Yoga could help alleviate many PTSD symptoms.
Veterans returning from war often experience mental affections as a result of their bad memories and recollections. Psychology experts think a new treatment could help alleviate soldiers’ problems as researches have shown that mindful post-traumatic therapy threats PTSD.
PTSD, also known as post-traumatic stress disorder, is as the name says it, a mental illness occurring as a result of a traumatic event that the subject has been exposed to. War veterans often suffer from PTSD upon their return to their homes because they cannot forget the impressive events they have witnessed on the battle fields.
Being constantly afraid for your life or your friend’s life, seeing people killed in front of your eyes are images that cannot be easily wiped away from a person’s memory. For that matter, soldiers have to undergo various psychological treatments in order to get rid of the nightmares, flashbacks and depression states that affect their social lives. Left untreated, these mental illnesses could worsen and eventually lead to suicidal behaviors, which is why it is important to correctly diagnose and treat patients suffering from PTSD.
Traditional treatments have proven themselves effective, but veterans are often reluctant because they have to openly confess that they are suffering from post-traumatic disorders. For that matter, researchers at the American Medical Association have conducted a study among two groups of American soldiers who have served in the Iraq war.
The first group was treated with the help of conventional psychological sessions, whereas the second group received mindful post-traumatic therapy sessions for an interval of two months. The second type of treatment presupposed that respondents took part in nine therapy sessions during which they performed various breathing, stretching and relaxing exercises. For a better illustration, the new post-traumatic therapy was compared to yoga meditation classes, scientists have added.
Results showed that mindful therapy is much more effective in treating PTSD. The group that took part in meditation classes saw an improvement of their mental state of up to 49%. Participants in the conventional group registered only a 28% improvement of their health condition.
Based on these figures, researchers have concluded that mindful therapy could be much more effective in treating PTSD symptoms. In addition, soldiers no longer suffer from the stigma that PTSD diagnoses usually put on people. However, the new therapy should at first complement traditional treatments, whose efficiency has been proven many times before.
Image source: cascade.madmimi.com
Tara Hamilton
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