To those suffering from “PTSD”, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder feels like it ought to be called Traumatic Stress Disorder because the condition feels as though it is happening now.  The trauma may have happened in the past but the stress, triggered by memories, is happening now.

A death in the family, traumatic childhood experience, and especially war can all elicit an emotional response that manifests itself in many ways. Everyone processes these traumas differently and managing these emotions can be very taxing and even stop someone from living a normal life.

Processing the trials and tribulations of war is a hard thing to live with. Sleepless nights, difficulty making decisions, abruptness with strangers, and the exhaustion of trying to explain what is going on… can be a horrible life.

PTSD sufferers can be absolute terrors to their loved ones and self-destructive to themselves, and the results can be devastating and even lead to suicide. Dealing with PTSD properly is crucial to avoiding these dire outcomes, and as a community we can solve this problem. In the words of a prominent veteran leader familiar with PTSD:

 “I served in Iraq with the US Army alongside tried and true heroes who will never know just what they did for me. They didn’t even necessarily do that by doing it on purpose. A lot of the time, you live alongside persons and they rub off on you. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Nowhere but the military have I seen the ability for those who have shared experiences to seamlessly reintegrate into each others’ lives.

The hurt comes, and it manifests in infinite ways. You can’t even predict it all of the time. The one thing you can predict is who you surround yourself with. A support structure. That guy or gal you can call at 2am just because your brain is scrambled. There is no shame in that – only honor.

The best way to honor our brothers and sisters, in my humble opinion, is to keep trying.”

–Jon Spielsinger, CPL USA Ret.

A supportive environment, coupled with responsible pharmacology, can be critical to those suffering from PTSD.

As a country, we should remember to keep trying to serve those who have served us. One company doing just that is Tonix Pharmaceuticals. Tonix is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company passionately driven to develop innovative treatments for patients and society.  According to Tonix’s management team, the Company’s focus is on discovering and developing pharmaceutical products to treat serious neuropsychiatric conditions. Tonix’s lead product, TNX-102 SL*, is in Phase 3 development as a bedtime treatment for military-related PTSD. TNX-102 SL is a sublingual tablet that aims to treat PTSD symptoms by improving sleep quality.

In a Phase 2 study, this investigational new drug was found to be effective in treating military-related PTSD, which formed the basis of the Breakthrough Therapy designation granted by the FDA, and support for the Phase 3 study.  In the Phase 2 study, TNX-102 SL was well-tolerated, with no serious adverse events related to treatment and the most common adverse events being mild and transient tongue numbness, due to the sublingual formulation.

The Phase 3 trial of TNX-102 SL, for which Tonix is actively enrolling participants, is called the HONOR Study. The HONOR study is a randomized, placebo-controlled study, targeting to enroll approximately 550 participants with military-related PTSD at approximately 40 U.S. clinical sites.  There is no cost to participate in the trial and participants will be compensated for their time and travel.

If you have served in the US military post 9/11, and are dealing with stress, anxiety, or insomnia due to a traumatic event while serving, you might want to check it out and sign up. By going to www.thehonorstudy.com or www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03062540), you can find out how you can sign up to participate in the study and help fellow veterans. Whether you’d just like to learn more or end up participating in the trial, your information is kept completely confidential.

Traumatic experiences should stay in the past and our memories don’t have to cause stress.

*TNX-102 SL (cyclobenzaprine HCl sublingual tablets) is an investigational new drug and has not been approved for any indication.