Sinead O’Connor diagnosed with PTSD

Sinéad O'Connor has been one of my favorite performers for more than 20 years, but her obviously dysfunctional personal life has often overshadowed her music and professional life. Most recently, O'Connnor was hospitalized for depression, where she finally received a diagnosis that she has post-traumatic stress disorder. This comes years after previous diagnoses of depression or being bipolar.

“There’s no drug treatment for PTSD. Sufferers get bashed because we’re ‘crazy’, but crazy is a term of abuse. We need to be compassionate,” she recently told People magazine, as recounted in a short article -- Sinead O’Connor hates to be called ‘crazy’ -- printed in dozens of news sources around the world this weekend.

O'Connor was abused as a child, her mother died in an automobile accident, and she's experienced numerous other traumas over the years. Hopefully this diagnosis will be a step toward recovery for her.

Study: Cannabis use slows PTSD recovery

A new study from the National Center for PTSD shows that marijuana use slows recovery for people with PTSD. In fact, of the veterans studied, those who had what the study calls "cannabis use disorder" had PTSD symptoms as bad as people who had received no treatment at all.

The study found that while cannabis temporarily relieved veterans' PTSD-related anxiety, the anxiety came back right after cannabis use was discontinued. The study suggests that PTSD patients be taught adaptive coping techniques before they are diagnosed medical marijuana.

Read more:

Cannabis Use May Prolong PTSD Symptoms

For more information on PTSD empowerment techniques, as well as free online addiction recovery meetings, visit Fearless Nation PTSD Support.