Wild Conjecture But I’ve Been Thinking About This Post And Whether, If As A Basically-apocryphal Little

wild conjecture but i’ve been thinking about this post and whether, if as a basically-apocryphal little web search attests, cortisol levels begin to rise around 2-3am, this is why staying up that late feels so good, even or especially when there’s nothing on

i recall a piece of research about a possible use for an existing, relatively cheap and common drug that could be given in the immediate hour after a traumatic event (eg a car crash, a mass shooting) that would stop you developing PTSD; not just calm you down right now but prevent any long term effects from developing. you seem to have read a lot of papers, am I misremembering something or is that real. it wasn't in common usage, it was just a trial.

they were talking about hydrocortisone, the same stuff you put on itchy spots if you have a rash or something. hydrocortisone is the same thing as cortisol, which is known to the public as "the stress hormone". it's extremely good at suppressing inflammation.

before they started actually doing the research they assumed that PTSD patients would have higher cortisol in their systems than everyone else, but they found the exact opposite. PTSD patients are chronically low on cortisol, and increasing their circulating cortisol to normal levels makes them feel better. this may explain why PTSD patients seem to be "really good in emergencies", as the stress of the situation just brings them up to a normal cortisol level while everyone else is getting way too much, leading to panic.

at this point there have been tons of studies on cortisol in PTSD, including administration to crisis victims to prevent PTSD forming in the first place. use Sci-Hub to read full articles.

i got my hands on some hydrocortisone recently and can confirm it fixes an unbelievable number of chronic problems for me. however this is a drug with a very very high index of possible side effects and dosing is real tricky so i cannot recommend it as safe or easy for people to self-administer.