Using Cannabis to Cope With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder After Sexual Assault: Toward a Phenomenological Understanding

Abstract

In recent years, cannabis use by people suffering from PTSD, as a means of alleviating their symptoms, has increased. Nonetheless, scant research has examined the lived experience of women who use cannabis to cope with PTSD. Eight semi-structured interviews with Israeli women who use cannabis to cope with PTSD were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The results of this research highlight the utility of cannabis for women coping with symptoms of PTSD, and the advantages of cannabis over other medications. Nevertheless, the main challenge with cannabis use in the context of PTSD is the feeling of detachment that it engenders. This feeling of detachment helps women to manage symptoms when they become unbearable but can also reduce their ability to be fully present in their relationships and everyday life, and increase feelings of self-alienation and helplessness.