A new study published in Nature has indicated that the controlled use of MDMA - also known as ecstasy - can help people to recover from post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is quite a common condition caused when people are exposed to shocking or stressful events such as accidents, serious violence, combat or sexual assault. The effects of PTSD vary, but often symptoms include being constantly on edge and unable to switch off, flashbacks and nightmares, becoming distressed a

Hollywood actor Alex Winter, star of the Bill and Ted films (the third instalment of which is out now), has spoken about his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. For him, his PTSD was caused by prolonged abuse while growing up as a child actor on Broadway. He suffered the effects of the condition for years, and describes it as wreaking havoc on him, and particularly on the way in which he related to the world around him, and to himself. The effects of PTSD have bee