By Caroline Alexander — 2017
Brain injuries caused by blast events change soldiers in ways many can’t articulate. Some use art therapy, creating painted masks to express how they feel.
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The tools that work so well are neither complicated nor expensive. They’re interventions that ping on the primitive structures in the brain, where posttraumatic stress sits and wreaks its havoc. These are tools like guided imagery, relaxation, meditation, hypnosis, and breath work.
You can recover from posttraumatic stress. Certainly, you can significantly reduce—not just manage—its symptoms. But—and here’s the thing—not with traditional treatment.
One of the most dramatic, butt-kicking examples of an effective new treatment tool for posttraumatic stress is a simple protocol called Nightmare Reprocessing, devised by two V.A. psychologists.
There are several studies claiming a 70-percent improvement rate for returning warriors who are treated for combat stress with various cognitive behavioral therapies and/or prolonged exposure strategies. But this is a misleading number.