Thursday, July 14, 2011

187,133 Veterans Have Been Diagnosed with PTSD

POLL UP!

Hi Friends,

I've just put up this poll about ways people handle extreme stress or PTSD.  When you are triggered, where do you go for relief? What's most reliable for you?  You can check more than one answer.  If your favorite treatment is not on the list, please share it for others in the comments section below!  I look forward to seeing your responses!

Love and Blessings, Sue

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Helane' Wahbeh, ND

I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Helane' Wabeh for lunch yesterday.  Helane' (pronounced Helen-ay) is a doctor of naturopathic medicine here in the Northwest.  She is on faculty at the National College of Naturopathic medicine and is conducting research at Oregon Health Sciences University on the effects of mindfulness meditation on people with PTSD.  Like myself, Helane has become convinced that healing from PTSD is a multidimensional process that needs to incorporate a spiritual component.  

In her private practice Helane' uses a process called "drainage" to work homeopathically with stress related disorder, a treatment that was pioneered by Dickson Thom, ND.

She has a Mindfulness Meditation CD available for purchase at $20.00.

As Helane's research proceeds, I will keep you up to date!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Your Brain on PTSD

We all have those days!  When your traumatized brain is not quite up to life, take some time for restoration and recuperation. You may not need to announce to your boss you are taking a mental health day, but take one anyway!  Anything you can do to calm down your mind and relax your body will help you cope and function better. Stay tuned for more blog posts on how to do just that!

The Promise of Complementary Therapies for PTSD

I was happy to see that our cousins across the ocean are so open to working with traumatic stress in a variety of ways.  I had the pleasure of meeting with David Marteau, the head of substance abuse treatment for offenders in London, England.  He felt that the complementary therapies "showed real promise" for helping with traumatized people.

Here at home the military is increasingly turning to alternative therapies for PTSD in their personnel.  The great thing about the American military is that they are intensely pragmatic and great at following protocol. Treatments that have been researched by the Pentagon and/or used to date include:  acupuncture, aromatherapy (yes, really), yoga, reiki massage, relaxation techniques, mindfulness.  The Ft. Bliss Restoration and Resilience Center has an integrative model that has treated dozens of officers with multidimensional holistic treatments.  They went from a 10 percent redeployment rate of officers with PTSD to a redeployment rate of over 60 percent for those who completed the program!  Complementary therapies work!