Can taking St. John’s wort, help as a remedy for PTSD?

St John’s wort has been used, predominantly by ‘wise women’ and midwives for many hundreds of years, to ‘chase away the devil of psychotic madness’ and other illnesses of the imagination and understanding, such as melancholia and anxiety. Even soldiers in the Crusades would drink it with wine to steady their nerves. This mood-enhancing antidepressant supplement increases the availability of serotonin in the neuron synapses (brain nerve-cell junctions), norepinephrine (which improves alertness and increases energy), and dopamine (which increases the feeling of wellbeing).

Many believe St John’s wort is a legitimate alternative to pharmaceutical antidepressants. In some western countries it is more popularly prescribed than the drugs Zoloft and Prozac. It is also very popular for treating insomnia, mood swings, fatigue, PMS and menopause. As with pharmaceutical antidepressants, the effects of St John’s wort take six weeks to become fully apparent.