. Kids will adapt to whatever environment they’re raised in, because they don’t know any different. The problem is, resilient kids don’t always grow into functional adults. The behaviors you learn to survive your abusive environment won’t help you out in the real world. (At least not the legal one.) The asshole triggering your rage or defensiveness at work isn’t the one who’s going to get fired if you can’t control your temper.
But if you live in the United States of America, there’s a good chance you can’t afford therapy, and even if you can, it’s tough to find one who’s a good fit. If you grew up in an abusive home, like millions of Americans have, there’s a great chance you don’t even know you’re suffering from a very real, very serious mental condition: PTSD. For long-term abuse at home, the condition is now known as CPTSD — complex post-traumatic stress disorder —…
