The ‘God shot’ injection is being used to fight PTSD for combat vets

PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, affects numerous men and women throughout the country and is commonly linked to veterans who've served in a combat theater. Behavioral symptoms include irritability, hyper vigilance, and social isolation, just to name a few.

Unfortunately, many who suffer from the disorder take or have taken substantial doses of medications that may or may not work — or cause unwanted side effects.

As awareness of the condition grows, an alternative to relieve symptoms is gaining some significant attention in the fight against the mental illness.

The "God shot" or Stellate Ganglion Block (known as SGB), is making headway as a treatment for our suffering veterans.

Here's how:

According to Cedars-Sinai, the stellate ganglion is a collection of sympathetic nerves located in the base of the neck; when a local anesthesia injection is administered into the nerves, the numbing agent blocks pain symptoms from reaching the brain.

In other words, the treatment minimizes the "fight or flight" reaction in the brain.

For those who aren't familiar with "fight or flight", it's the physical reaction to what the body perceives as danger.

For many combat veterans, it can be activated from hearing unexpected and loud stimulus — like a loud bang or backfire. In a dangerous situation like combat, this system takes over and floods the body with adrenaline and chemicals that will help it either escape or confront the danger.

But the body struggles with differentiating whether the stressful stimulus is actually life-threatening, and therefore people with PTSD can stay in an agitated state where the body believes it is in danger when it might not actually be.

Also read: What a Veteran Service Officer want you to know about your benefits

After the "God shot" is administered, which only takes a few minutes, positive results are shown in around 70% of patients with diagnosed PTSD, according to Medscape.

Chicago Medical Innovations

The shot was originally used to treat pain in the face, neck, and arms, but patients also reported improvement in their mental health. Although this procedure has been around for a few years, test groups are still conducted to fully understand the treatment.

If you feel this treatment may be right for you, please contact your local medical professional for more details.

We want to hear from you — comment below and share your thoughts or experiences with this new treatment.