A PTSD audio self help program that might be worth trying.

Ptsd Relief Self-help Audio Program

Great news, here's another self help/non medication program for helping you get over PTSD. I can't review it since I haven't seen the program but the web site looks very convincing and it has a money back guarantee. So take a look and see what you think. If anyone has a review for me I'm very interested to hear peoples experience! However there are several on the website if you want to read some yourself.

This method doesn't seem to be created specifically for veterans, but if it works for anyone with PTSD, then veterans can certainly benefit from it!

Here's that link again....

Ptsd Relief Self-help Audio Program

Man Helps Fellow Vets Heal Through Horses

Here's another great healing tool available to veterans. It takes longer than EFT but can be a very powerful lifelong aid. Anybody who has animals can attest to the fact that they can really help make a bad day better. The list of studies with animals in care facilities, homes for the elderly, childrens hospitals all show very positive results. Thanks to CBS 4 Denver for the article.

Written By Tom Mustin

ELIZABETH, Colo. (CBS4) ― A local Vietnam veteran is using "horse power" to help his fellow soldiers recover from post traumatic stress disorder.

John Nash is using a practice called equine assisted psychotherapy. The treatment uses a horse's instinctive bond with humans to help the veterans heal emotionally and physically from life on the battlefield.

"Now there's hope. We're creating hope," says Nash.

CBS4's Tom Mustin spent the day at Nash's moon fall ranch in Elizabeth and watched the therapy in action.

"This is my passion. This is the only thing I want to do for the rest of my life," says Nash.

Two months ago Nash started "Combat Veterans Cowboy Up." The non-profit program includes classroom training and trail riding for veterans suffering from PTSD and other mental illnesses associated with combat. A certified psychotherapist is also on hand.

"The program will help them to trust again, help them integrate into society again," explains Nash. "Just increase their whole quality of life. That's the goal. The wounds that soldiers have with PTSD, you can't see but they are just as much a wound as a physical wound and in cases worse because it's unrelenting. It doesn't leave."

Nash has a special bond with his fellow veterans. He served in Vietnam with the Army's 1st cavalry. Three years ago he was diagnosed with severe depression and PTSD.

"I was at the very lowest I ever was. Pretty much ready to check out," he says.

Nash wandered into his barn and sat there for hours comforted only by his horse.

"The horse stayed by me with her head over me like she was protecting me, eventually she would nudge me like she was saying it's ok now you can go to bed."

Nash says he experienced right then the healing power of horses. He says it's a form of therapy that's become more and more accepted nationwide. He decided to use his experience to help his fellow vets.

Right now there are five veterans in the program including Navy veteran Denny Romero.

"This gets us away to where we feel we're free again and don't have to deal with any of the other stuff that goes on," says Romero.

Nash is planning to build a new arena and riding area to accommodate 50 veterans at a time. He says the group is running on a shoe string budget so any donations are greatly appreciated.

Meanwhile John Nash and his horses have "cowboyed up" to change lives.

"I am so proud to have fought for our country. I always was," he says. "This is my purpose. We wonder why we survived. I know now why I survived. It's to run this program and help as many as I can."

Additional Resources:

http://combatveteranscowboyup.org/

2 spaces left!

Ingrid Dinter writes...

The first ever:
EFT4Vets
Life seminar

watch the EFT for Combat Veterans video on www.eft4vets.com

Learn top notch EFT techniques, gain insights, enhance your effectiveness

Helping Veterans and their families heal

Hi Everyone,
this is the last reminder of the EFT4Vets workshop this Saturday.

This class has filled without much announcement, which is very exciting. There are two spaces left, if you are interested in joining us.

What is EFT4Vets:
EFT4Vets is an advanced EFT program for practitioners who wish to help Veterans who suffer from Combat Stress.

Using a combination of different media, coaching, in depth training with advanced EFT approaches, insights into the world of Veterans and a multitude of techniques to help them, I will help you feel prepared to working with Veterans and their families.

One of the Veterans I am working with has volunteered to do some sessions during the class, so that you can experience the power of EFT with Veterans.

We will use the manuscript of an e-book chapter that I wrote for Gary Craig. Part of this will be published in his new book about using EFT for PTSD. Here is the link on amazon, so that you can get a preview: http://www.amazon.com/EFT-PTSD-Gary-Craig

Please email me (ingrid@eft4vets.com) so that I can send you the information you need.

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!
Hugs
Ingrid

yet another VET getting relief from PTSD related symptoms!

Here's another successful treatment of combat PTSD of a veteran who had been at the V.A. seeking help. Thanks to Jan Luckenbach for sharing this story. If you don't know how to do the tapping she is talking about and would like to learn more here's a link...

http://www.emofree.com/get started for FREE

By Jan Luckenbach

I was asked to a cookout at a friend’s house and met Ron, one of her neighbors, at the party. At first glance, he had the look of a hollow eyed man that you see hanging around the corners downtown. His face was careworn and he had a depressed, miserable look to him. He managed a wan, toothless smile when I was introduced to him, and then he returned to picking at his plate of uneaten food.

I don’t know how the subject came up but he began telling me he went to the V.A. because he was having difficulty swallowing. They told him he had an ear infection and gave him antibiotics. That was 2 weeks ago and he hasn’t been able to eat or drink much since. He was in terrible agony every time he swallowed. He even went to the emergency room at one point because the pain was so intense that he couldn’t even drink water. I told him I could show him something that MIGHT be able to help him. At this point, I think he would have stood on his head if he thought it would help.

We adjourned to his apartment next door and I carefully explained the EFT process. We went through all the points and I tapped along with him. After telling me some of his history, of alcoholism, his wife’s suicide, some terrible war memories, PTSD, insomnia and other assorted ailments, I realized he was in need of professional help. He said he was being seen at the V.A. for his problems. (I am a former Psych Nurse, so I really understood him.)

So, as he brought up some of these issues, we tapped generally using the set-up “Even though I have this memory…” I felt it would give him some practice in the tapping procedure and it might free up some of his energy. As we tapped and he became more comfortable with the process, I decided to tap on his inability to swallow.

His eyes nearly bugged out of his head when for the first time in 2 weeks he could swallow without pain after one round of tapping. After tapping on forgiving the doctors for not being able to help him, he smiled at me and said he didn’t believe it.

His whole countenance had changed. Gone were his furrowed brow and painful expression. He said even the trembling in his hands was better, holding out a barely moving hand. He said he couldn’t write because of the “shakes” and now that had improved as well.

He was hesitant to try eating because he was afraid that the pain would come back. I explained if it did, there might be something else that he had to tap on, as I had explained earlier. He seemed to understand and went to test the healing.

He very gingerly took a sip of water and looked at me with gratitude. No pain! He smiled and decided to eat a piece of cheesecake. I could see that the pain had not returned. Even though he was essentially fasting for 2 weeks, I will never forget the look of sheer pleasure he had on his face when he took that first delicious bite of blueberry cheesecake and swallowed without pain.

Jan Luckenbach

Have you seen this clip? It's VERY exciting news on healing PTSD for Vets.

It's VERY encouraging. Families, if your vet can't or won't get help right now...have faith, watch this video on actual filmed evidence of the effectiveness of this technique.

Gary Craig writes..."In March of this year 5 EFT experts and myself spent 5 days helping PTSD ridden war vets. The impressive results were all captured on film and a preliminary video is now available for you to view. A grander version, including more recent follow-ups, should be available within 3 months." Here's that link Help with PTSD for veterans

It's 19 minutes of information on how and why this new method of healing works so well. Not airy fairy ideas but hard facts and actual interviews. So families- watch this video without your vet first, then have your vet watch it with you if you think they are able to. THERE IS A SOLUTION! And many practitioners are offering their time free of charge for veterans and military spouses.
thanks to Tom T. for the photo!

EFT healing Military Sexual Trauma for a non-combat veteran.

Thanks to Ingrid Dinter for sharing this story of a women veteran (we'll call Joanna) who has suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and her progress with Emotional Freedom Technique. This is only a part of the story, for the full article click here.

“ Joanna ” is a non-combat veteran with severe PTSD who has been on medical disability since 1993. In addition to her PTSD, Joanna suffered from severe Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and childhood sexual trauma. When Joanna agreed to try EFT, she did so out of a sense of desperation.

She was open to alternative healing and had tried many things, but nothing had truly brought her the relief she wanted and needed. I remember the first conversation with her being full of resentment and mistrust about EFT. She was willing to give it a try though, to work on her sleep issues, so we connected.

Joanna had excelled as a female in the military, being the first ever woman to join a very tough elite troop. Rescuing others from life threatening situations, she had to put her life at risk often several times a day, and it was usually the night when they got the most calls to rescue someone.

So Joanne had learned that the night wasn’t safe.

In addition to the resentment against her father, she suffered from many rapes, some by relatives of friends, and some within the military. There was so much harassment in her life, that she at some point just shrug her shoulders about it. After an accident, she was finally bullied out of her job.

So we had a lot of clean up to do.

here's what Joanne had to say after her first appointment...

“I managed not to wake up last night and slept the whole night through. YEA!! Yesterday, I noticed that I wanted to "pick-up" my old emotional trauma/baggage around the accident in 1993. I kept revisiting the accident and after our EFT session the emotional trauma/baggage was gone. Yet I kept wanting to find the old baggage because it has been with me for so long, it’s comfortable and it’s what I know and it felt awkward and exposed without it. I recognized what I was doing and did some self-talk, self-encouragement and was able to just let myself be without trying to re-find of my emotional baggage by treating myself with love and compassion.”

Joanne had seen many casualties and people dying in very drastic situations, but the molestation topped them all. So we took several events from her childhood and, again, released the emotional intensity she felt about them.

In my experience, many Veterans and people with PTSD symptoms never feel that they arrive in the present. They keep reliving their trauma from years ago, and their minds function as if the trauma was still happening. So they feel threatened in their daily life, surrounding themselves with weapons and defense mechanisms. Joanna was no different.

However, when we put the time in between, she realized that her life for the past fifteen years had been very different that the beginning of her life. She realized that she had been safe and, even though she was well prepared to defend herself, she never had to use her weapon.

So it was appropriate for her to assume that her life was different and safe now, and she could allow herself to relax.

In her email after the fourth session, she described the results of our work as follows:

“Here is my 15th day of my sleep log.

I am doing well. I went to bed after using EFT again on my sleep. I went to bed and slept well without any prescription medication to sleep. I also didn't wake up at any time during the night. I felt safer and more at peace when I went to bed than ever before. I realized that I carry over my sleep deficient. If I didn't "get enough sleep", I'd carry it over to the next day and think "I need to make up for it tonight" and I'd be anxious to "make sure I sleep enough tonight." Using EFT before I went to bed last night, I reminded myself that I have choices and that there are no rules about sleeping. I also tapped on releasing my old beliefs about sleeping and let my body be the gauge of how much sleep I get every night. I felt lighter and more at peace after tapping and went to bed. Slept soundly. Still tired and sleepy, yet somewhat refreshed. I think this EFT is working.”

Joanna realized that she had joined the army to learn the techniques she needed to keep herself safe, a direct consequence of the constant threat she lived under as a child and adolescent. So we tapped on her finding peace with that reality and claiming her power back from her past.

I asked Joanne if she was willing to write a testimonial about her healing experience, and here is her personal report:

“Ingrid,

I had already tried group counseling; PTSD awareness training; Veteran’s Administration individual counseling for many years; Transcendental Meditation; metaphysical training (including candle magic, crystal and gemstone magic, and numerology); herbology and herbal remedies; Vimala Handwriting by Vimala Rogers; astrology; Native American healing beliefs; prescribed pharmaceuticals; Western medicine; chiropractic care; New Age healing techniques such as pendulum dowsing and chakra cleansing; University of New Mexico PTSD Sleep Study and Nightmare Reduction; Veteran’s Administration Group therapy many times; nutritional education; self-help books; and almost any other suggestion by any health care worker.

“I still couldn’t fall asleep. I couldn’t remain asleep without waking up repeatedly during the night. And I was plagued by repeated traumatic nightmares every night. Sleep was my enemy and I fought it every night, waking up exhausted and tired. I obsessed about sleep because I was always in sleep deficit. I would get very distressed if I stayed up late, yet couldn’t seem to go to bed until late because I dreaded the nightmares. I wouldn’t take naps during the day because it would make getting to sleep more difficult at night. The things that I tried helped very little.

I gave EFT a chance and I was thrilled with the results. Within two sessions, I felt myself release all the associated trauma, emotions, and obsessions that interfered with my sleep. Sleep became an easy and gentle activity free from worry and fretting. No longer am I afraid of going to sleep or of even how much sleep I receive. Today I let my body tell me when to sleep instead of rigorously following a clock. Sleep today is a joy that refreshes my body and rejuvenates my soul. I wake up earlier than I used to and I need less sleep than before. Sometimes the associated old beliefs about sleep come up but now I utilize EFT to release them. Quick. Easy. Gentle. No more nightmares. No more fighting sleep.”

It was not easy for Joanna to get started and trust such a different technique and healing approach, and she can be very proud of herself for hanging in there and not giving into her fears and resentment before she allowed EFT to do it’s magic.

A statistical background:

To be able to monitor Joanne’s progress,, I asked her to fill out an informed consent form and keep a daily sleep journal. We also used two well established, standardized research tools: The SA-45 and the PCL-M, both of which are explained on my website.

Results:

Within ten days and four EFT sessions, “Joanna’s” SA-45 score fell from 162 before the first session to 97 after the last. Her PCL-M score fell from 76 to 47 (a score of 50 and higher is considered PTSD for military personnel).

Joanna and I will have some more cleanups to do in relation to her military experiences and the chronic physical pain that she feels. But this is a great start!

New Treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Delivers Rapid, Long Lasting Results for Iraqi War Veterans--No Drugs Necessary

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) -- Stanford engineer Gary Craig introduces EFT, a new "acupuncture without needles" technique for helping Iraqi War Veterans gain relief from their Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques and involves the stimulation of certain meridian points on the body by tapping on them with the fingertips. This stimulation has been clinically shown in thousands of cases to dramatically reduce, or completely eliminate, the sting of trauma.

"Conventional psychology has been looking in the wrong place for clues to the PTSD puzzle," says Craig. "We have found repeatedly that the nightmares, sweats and intrusive memories of our war veterans occur because their war memories disrupt the proper flow of their bodies' subtle energies."

"Once these energies have been properly balanced," maintains Craig, "the war veteran couldn't get upset about the memory if s/he tried. This is also true for other emotional issues including phobias, grief, rape, depression and anger."

Susan Hannibal is a San Diego therapist and consistent user of EFT who often feels frustrated with the military's use of conventional and ineffective methods for PTSD. "One of the biggest problems facing our military today is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," she says, "but no one in authority wants to break new ground and use the most effective treatment available."

"Even when they don't sustain physical injuries," says Hannibal, "their lives can go into a tailspin. Traumatic memories are an underlying cause of health problems, social isolation, domestic violence, divorce, alcohol and drug abuse, and shattered families."

Everyone agrees that conventional treatments do little to help. Psychiatric drugs can dull or numb PTSD symptoms, but drugs have side effects and do nothing to address the disorder's underlying cause. Conventional talk therapy can even make the problem worse by reinforcing traumatic memories.

But Hannibal and other EFT practitioners worldwide routinely neutralize haunting memories - in soldiers, accident or abuse victims, and survivors of disasters - in record time. The simple EFT process often does its job in one or two sessions and, in some cases, has done it in minutes.

One of Hannibal's clients is Navy Corpsman Wilbur Hurley. Just before leaving Iraq, he had to deal with a young Marine's suicide. That event triggered memories of a murder-suicide Hurley witnessed as a child, and he began having vivid nightmares. Returning home, he isolated himself from friends and family and suffered debilitating anxiety attacks, flashbacks, auditory hallucinations, anger, and irritability.

Hurley's symptoms disappeared when Hannibal taught him EFT. After his first session, which Hannibal videotaped, Hurley left her office singing. "It was pretty much the greatest day of my life," he said. Even when he concentrated on the worst events he witnessed in Ramadi, he couldn't find a single memory that bothered him.

Corpsman Hurley has remained free of PTSD symptoms since his three-session treatment in December 2004.

Results like these don't surprise Gary Craig. In 1994, Craig and a colleague visited a Veterans Administration hospital in California, where they worked on-camera with six Vietnam War veterans.

"These men hadn't had a moment's peace in 20 years," says Craig. "Their lives revolved around their terrifying memories." But after just a few minutes of tapping, all of the men experienced profound release.

"Traumatic memories and phobias usually respond quickly to EFT," he says, "and the results are often permanent. EFT not only prevents post-traumatic memories from causing problems, it successfully treats memories that are decades old."

Despite the dramatic results achieved by patients at the VA hospital, says Craig, none of the staff were interested.

Today the Department of Veterans Affairs pays compensation for PTSD to nearly twice as many veterans as it did six years ago, at an annual cost of $4.3 billion. Most recent applicants are Vietnam War veterans.

"It would be wonderful if military chaplains, counselors, and psychologists learned EFT and taught it to everyone," says Hannibal, "but it's so different from what they're used to that no one knows what to make of it."

In addition, she says, there is still a bias against seeking help in all branches of the military. "It's cultural conditioning," she says. "It's unfortunate."

The EFT basics can be learned by anyone by downloading the free EFT Manual from Craig's website at

http://www.emofree.com/downloadeftmanual.asp

EFT for Iraq veterans suffering from PTSD for FREE!!!!!

More good news from Gary Craig and the EFT team. This help is free and in the California area. With so many bases, this is a great place to have this project available to veterans wanting to heal the post traumatic stress symptoms that they may be suffering. If you or someone you know or love is having a hard time getting life back to normal after Iraq or Afghanistan, get to LA or San Francisco and get some help! The e-mail to Eric Huurre is below and good luck!!

EFT for our Iraq vets--no charge: As you may know, we have been filming some spectacular results with our PTSD burdened war veterans. Nightmares have faded, sleep has improved, intrusive thoughts and flashbacks have been minimized, etc. We are looking to complete this project with Iraq vets located in the Los Angeles or San Francisco areas. To be eligible, you must have recent Iraq/Afghanistan combat experience and be diagnosed with PTSD. Gary Craig and/or an EFT expert will work with you personally on camera without any cost to you whatsoever. If interested please write to our film's producer, Eric Huurre, at eric@skywriter.ca. Please write with some details about yourself or the person you are recommending for consideration. We are particularly interested in veterans with spouses or partners who would be prepared to appear on camera and also undergo EFT treatments on camera. Your story could help the lives of multitudes of your combat brothers and sisters.

PTSD treatment successful for retired soldier

This just in from healing innovator Tapas Fleming. Tapas Acupressure Technique^® or TAT^® is is a leading-edge healing technique to end stress, create vibrant good health and live a happy life. Tapas has developed this technique that is AMAZINGLY easy to do and has excellent results with traumatic stress sufferers. The link at the bottom of the article will take you to her site where you can download a free manual that will walk you through how to use TAT for traumas. So from her latest newsletter...


Dear Friends,

Brian Davis came to the workshop for combat veterans just to prove that we were wrong – he planned to call us down for offering something that wouldn’t help soldiers. The first night of the workshop, he decided to work on the very worst trauma that ever happened to him in combat. Right after he returned for the second night, he told us that he had dreamed of his children for the first time ever and that he’d slept well for the first time in years. He explained that previously, he’d typically wake up 15 times a night in one combat situation or another, pace through his home, sleep restlessly again and finally greet the day in a torn up bed. Now, the bedding next to him was smooth and unruffled from his peaceful sleep. Our team was in tears hearing that he’d dreamt of his children. Click here to read his story in more detail as reported in the local Columbus, Georgia newspaper.

We’re grateful to the local community for supporting this workshop. It was a privilege to join the soldiers, their spouses and children in this life-changing journey.

Love,
Tapas

If that sounds interesting to you I encourage you to try out this technique for yourself. It can help everything from PTSD to the stress of living with someone who has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. click here for FREE BOOKLET then let me know how you do with it!

EFT offering free help to Veterans

this just in from the EFT website...

Now, the Iraq Vets Stress Project, which offers EFT to ALL veterans free of charge, and which many of you have supported with your donations, is launching a nationwide study of vets with PTSD (whether or not they served in Iraq). If you know of a veteran who is suffering from nightmares, health problems, flashbacks, insomnia, or some of the other symptoms of PTSD, please encourage them to apply for the study. Help is available in many cities, as well as over the phone. Go to http://www.StressProject.org/multicitystudy.html for details. You can also call Crystal Hawk at 416-922 4325 if you have questions or need direction.

it's a great opportunity to get a vet you know and love some FREE help!! The success they have had on previous studies have encourage and lead them to offer more help. The exciting thing is they are looking at long term changes for the better, with this relatively new and VERY easy technique.

ptsdcombat.blogspot.com Thanks to Ilona Meagher for the cool poster!

Troops' brain injuries inspire a new mission

USA TODAY

LANDSTUHL, Germany — It took nearly three years for the Army to understand the damage to Army Sgt. Chad Joiner's brain after a roadside explosion left him unconscious in a Humvee on June 28, 2005.

He finished his tour and returned home, struggled with headaches and memory loss, went back to Iraq and survived another bombing in February that aggravated his symptoms.

Only after arriving here at the Army's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center with an ankle injury in February did a new and aggressive screening program finally identify Joiner's brain injury and lead to treatment. "I'm just in shock that somebody is figuring out what's wrong with me," says Joiner, 26, who says his gratitude for the treatment outweighs any bitterness over the delay in diagnosing his injury.

The Pentagon debated for years whether to systematically screen troops for brain injuries such as Joiner's. A recent study by RAND Corp., a research group, says such injuries could have affected 320,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. Uncertain how aggressively to identify a wound that is still largely a mystery, the Pentagon initially resisted calls to screen all service members coming out of the battlefield. Under pressure from Congress, the Pentagon in March ordered all military branches to screen for traumatic brain injury (TBI).

By then, doctors at this key Army hospital — through which all war casualties pass on their way home — already had begun to check each of the wounded for a brain injury in an effort that could set new standards for whether such troops ever return to duty.

This is wonderful news for current troops coming out of combat. Perhaps veterans will be able to avail themselves of this technology also in the future. It certainly will help reduce the stigma of PTSD and brain trauma related injuries. Which in turn will lead to better awareness, which in turn will lead to broader search for effective solutions.

One of which is Emotional Freedom Technique. Some of the things I like about EFT are: you or your soldier can start using it TODAY! it's really inexpensive, it brings quick relief, it is drug free, it is so easy to do. And it can reverse these unseen injuries.

Side effects? Well more energy, more joy, more freedom to live a normal life, more engagement in the present, less depression, less fear, less anger, better sleep-I could go on and on but you get the idea!

thanks for the photo by foreignobsessed

We sent them to war, let's send them to college!

We send them to war, why can't we send them to college?

This is IAVA's excellent slogan for the G.I Bill that was signed in June. After lots of hard work it's a reality. Here is a web link for veterans to find out more about how they can take advantage of the benefits they have earned...http://www.gibill2008.org/

Hats off to two of the main co-sponsors of the legislation, Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE), along with Patrick Campbell, IAVA's Legislative Director, and Paul Rieckhoff, IAVA's Executive Director.

PTSD vets? They will need help!

One thing many returning vets feel is an isolation from everything familiar, everything they left behind, and everyone they left behind. Being with other vets can help ease the pain but it doesn't start the healing process.

Teach your vet the basics of tapping and work with them as they do it. Even if you are both beginners you can help them experience some relief after only 1 session. Here is a link to download the FREE 'get started' package.

I recommend buying the DVD set-it's fairly inexpensive and you can legally make up to 10 copies, if you've got friends who can use some help too. Then watch them WITHOUT your vet first. Spend some time learning how to do the tapping and what to say. That will get you started. Click here to order the DVD's.

If you don't want to tackle this alone there are many competent EFT practitioners that you can find on the EFT web site. Click here for some tips on how to find a good practitioner.

thanks to Kristofer Martinelli for the photo from flikr!

Parents-soldiers will need your help!

Time Magazine reports-

"For the first time in history, a sizable and growing number of U.S. combat troops are taking daily doses of antidepressants to calm nerves strained by repeated and lengthy tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The medicines are intended not only to help troops keep their cool but also to enable the already strapped Army to preserve its most precious resource: soldiers on the front lines."

This is what one combat sergent discovered after some heavy missions...

"LeJeune visited a military doctor in Iraq, who, after a quick session, diagnosed depression. The doctor sent him back to war armed with the antidepressant Zoloft and the antianxiety drug clonazepam. "It's not easy for soldiers to admit the problems that they're having over there for a variety of reasons," LeJeune says. "If they do admit it, then the only solution given is pills."

... any drug that keeps a soldier deployed and fighting also saves money on training and deploying replacements. But there is a downside: the number of soldiers requiring long-term mental-health services soars with repeated deployments and lengthy combat tours. If troops do not get sufficient time away from combat — both while in theater and during the "dwell time" at home before they go back to war — it's possible that antidepressants and sleeping aids will be used to stretch an already taut force even tighter. "

These kids coming back will have several issues to deal with. May of them simply won't be able to coop on their own. Much less to try and get their lives back to normal. Adding drugs to the mix may effectively hide symptoms, but don't be fooled. They will need extra time, care, attention and love to aid healing. (At a time when they may accept it from you least.)

Take care of yourself first, so that you can be your best, calmest, most loving self, in order to start to help them find a way out of the downward spiral they may find themselves in. To help both you and them-look into complementary health alternatives as a way to assist the mental and physical healing. Reiki, aromatherapy, cranial sacral, reflexology, EMDR, Quantum Touch, the list goes on and on. And though the healing stories may be largely antidoctal-the vast quantity of them is to large to ignore!

Our favorite is EFT www.emofree.com. It's inexpensive, it can be done over the telephone, can be done in groups or alone, with or without the help of a professional, (although at first we recommend finding an expert practitioner) and has no side effects. Once you learn how, the whole family can use it.

Illustration by Lon Tweeten and D.W. Pine for TIME

We're hard-wired to survive-that's what causes PTSD.

There are those who deny that in spite of being in combat they do not suffer from PTSD. I do not believe this is possible.

As humans, we are hard-wired to survive. When our survival is threatened it messes with that hard wiring. As humans, we have no choice but to shut down. That's what PTSD is—shutting down and putting a block in our energy system so we don't have to deal with a traumatic event.

While avoidance is a helpful reaction in the short run, it is extremely harmful in the long run. Until the blockage is cleared and the trauma released unwanted symptoms will continue to plague.

As trauma is piled upon trauma the situation is compounded. Something must be done to relieve the pressure or like a boiler, the person will explode.

Smells are key links to healing PTSD

The olfactory system (the sense of smell) is the only sensory system that is connected directly to the brain. Other senses must pass through the thalamus and be routed to the brain. Because of this the sense of smell has a powerful emotional impact on us.

Knowing this there is no mystery about why odors such as cordite or blood trigger delayed reactions in returning veterans.

It is also the reason that certain odors are just as powerful in calming emotions. Aromatherapy is another inexpensive, effective, and seldomly used aid that can help heal soldiers who suffer from the effects of combat. When it is correctly used-there are no side effects, it can be used anywhere, it's easy to use, and the price of a good quality essential oil (and that's all you should be using) is far less than an ongoing prescription of Xanax or Zoloft. Contact a local massage therapist or aromatherapist for more guidance on how essential oils can help.

Combating P.T.S.D. and Preventing Suicides

by Jennifer Litz
Del Rio LIVE!

Pat Dugan was a reconnaissance marine corporal in Vietnam for 19 months, starting in 1966. He’s now a passionate voice for veteran help that resounds throughout West Texas. “I am seeing one of the biggest mushroom clouds,” Dugan says of times ahead for Iraq/Afghanistan veterans. “’... there are no front lines in this war. You can be [in a non-combat service] and get your butt blown off the road there with anyone else. Everyone’s sitting around waiting for an explosion to go off, and they send you back and back for more tours.”

When these vets do come back home—or in between myriad deployments—they’re still fighting—for their benefits. “In Del Rio, for example, we’ve got people with problems,” Dugan says. “And they have to travel 150 miles to get help [at a VA clinic]. And then when you get up there, I’m not being mean, but when you go up there and apply to get help, you get some VA muffin that’s not a veteran, and they put you through mental gymnastics like you wouldn’t believe. [Vets] don’t want to be humiliated and go through that process.”

This is a great article on a upcoming progressive treatment center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Texas. Dugan points out 3 classic problems for getting treatment from traditional sources for PTSD...
1. fighting for benefits
2. traveling 150 miles to get help from a VA clinic
3. humiliation of the process
That's what I like about using EFT for this population. Once they know how to do it, they can start healing without the fighting, traveling or waiting. They can work with a practitioner or they can work on their own. They can use the Emotional Freedom Technique at home, on the road, sitting in traffic-anywhere. They can find a buddy to do it with. And if they can't do it on their own-family members, friends and spouses can do it with them. How many therapies can you say that about?

Getting help for PTSD related to the "combat environment" will no longer be a reason to deny security clearances

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, right, walked out of the Restoration & Resilience Center at Fort Bliss after touring it Thursday. (Rudy Gutierrez / El Paso Times)

Bracing against a blasting wind that reminded him of his native Kansas, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spent a day at Fort Bliss touring a mental health center, watching a demonstration of the Army's newest technology, and meeting with soldiers and community leaders.

Gates had high praise for a Fort Bliss center designed to treat soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and return them to their units -- a center he said would serve as a prototype for the Army.

"They are doing some amazing things here in terms of helping soldiers who want to remain soldiers but who have been wounded with post-traumatic stress disorder," Gates said of the Restoration and Resilience Center. "I think it's an extraordinary program. ..... And one of the things that I will carry back to Washington with me is the question of whether we can replicate this at other posts around the country."

During a morning press conference in front of the center, Gates also formally announced a change in government policy he said would allow soldiers to seek help for PTSD without hurting their careers.

Getting help for PTSD related to the "combat environment" will no longer be a reason to deny security clearances, he said.

The Fort Bliss center is also looking at finding ways to help soldiers in combat zones deal with stress, Gates said, adding that those techniques "are clearly worth additional attention as well."

Changing the way the military and public in general feel about the stigma of PTSD is a HUGE step forward in admitting that this is a normal affliction of war. For the Secretary of Defense to announce this policy change says alot about the new climate of acceptance and healing. It's interesting that they are looking at therapies just as EFT is starting to become a mainstream solution to this type of disorder.

Well done Montana National Guard!

Montana Guard confronts post-combat stress head-on in wake of suicide
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor

HELENA — Montana's National Guard is becoming a model of how to help service members adjust to post-combat stress.

"Montana has gone beyond the level of other states in the country, and I applaud that," said Capt. Joan Hunter, a U.S. Public Service officer who was recently designated the director of psychological health for the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C. "They saw an emergency need, studied the problems and make some significant improvements," Hunter said Friday.

State Adjutant General Randy Mosley said that the effort stems from a former Montana soldier who didn't get the help he needed and who killed himself a year ago."We want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help our people and their families pick up the pieces for the problems that may have begun during their deployment in Iraq," Mosley said last week.

"The Guard has done an unbelievable job in changing," said Matt Kuntz, a Helena attorney and stepbrother of the late Spc. Chris Dana, who killed himself March 4, 2007. At the time, Dana was having trouble handling weekend drills after returning from combat in Iraq. He was given a less-than-honorable discharge and then shot himself a few days later."It takes a lot for a big organization that does a lot of things right to look for what they did wrong and address those flaws," Kuntz said. "I'm really impressed with what they've done."

The first thing Montana put in place was crisis response teams, then they backed that up with assessing service members' mental health every six months for two years after deployment. This goes beyond the recommended guidelines laid out by the Department of Defense. While Montana is the only state doing this for the moment, their success may pave the way for other states to launch similar programs.

As always, many service men and woman are still concerned about the stigma of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (for a further career in the military or out) and understandably don't seek help. With this courageous, caring change- we may be seeing the beginning of a new understanding about PTSD within the military.

Helping a Loved One when they return from military duty

U.S. soldiers are deployed for 15 month combat tours (although this is supposed to change to 12 months in August), and marines for seven months. Readjusting to life in the states can be a huge challenge. About 12 percent of soldiers suffer from anxiety, depression, post-combat stress and other problems during their first tour, according to an Army survey, and that rises to 27 percent of those on their third or fourth combat tours. The long and repeated separations also take a toll on marriages, as more soldiers are reporting related marriage problems.

One of the best things for someone who has just gone through a traumatic event like combat, to do is to learn how to let go of the negative images and experiences in their head, and the feelings associated with them. Easy to say I know, but many energy treatments can help with this, reiki, quantum touch, energetic balancing of all kinds have the potential to bring immediate relief, by treating the cause, not the symptom.

It's also very important for the family and friends of the soldier to take care of their own needs. The job of welcoming home someone who may have become a stranger and running a household, while working and or raising a family is extremely stressful. Learning to do EFT can help you to stay in good shape (emotionally and physically) while you are helping others.

We like EFT because once you learn how to do it, you can work with a practitioner or on your own. It's easy to do, you can do it without expensive equipment or lengthy training, you can take it with you and you can do for someone else.

Sometimes those who need it most, are the least capable of helping themselves.

But there is hope. Combat soldiers or veterans suffering from PTSD are often unable to get out of their confusion or depression long enough to seek help for themselves. It often takes time, research, focus and patience. These things are exactly what many sufferers DON'T have.

Here's where family, spouses and friends can help. Surrogate EFT can be amazingly effective. That is to say, doing Emotional Freedom Technique exercises for another person works! It may not be the "end-all" but it may be just the incentive needed to get the PTSD sufferer to the point where they can start working to heal him or herself.

It's similar to tuning into a radio station on your car radio. You don't have to drive to the station and sit in the studio to enjoy the program. It works on frequencies and wave lengths to transfer the music right to your car (without even being plugged into anything!) 

Once you learn how to do the tapping on yourself, try surrogate tapping on a simple issue with a friend or child and you'll see for yourself how effective it can be. You can download this free booklet by clicking on this link...

free booklet on EFT tapping

More great news!! The Army is looking at complimentary healing.

Well what an amazing opening. Looks like the government is ready for some new ideas. My guess is they've got a bigger problem than they have answers for and have already started seeing some successes from the alternative/complementary health arena.

It's wonderful that they are ready to look into ANYTHING to find some help for this new population. OK, well not new. Ask any WW1 vet, WW2 vet, Korean war vet, Vietnam vet, Falkland vet, Gulf War vet, Afghanistan vet or Iraq vet about PTSD. It hasn't always been called that but it's always been the result of war.

And it does show an exciting potential for healing!!

The government is spending 4$ million to look at alternative healing for Vets.

Army's New PTSD Treatments: Yoga, Reiki, 'Bioenergy'

By Noah Shachtman

The military is scrambling for new ways to treat the brain injuries and post-traumatic stress of troops returning home from war. And every kind of therapy -- no matter how far outside the accepted medical form -- is being considered. The Army just unveiled a $4 million program to investigate everything from "spiritual ministry, transcendental meditation, [and] yoga" to "bioenergies such as Qi gong, Reiki, [and] distant healing" to mend the psyches of wounded troops.

As many as 17 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have some form of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, one congressional study estimates. Nearly 3,300 troops have suffered traumatic brain injury, or TBI, according to statistics assembled last summer. And the lifetime costs of treating these ailments could pile up to as much as $35 billion, a Columbia University report guesses.

Small wonder, then, that the government is looking for alternate means to treat these injuries. The Defense Department "is dedicated to supporting evidence-based approaches to medical treatment and wants to support the use of alternative therapies if they are proven efficacious," notes a recently-issued request for proposals.

"Music, animal-facilitated therapy, art, dance/movement, massage therapy, EMDR [Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing] program evaluation, virtual reality, acupuncture, spiritual ministry, transcendental meditation, [and] yoga," might all be considered worth of the military's largess. So would "biologically-based treatments, botanicals, and nutritional supplements for enhancing cognitive function and mood in patients with trauma spectrum disorders, including TBI and/or PTSD, depression, anxiety, and/or substance dependence/abuse." Even proposals for wild-sounding "therapies using bioenergies such as Qi gong, Reiki, distant healing and acupuncture" would be accepted.

Was the side effect of this medication Death?

The Cost of War by Julie Robinson

Stan and Shirley White of Cross Lanes remember they were at a restaurant that day - Sept. 26, 2005. They were talking about their youngest son, Andrew, and about how happy they were to have him home safe from Iraq.

Staff writer Charleston Gazette

Stan and Shirley White of Cross Lanes remember they were at a restaurant that day - Sept. 26, 2005. They were talking about their youngest son, Andrew, and about how happy they were to have him home safe from Iraq.

Then, Shirley's cell phone rang.

It was their daughter-in-law on the other end - the wife of their middle son, Bob, who was stationed in Afghanistan with the Army. Bob's Humvee had been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. He was gone.

Now, 2 1/2 years later - on Feb. 12 - the Whites lost 23-year-old Andrew. He died mysteriously in his sleep, just as he was beginning an achingly slow climb out of the debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder.

"You really can't compare the two deaths, but directly and indirectly, both of their deaths are a result of the war," Stan said. "As a parent, you fear for them when they go to war. You fear for their lives over there. Andrew was home. We thought he was safe."

They are waiting for autopsy results, but the circumstances of Andrew's death mirror those of two other local servicemen, also treated for PTSD and taking the same medications.

"Is there a connection? We don't know," Stan said. "When you're 23, you're not supposed to go to sleep and not wake up.

"It seems like a cruel joke for him to die just when he was getting better," Shirley said.

Searching for answers

Since then, the Whites learned that the mysterious circumstances of Andrew's death are markedly similar to those of two other local servicemen who were being treated for PSTD with the same medications - Paxil, Klonopin and Seroquel.

you can read the rest of this story at...http://wvgazette.com/News/200803150602

The encouraging thing about energy medicine is that there are no negative side effects. Many different energy techniques have very positive side effects however-more energy, deeper sleep, less tension, better digestion, improved memory and especially increased happiness.

Alpha Company hit hard by post-traumatic stress resulting from combat

By Tom Infield-Philadelphia Inquirer-staff writer
Of all the things that Alpha Company has had to struggle with since it came home from Iraq, the most pervasive may be post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Of the 126 veterans interviewed or surveyed by The Inquirer, almost half - 46 percent - said they had been treated for PTSD, most at VA hospitals and clinics in the region.

Alpha's rate of PTSD is higher than that of most U.S. troops who served in Iraq or Afghanistan - partly, no doubt, as a result of its being a frontline combat unit that lost six men.

Shelley M. MacDermid, a Purdue University professor who served on a Defense Department mental-health task force last year, said typical PTSD rates among returning veterans were about 14 percent.

"Those are big numbers," she said of The Inquirer's Alpha findings.

National Guard and Reserve units, in general, have shown slightly higher PTSD rates than have regular Army units, she said.

The Defense Department task force said this might be in part because civilian-soldiers were separated after they returned home, rather than staying together as units in which the members could support one another.

Ira Katz, director of mental-health services for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said that among the 300,000 or so veterans who have been seen by the VA, about 20 percent have been diagnosed with PTSD.

But he said that twice that number - about 40 percent - have had some "mental condition."

"That's not all that different from your [46] percent," he said.

Both MacDermid and Katz said that PTSD had become a popular shorthand for all sorts of emotional symptoms that veterans experience. These may include depression and anxiety disorders, but not rise to the level of PTSD.

Steven Silver, who recently retired as director of the inpatient PTSD unit at the Coatesville VA hospital, predicted that as time went on, more and more combat veterans would be shown to have the high PTSD rate Alpha now shows.

PTSD, as a term, has been used only since 1980. World War II soldiers talked of battle fatigue. In World War I, it was shell shock.

Silver said that both the military and the VA had become more aggressive in warning troops about PTSD and getting them treatment.

He said that although Alpha's rate was high, "in some ways, it's good news. It means that people are coming in for help." (I agree this is very good news, it may be we are approaching a time of new understanding of this trauma. Which means we HAVE learned something from the Vietnam vets who suffered alone so terribly.)

(unfortunately however...) PTSD typically is treated with psychotherapy and antidepressant drugs, including Zoloft and Paxil. (which treats the symptoms but not the causes)

About two-thirds of Alpha veterans have received care at VA hospitals and clinics - for PTSD, physical ailments, or both.

quick fix for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?!?

Hard to imagine if you've got it.

The horrible PTSD symptoms veterans are experiencing are so debilitating and so enervating that it seems impossible there is a quick fix. Many believe there is not. One VA therapist I talked with believes it takes years of talk therapy and finding ways to integrate one's various roles and experiences to overcome PTSD.

He believes EMDR works for simple, one-time traumas such as a car accident. But this therapist believes for the complex situations that develop from killing people, seeing others killed and/or being in danger of being killed, it takes long and intensive therapy to heal. Perhaps he is right.

But what if there is an easier, quicker, safe way? Would it be worth a try?

We have written a self-help book called Recovering from PTSD YOUR Way to give you or your loved one an alternative to years of therapy. We are so confident it will help you that we are giving a money-back guarantee.

100% PTSD if you've been through the horrors of war.

We hear differing estimates of the number of soldiers and veterans who develop PTSD, or symptoms of PTSD, as a result of their combat experience. Depending on the source I have heard estimates from 30% to 70%. I disagree. I don't think it is possible to go through the horrors of war without developing PTSD. I don't think humans are equipped to handle the grizzly situations one experiences in war. I truly believe the percentage is closer to 100%.

Certainly some are able to cope to a better degree than others. That doesn't mean they are not affected. "Coping" can be deceiving. "Coping" may mean you don't have the nightmares, the flashbacks, etc. that are considered to be symptoms of PTSD. Though you may "cope" very well with the trauma, you may develop unexplained pain, hearing or vision loss, relationship problems, money problems, or maybe, heart disease. These may develop years after the trauma.

Severity of symptoms may vary from person to person, but I believe every soldier, every veteran can benefit by treatment. I believe your lives, your personal relationships, and your general health will be improved with treatment. Your ability to cope with the normal demands and various crises that we all face every day will be enhanced.

I know this has been the case with my own PTSD! I "coped" very well with my trauma. In fact, I pretty much forgot about it.

I had years of pain, sometimes extreme, sometimes not so bad. I was quick to anger. I had migraines. And there were many other problems which I did not relate to my trauma. Certainly it was never called PTSD. In fact, though doctors rarely used the label, it was implied: PSYCHOSOMATIC. And they gave me names of psychiatrists. But once I put everything together, I got rid of these uncomfortable symptoms by myself.

More good news!

Things are starting to move!

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake today said an expansion by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of its Vet Centers, which provide readjustment counseling and outreach services to returning combat veterans, is well ahead of schedule.

In February 2007, VA announced it would open 23 new centers during the next two years. Fifteen of those centers are already operational, and five others are seeing patients in temporary facilities while finalizing their leases. The other three facilities will begin operations later this year.

"Building on our past successes, 2008 will see a permanent increase in the number of Vet Centers, as we bring the remaining facilities on line to reach a record 232 Vet Centers by the end of the year," Peake said.

"To support this expansion and augment the staff at 61 existing Vet Centers, this year we are channeling a 44 percent increase in funding to the Readjustment Counseling Service, which operates the Vet Centers -- nearly $50 million more than last year's budget," he added.

The community-based Vet Centers are a key component of VA's mental health program, providing veterans with mental health screening and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) counseling, along with help for family members dealing with bereavement and loved ones with PTSD.

The 15 new Vet Centers that are open in permanent locations are in Binghamton, N.Y.; Middletown, N.Y.; Watertown, N.Y.; Hyannis, Conn.; DuBois, Pa.; Gainesville, Fla.; Melbourne, Fla.; Macon, Ga.; Manhattan, Kansas; Escanaba, Mich.; Saginaw, Mich.; Grand Junction, Colo.; Baton Rouge, La.; Killeen, Texas; and Las Cruces, N.M.

Five additional Vet Centers are providing services in temporary space while they finalize their leases: They are in Toledo, Ohio; Ft. Myers, Fla.; Montgomery, Ala.; Everett, Wash.; and Modesto, Calif.

The final three locations where Vet Centers will open for clients later this year are in Berlin, N.H., Nassau County, N.Y., and Fayetteville, Ark.

Vet Centers provide counseling on employment, plus services on family issues, education and outreach, to combat veterans and their families. Vet Centers are staffed by small teams of professional counselors, outreach specialists and other specialists, many of whom are combat veterans themselves.

VA's Vet Centers have hired 100 combat veterans back from Iraq and Afghanistan as outreach specialists, often placing them near military processing stations, to brief servicemen and women leaving the military about VA benefits.

These outreach specialists meet with returning veterans, work through family assistance centers and visit military installations to carry the message that VA will be there for the troops and family members after discharge.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Our new website is ready!

Healing Veterans PTSD

That's the link above. It's got some kinks to work out, but the information to get you started on your own journey of healing your PTSD can be found there. If you are a soldier or know one who is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder have a look at this informative site.

VA simplifies PTSD claims for some veterans

EXCELLENT NEWS!!!!!

this is a really solid example of the growing awareness for the need to change and help these veterans-FASTER. From the Army Times...

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 20, 2008 9:43:24 EST

The Department of Veterans Affairs has scrapped a policy requiring combat veterans to verify in writing that they have witnessed or experienced a traumatic event before they can file a claim for post-traumatic stress disorder — but only if the military has already diagnosed them with PTSD.

“This change provides a fairer process for veterans with service-connected PTSD,” Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, said in a written statement. “[It] leaves claim adjudicators more time to devote to reducing the staggering backlog of veterans’ claims.”

In the past, a veteran has needed written verification — a statement from a commander or doctor, or testimony from co-workers — that he or she was involved in a traumatic situation to receive disability compensation from VA if they had not already been diagnosed by the military during a disability retirement process. But PTSD is the only condition that a veteran must “reprove” to receive disability benefits from VA.

“They don’t have to reprove their diabetes,” said Mary Ellen McCarthy, special projects counsel for the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “They don’t have to reprove a leg injury. I have never seen any other condition diagnosed in service [for which] people had to reprove their injury.”

The VA regulation was written at a time when the military was not diagnosing PTSD among troops, McCarthy said.

She travels to VA regional offices to check the progress of veterans going through the disability claims system. Even though many of the former troops had already proven they had witnessed a traumatic event in writing as they went through the military disability retirement system, often that paperwork had been lost by the time they reached VA, McCarthy said.

“It could take months to get that paperwork,” she said.

That slows up the paperwork process. And the veteran has to go through the stressful process of reproving that they lived through a roadside bomb explosion or that they witnessed a friend’s death or that they killed an insurgent.

“Revisiting those stressors in a non-therapeutic environment can make the diagnosis worse,” McCarthy said.

Akaka said he asked VA Secretary Dr. James Peake if the rule was necessary and requested that it be removed, and Peake agreed.

“I am pleased that the secretary took quick action to reverse this requirement after it was brought to his attention,” Akaka said.

Peake has already informed VA regional offices of the decision, Akaka said. VA officials could not be reached for comment by press time.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder benefits from early treatment

It is becoming increasingly apparent that early treatment of PTSD is important. One of the benefits of EFT is that it can be used immediately after the traumatic event is over. In this case, it heals PTSD so quickly it almost becomes a preventive measure for PTSD without causing the soldier to lose the "edge" so important to survival in combat.

EFT with PTSD

Emotional Freedom Technique-EFT is so easy to use that each person can become his or her own therapist. This eliminates the necessity for revealing to others that a veteran suffers from symptoms of PTSD. Veterans can avoid the stigma and red tape of applying for disability, but still relieve themselves of the terrible symptoms of PTSD.

Imagine! No more terrifying nightmares, violent outbursts of anger, embarrassing (or worse) delayed reactions, withdrawal from friends and family, hypertension or depression, flashbacks. Certainly worth a try.

www.healingveteransptsd.com

Watch for our upcoming web site www.healingveteransptsd.com On it you will find an information filled E-book. "Recovering From PTSD YOUR Way" with instructions on how to help yourself or someone you care about deal with the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Topics covered include; what is Emotional Freedom Technique, how to use it, what to do if it doesn't work at first, how to deal with triggers, flashbacks and delayed reactions, what to do if your loved one can't or won't do it for him or herself, and much, much more.

What not to say to returning vets...

"Time heals all wounds"

If you've got returning troops coming into your family, community or church, this is one cliché you will want to stay away from. In fact you may want to stay away from alot of clichés. Instead let your veteran know that you care, you don't know what they are going through, but you do want to help.

They may have PTSD which means they might feel angry, confused, embarrassed, depressed, anxious, drinking or worse, avoiding old friends, family and hangouts. But you can't know that unless you stop, take the time to ask AND listen!

Getting the word out.

As a new blogger with a new blog, I've discovered it's a bit like clapping with one hand. Nobody can hear you. In my quest for more exposure I ran across blog directories! What a good idea I thought-turns out this is 'old hat' for the pros. In exchange for a listing one of them invited me to do a review-ok-you're on rssHugger. Fabulous logo, first off! Compared to others I've looked at today it's clean, easy to read, easy to navigate and user friendly. I was surprised at the lack of a wellness category in the directory. But pleased that I had the option to submit it to be added.

Unfortunately our culture still thinks in terms of illness and disease. This is slowly changing and it's an exciting time for healers and people wanting excellent physical and mental health.

Homeless vets-VA has a bigger count than Bill O'Reilly

Last night, Bill O'Reilly talked about the plight of homeless veterans on his television show. Unfortunately, he got the facts wrong.

O'Reilly: "They (homeless veterans) may be out there, but there's not many of them out there. Okay?...If you know where there is a veteran, sleeping under a bridge, you call me immediately, and we will make sure that man does not do it."

I'm not sure where Mr. O'Reilly got his statistics but according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, almost 200,000 veterans sleep on our nation's streets each night. And Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are joining those ranks at an alarming rate. In fact veterans make up about a third of the homeless adults in America.

If you would like to drop Bill a line go to http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/436/t/26/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=884
and sign the open letter that Paul Rieckhoff from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has organized. Awareness is the first way to encourage the healing that these vets deserve.

Pushing through PTSD?

Kids headed out for the bus this morning, still in the dark. As I closed the door behind the last one, I heard 'GO GET MOM!'

It brought me on the run to find a motorcyclist who had slipped and slid for yards on the icy road. It was obvious she was in shock and already getting sore. But because she had no 'external' damage she refused any help of any kind. Not for herself, not for her machine. "I can handle it," she kept saying.

It seems to be an inbuilt survival mechanism for us to push on and almost a gut reaction not to appear to need help. Which makes treating PTSD very difficult. Especially with troops trained to push on, trained to overcome fears and weaknesses, trained to get the job done, not dwell on what's bothering them.

This is the point when family and friends become SO important. Listening, watching, being aware, being there without pushing, taking the time to understand what might be going on and helping to find solutions.

PTSD is an unavoidable product of war

Many years ago when we first began to study PTSD, it seemed as if it must be some kind of mysterious, unusual problem. It gradually became apparent that PTSD is not only common, it is an unavoidable product of war. Because it has to do with emotion, it is largely denied and ignored by those who believe emotion plays no part in war.

Without emotion we are less than human. Symptoms of PTSD reveal that regardless of the things soldiers have had to do and/or witness, they are still human and have human reactions to horror.

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

The symptoms are many and varied. In fact, they can vary tremendously from individual to individual. Symptoms include, but are not limited to:

nightmares
hyperventilation
depression
feeling numb
flashbacks of the event
guilt feelings
anxiety
fear
anger
helplessness
delayed reactions
denial
drug or alcohol addictions
reactions to "triggers"-like road rage

Sometimes PTSD victims suffer from very dangerous symptoms such as uncontrollable rage, suicidal or, homicidal tendencies. If you or a buddy is at this point- seek help immediately.

What is PTSD?

PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is, simply stated, a disorder caused by emotional shock. It is a relatively new term. The medical community has only recently realized that it is a condition or syndrome (pattern) peculiar to one or more emotionally charged events in one's life.

In earlier wars the condition was known as "shell shock" or "battle fatigue." It was generally not treated at all. If it was treated it was considered a mental illness and treatment was often harsh and bizarre.

Today we recognize that any emotional shock can result in continuing stress and distress, causing symptoms from mild mental or emotional discomfort to extremely serious behavior problems.

The shock can be as minor as a dog bite or it can be horrific such as incidents in war or a disaster of some kind like Katrina or the Tsunami. Regardless of the severity of the shock, if it causes any kind of discomfort whatever for the individual, it is justifiably considered PTSD.

The good news is that PTSD is curable. Without drugs, expensive in-patient treatments, lengthy therapy or bizarre mechanical devices-you, a buddy or your loved one can get help for this disabling condition.