successful use of EFT with an Iraq Veteran after 3 tours in Iraq

Wondering if you or someone you love can ever get over those feelings of nightmares, flashbacks, chronic insomnia, irritable/angry, anxiety, hypervigilant, avoiding crowds?

Here is a real case of successful treatment in the hands of a competent therapist using EFT. This method DOES work, it's fast, it's easy and it's effective! It's drug free, it's inexpensive. And it's so exciting to see this kind of progress... someone who can with help, go from traumatized to calm, anxious to smiling, avoiding eye contact to making eye contact. Thank you to Gary Craig for developing EFT and to Sue Hannibal for sharing this story of your work with an Army Sergeant

By Sue Hannibal

Session one: Joshua 1/27/09

History: Army Sgt. age 27, 10 years in, male, three tours in Iraq - first tour 2003: 18 months, second tour 12 months, 2005-6, third tour 9 months, 2007-08 at which point he was MEDEVACed out for PTSD. He was sent to Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany for one week, then to Ft. Bragg, N.C. At Bragg he was given various drugs including anti-psychotics and anti-depressants, none of which helped. He’s not on any drugs at this date. He went to Army therapy for a year, most of which he described as "visualize about what happened and put a positive ending on it," which didn’t help. Symptoms he described: nightmares, flashbacks of three or four specific scenes, chronic insomnia, irritable/angry, anxiety/can't relax, hypervigilant, avoids crowds. At this date he is non-deployable and is on medical board list to be separated from the Army due to PTSD. He wants to heal and might stay in the Army.

Summary:

Joshua was referred by an Army doctor at Ft. Bragg. Two standard PTSD scales were administered prior to our first 90-minute session on Tues. Jan 27^th. PCL-M score 54, SA-45 score 99. The day after our session, Wednesday morning, he reported to the doctor and to me that he slept all night Tuesday without awakening and free of nightmares for the first time in over one year.

He came back for session two, three days later, on Friday... In the second session, we only did one round of tapping on a perception of never feeling safe in Iraq, but all other issues were already a zero. During treatment we addressed, in an indirect, non-retraumatizing way using the EFT Movie Technique, the worst memory of his entire time in Iraq, which occurred during the first tour - an ambush and fierce firefight where three soldiers were killed by RPGs in an unarmored humvee. His affect was nervous, subdued voice, shoulders forward, eyes down, fighting back tears and couldn't maintain eye contact with me.

His job was convoy security which was once a day seven days a week. He estimated the convoy was attacked four or five times per week, ranging from a spray of AK-47 bullets by an insurgent to IEDs (roadside bombs) to RPGs, (rock-propelled grenades) to full on ambushes. The first time he was in an IED attack, the humvee flipped over and he was thrown out of the back, lost his weapon and he had only his 9 mm handgun.

About 45 minutes into the session, we took a break. He reported that the charge on the ambush flashback/memory he titled "HELL" ("if that event was a movie, what would be the title?") was down to about a 4 or 5 from a 10+ on an intensity scale of 0 to 10. We continued treatment, his affect became more animated, he relaxed into the chair, smiled, eye contact began. At the end, when I asked what number on the 1 to 10 scale that HELL memory was now, he shrugged his shoulders, moved his head from side to side said, "I don't know, I feel really calm about it now, I think it's gone. I can remember what happened but I don't feel anything bad about it."

thanks to army.mil for the photo

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.

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.

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 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.