Sreemoyee Chatterjee
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Written By: Sreemoyee Chatterjee | Published : November 19, 2018 2:39 PM IST
Researchers believe an ischemic stroke can affect young adults with PTSD. © Shutterstock
For military veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), meditation, the traditional alternative therapy has worked wonder. This experiment was sponsored by the Department of Defense. While the Department of Veterans Affairs prefers exposure therapy for treating the same condition, according to experts, it does not work for everyone and not all can handle it as it involves purposely recalling traumatic events and confronting emotions. According to researcher, meditation is a far better choice for most of them.
This experiment evaluated meditation against exposure therapy that includes working with therapist and eventually letting go fears ushered by painful memories. ''Many vets won't try exposure therapy or drop out because it's too difficult," reportedly said Thomas Rutledge, the study's senior author and a Veterans Affairs psychologist in San Diego. According to latest media report, he added: ''Evidence for meditation allows us to put more options on the table." This study was published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry.
The Veterans Affairs record showed that around 400,000 veterans had a PTSD diagnosis in 2013 and the department has already been making use of alternative therapies like meditation, yoga and similar approaches to supplement traditional therapy with PTSD, reportedly stated Paula Schnurr, executive director of the VA's National Center for PTSD. However, Schnurr also said that more studies are required to understand how long the benefits of meditation last.
