Did you know that EFT for PTSD is one of the best approaches to take for this condition. In January 2016 the US Military announced they’re introducing AAMET International’s EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) for their counsellors working with military current and veteran service men and women. EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique has been involved in a number of studies, formal research or otherwise over the last 20-yrs and is gaining ground in terms of the results it delivers.

My connection with PTSD

My close interest in PTSD came from an Uncle, who got mentioned to me in hushed tones when as a kid I learned that he came back from WWII shell-shocked and with that the subject would change. But just as it was for him the condition was misunderstood and people were uncomfortable about it.

From shell-shock to PTSD – Post traumatic stress disorder, we now know differently, and at some point the condition changed from being one that dare not speak it’s name into being a set of symptoms that is taken seriously and can be addressed. Progress!

The symptoms can be so far-reaching and it’s probably the bench-mark condition in terms of mainstream mental health, that if PTSD can be fully addressed, then other more influential bodies; governments and medics will be more open to learning how this can change. Symptoms of PTSD may include any of the following:

• flashbacks
• nightmares
• anxiety
• phobias
• depression
• addictive behaviours
• fear
• night-sweats
• mistrust
• re-experiencing the memory
• feeling on-edge
• emotional numbing and avoidance
• drug and alcohol abuse
• gut problems
• chest pains
• dizziness
• headaches
• social withdrawal

What’s the approach now?

I watched a BBC documentary during the summer that cited case after case of men in their mid-twenties where each had suffered the trauma of seeing a close friend blown up on the field-of-combat and returned home to the UK still suffering with the fallout of the shock.

They mostly started with symptoms while out there, although symptoms are said to take up to 7-yrs to appear:

In META-Medicine we understand that trauma related symptoms have no specific timescale, so this assertion is more likely to indicate it’s the longest recorded period before someone’s symptoms were connected with the condition. Also PTSD is not always due to a military-related trauma

But suffice to say the symptoms can take as long as it takes anyone to notice them who has undergone severe trauma and built a wall of protection, even numbness away from feeling anything. Someone could be presenting with a range of behaviours, compulsions, mental health issues, pain and other symptoms that aren’t being treated within this condition.

Referred to as a syndrome i.e. a range of connected symptoms that relate back to the same core issue/s. The subconscious is what Crocodile Dundee might refer to as a slippery little sucker but that’s it’s job and more challenging to access the roots with a conscious mind approach.

The BBC Documentary

The programme featured soldiers who came home with a range of symptoms following a traumatic experience, yet their case notes did not come back with them:

The dots were not joined up back in civvy street and lives were lost

Sadly all the cases shown ended in suicide. One such man was L/Sgt Dan Collins who left a video-note by his body for his family to learn about his feelings of hopelessness and no wish to burden them. The film highlighted 3-mothers (including Dan’s) who having joined together went to Downing Street to present three specific areas they identify in need of change:

• That units address the focus on men being men with nowhere to turn to have their emotional needs met when they’ve witnessed a traumatic event
• That medical records follow them from the battle field into the NHS on their return home
• That the MoD follows up on all soldiers once out of the military after their service is completed

Military service

With recent suggestions of returning to a mandatory military service requirement, in the UK, the government / MoD has to get it’s act together. The documentary asserts that more men die from suicide on return from active service than die on the battlefield itself.

It also showed that in the US for instance, the government has a duty of care on the return of their military, whereas the UK leaves ex-soldiers to fend for themselves, which is mirrored in the percentages of ex-military diagnosed with the condition.

Figures of soldiers diagnosed with PTSD are higher in the US because they keep tabs over a longer reintegration period, which is far much more responsible and necessary in comparison.

Some ex-military become homeless because they’ve suffered trauma on a scale that few of us ever encounter, and can find it very challenging to fit back into the life they had beforehand. What’s more partners, wives, children and families aren’t sure how to accommodate them on their return, which further exacerbates problems.

It’s shabby how we treat veteran’s, and there are better approaches that need further implementation. Hats off to those staunch mothers, because their passion will help governments to take action.

Here’s a speech given by an ex-soldier in the US military.

This conveys the cynicism he felt after his stay of service. Where does The Hero’s Welcome fit in? How are they meant to survive an experience we’d rather not spend time even thinking about? EFT works incredibly well for PTSD but at the moment in the UK people have to ask for it.

I feel more resources are needed to ensure that every soldiers returns to civilian life with the confidence that they will be taken good care of:

• have a mentor
• reintegrate into society
• be a healthy survivor
• get deprogrammed from killer training
• be helped into a career

It can be very hard for someone who’s spent years, sometimes decades in what is an institutionalised environment, and a recent horses mouth told me that after 30+ yrs in the service he didn’t even know where to start in organising the utility bills, as it had all been taken care of during military duty. We ought not then be that surprised when someone takes to drugs or becomes homeless. The state could go much further in assuming an initial duty of care

I’m very passionate about this topic on a number of levels, if you’d like to explore how to change similar symptoms just get in contact below for a chat:

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