An article by Sgt. Lindsey Bradford, titled “Holistic Healing Gaining Ground in Military” states that since the Army introduced the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program, in 2009, there has been a focus on a holistic approach to physical, emotional, social, spiritual and family well-being. (Bradford works in the U.S. Forces-Iraq Public Affairs Office).
According to Lt. Col. Erica Clarkson, a U.S. Forces-Iraq physical therapist, holistic healing is an approach that uses natural methods to improve health, without using drugs or surgery to correct problems. Clarkson has been practicing holistic healing for 17 years, and has continued to treat service members in Iraq, at the Courage Clinic, in the Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory.
Some of Charkson’s modalities include acupuncture, manual therapy, relaxation techniques and prescribed exercises specific to each patient’s physical ailment. “There are no significant adverse side effects like there are with using drugs to treat problems. Different medicines have been linked to ulcers and other gastrointestinal irritations, even death,” she said. Continue reading 'Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program Focuses on Holistic Healing'»
From an article by Chris Roberts (The Elpaso Times) we learn that in El Paso, Texas, a group of veterans, many who have had their own battles with PTSD, have been brainstorming on how to help fellow veterans who are now returning from war zones.
They have come up with the idea of holding public workshops on PTSD. Carlos Rivera, a Vietnam-era veteran, and president of the Veterans Business Association, is organizing the events. He says “we are holding these workshops to find ways to expand the capacity of the health-care providers.”
Rivera notes that Fort Bliss is expanding and more and more combat veterans are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The mental health systems at BeaumontArmy Medical Center and El Paso Dept. of Veterans Affairs are becoming overloaded. While the post and VA officials say they are preparing for the increase, these older veterans state it already is looking like the same old story. Continue reading 'Veterans with PTSD Plan Series of Public Workshops to Help Returning Iraq and Afghanistan Combat Vets'»
While there is excitement at the fairly recent finding that our brains continue to make new connections throughout the lifespan, there is a downside.
When someone is exposed to a traumatic event (thus often developing PTSD) then new neural connections have been created that bring on
a major stress reaction. According to psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge, author of The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science , if someone continually paves the path of automatic negative interpretations in life, those neural connections continue to get strengthened and become more difficult to unwind or reshape.
Dr. Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who recently attended a conference where Doidge spoke. He notes, “We have this exciting news that we can actually change the neural pathways in our brains based on the actions we take in life. Millions and millions of evolutions of the brain have given us this awe inspiring organ that has more connections than we can comprehend. Continue reading 'PTSD and Neuroplasticity: Our Brains Continue to Grow Connections Throughout Life'»
While most of the information on PTSD proclaims it to be an anxiety disorder, there seems to be a divergence of opinions on whether it should actually be called an illness or disease. Here are some definitions from various sources:
- PTSD is a real illness. You can get PTSD after living through or seeing a dangerous event, such as war, a hurricane, or bad accident. PTSD makes you feel stressed and afraid after the danger is over. It affects your life and the people around you. (National Institute of Mental Health, NIMH).
- PTSD is an emotional disorder brought about by unresolved trauma, both physical and emotional. (wiki.answers.).
- PTSD is a common anxiety disorder that develops after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Family members of victims can develop the disorder. (Medicine.net).
- PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood. (Nebraska Dept. of Veterans Affairs).
- PTSD is an anxiety disorder NOT a mental disorder or illness. (Lest We Forget-PTSD Family and Military Support Group).
It seems to me that this is all a matter of semantics. According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, illness is defined as: Continue reading 'Is PTSD a Real Illness or Disease?'»
In an article by Alysa Landry,(The Daily Times) she writes of Roy Harrington, a Marine diagnosed with PTSD nearly twenty years ago, after serving in the Desert Storm conflict.
Harrington is spearheading a conversation he hopes leads to specific changes in the way mental health professionals and the military view stress and trauma.
Of his own PTSD diagnosis, he said, “I didn’t know what the heck was wrong with me. I was crying all the time. It was affecting my job and my relationships. It just didn’t make sense.”
Harrington believes that the current therapy for PTSD could be improved on. He and Charles Stacey, a marriage and family therapist, are soliciting help from combat vets for a study on making therapy more effective. Continue reading 'A New Study Plans on the Role of Therapy in Healing PTSD in Combat Vets'»
A new study led by Dr. Karen Seal, from the San Francisco Veteran Affairs Medical Centre, found that nearly 50,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans (between 2002 and 2008) have received a diagnosis of PTSD.
The startling fact is that only 10% of these veterans had completed the recommended treatment of 10-12 weekly sessions withing four months of diagnosis. After a year, only 30% had.
Male veterans under age 25, especially thoses who lived in rural areas and those who received their diagnosis at primary clinics were even less likely to get the recommended care.
Chaplain Kathie Costos, who writes the Wounded Times veterans blog, asks “What is the answer? A massive ad campaign? Better programs? Civilian support? Veterans Centers? How about all of them? How about having more Vietnam veterans speaking to the newer veterans and letting them know what wasted time cost them between combat and healing? How about following that up with what happened when they started to heal? There is so much more that can be done … it is clear that more HAS to be done.” Continue reading 'Fewer Than 10% of Returning Iraq and Afghanistan Combat Vets with PTSD Are Taking Advantage of Help'»
A new study has come out from researchers in San Francisco, on Iraq War veterans. The study suggests that more discussion of killing, may help veterans cope with an array of mental health problems after their wartime experience.
This is no surprise to those of us of the Vietnam War generation. We’ve long known that Vietnam vets seemed to find comfort in having interaction with other Vietnam vets. Unfortunately, from my experience, much of that bonding time included consumption of massive amounts of alcohol, or other substances. This of course, can be very hard on families.
The study was published last week in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, and found that soldiers who reported having killed in combat, or who gave orders that led to killing, were more likely to report the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse, anger and relationships problems. Continue reading 'New Study Says Combat Veterans Need to Talk about Killing, Even in Public Forums'»
Probably some of you have already read recent stories of the findings (during Operation Iraqi Freedom) of the benefits of using morphine for military personnel wounded on the battlefield. While the early administration of morphine relieved pain, it’s also been found to help prevent PTSD!
It was observed that troops who received morphine within a few hours of injury, were 50% less likely to develop PTSD, than those who didn’t get it.
This is amazing and hopeful news. In reading an article in the LA Times by Karen Kaplan, I learned that this conclusion was based on findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine. They think that using morphine at the time of injury, can keep a horrifying event from escalating into PTSD, which as too many of us know, can be such a chronic, and incapacitating illness.
Small trials have been done on the use of opiates and other medications, which can disrupt the way the brain encodes traumatic memories, and prevent the incidents from being recorded with too much intensity. Continue reading 'Hope for Preventing PTSD – Using Morphine on the Battlefield'»
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