Updates on Veterans and PTSD, by Eric Huurre, Director, Operation: Emotional Freedom

[EFT Practitioners Pool]

Newsletter Issue #34	Skywriter Communications Inc.
Learning from PTSD and the focus on the victims of war
If there is a benefit from the attention that veterans with PTSD receive its that more attention is being directed to the condition itself.    Physicians, psychologists, counsellors and therapists of every stripe are increasingly in agreement that trauma and unresolved stress are greater health threats and more costly health issues than was ever acknowledged. In addition, studies and the search for more effective solutions continue to point out the dismal record that drugs and tradition therapy have in dealing with PTSD.   We may still be some way off from seeing energy psychology used as the treatment of choice for combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD, but the issue of PTSD in the general population is benefiting in the greater attention being paid to post trauma in communities including abused women and children.      In this post in Scientific American - PTSD: The Futile Search for the "Quick Fix" many perspectives on the causes for, as well as a  limited and traditionally biased view of treatment options, is important more for the facts it raises about PTSD in our society.   Its another sign of the greater recognition and concerns that researchers, administrators and interest groups are bringing to post traumatic stress in every aspect of public, as well as military life.   Emotions over the treatment of service men and women capture headlines (and yes, documentary filmmakers) where  similar attention and emotion are not top of mind for victimized women or others in our communities. The fact remains that until we recognize the prevalence of this condition and the absence of anything like success in treating it using "approved" methods whether for everyday people, or the alarming number of combat veterans and military families, we will all continue to suffer and pay.    I encourage you to read this article and the responses it garnered if PTSD is a topic you are working with or interested in in any capacity. It brings focus on where the debate rests today and insights into how future debates might better be framed.    As quoted in the article -  "Though the military tried to deny the ubiquity of PTSD for many years, prevalence studies made it impossible. Mental illness is the leading cause of hospitalization for active duty troops....The majority of mental health cases in the military have a PTSD component. Prevalence of the disorder is affirmed in the public sphere, where an endless stream of sympathetic portrayals of veterans with "invisible wounds" can be found in literature, on film and television.  The U.S. military spends more money on PTSD research and treatment than any other funder, and with good reason: 8%-20% of veterans suffer from PTSD. Estimates vary widely, as in most claims surrounding PTSD, but that's a range of between 1.75-4.5 million vets with the disorder, and our continual wars ensure a steady stream of new cases. The lure of a quick and enduring fix for PTSD is hard for the military to resist since they stand to benefit greatly from a cure. They would surely like to save the $1.5 million per soldier they believe PTSD will ultimately cost them." Without directly intending to do so, this article is a great primer for anyone building a case against  pharmaceuticals, or standard methods of care. Energy psychology has repeatedly proven successful in tests measuring for changes in PTSD stress levels in combat veterans, even if the writer conveniently did not include those facts and the studies to support them.    Perhaps the greatest good that media attention to PTSD in the military does is to make us aware of the money and power that comes from treating something we all can face at any time and how little is being done to effectively offer us lower cost, more successful treatment options.    If we need more reason to honor and thank veterans for their service it may reside in this piece from the same article -     "The convergence of pharmaceutical and military interests, and the funding nexus they create, has ensured that the focus of PTSD research and treatment continues to be military veterans, despite the fact that military veterans comprise only 15% (at minimum) or 40% (at maximum) of the approximately 11 million adults andadolescents who suffer from PTSD in the U.S."  Regardless of how we eventually come to our senses, more and more returning combat veterans are demonstrating that unless we address it, PTSD manifests and remains a significant health challenge wherever trauma is found.  A reminder that the OPERATION: Emotional Freedom documentary continues reaching out to audiences new to energy psychology as  - the answer. The DVD or online version are available, as are links to help and more information through the film's web site. As this veteran writes... "I first watched Operation Freedom; that was the most emotionally powerful thing I have ever witnessed in my life.  I wept.  That video gave back to me what the many armed commands I've faced took away: my life.  Through EFT, I no longer need booze, no more nightmares (day or night); I still have the memories of the 4 of us, but they no longer have ME." Ken, Veterans' PTSD Project   Please pass along this newsletter to anyone you feel it might inspire or help.   Eric Huurre Producer/director OPERATION: Emotional Freedom - The Answer [e-mail]