Vanity Fair article

Check out this great article about PTSD and the military published in Vanity Fair!

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/05/ptsd-war-home-sebastian-junger

Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan PTSD epidemic

According to this article from last November in the National Journal, it could take many years to know the extent of PTSD in the veterans of these wars:

http://www.nationaljournal.com/defense/one-in-six-iraq-afghanistan-veterans-might-have-ptsd-20141112

SMT(Sexual Military Trauma), PTSD, Addiction and Veterans

Another cause of PTSD in the military can be military sexual trauma (MST). This is any sexual harassment or sexual assault that occurs while you are in the military. MST can happen to both men and women and can occur during peacetime, training, or war.

Among Veterans who use VA health care, about:

• 23 out of 100 women (or 23%) reported sexual assault when in the military.
• 55 out of 100 women (or 55%) and 38 out of 100 men (or 38%) have experienced sexual harassment when in the military.

There are many more male Veterans than there are female Veterans. So, even though military sexual trauma is more common in women Veterans, over half of all Veterans with military sexual trauma are men.  (source: US Dept of Veteran Affairs) 

What is military sexual trauma (MST)? 

Military sexual trauma, or MST, is the term used by VA to refer to experiences of sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment that a Veteran experienced during his or her military service. The definition used by the VA comes from Federal law (Title 38 U.S. Code 1720D) and is “psychological trauma, which in the judgment of a VA mental health professional, resulted from a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment which occurred while the Veteran was serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training.” Sexual harassment is further defined as "repeated, unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature which is threatening in character.” More concretely, MST includes any sexual activity where a Servicemember is involved against his or her will -- he or she may have been pressured into sexual activities (for example, with threats of negative consequences for refusing to be sexually cooperative or with implied better treatment in exchange for sex), may have been unable to consent to sexual activities (for example, when intoxicated), or may have been physically forced into sexual activities. Other experiences that fall into the category of MST include unwanted sexual touching or grabbing; threatening, offensive remarks about a person's body or sexual activities; and threatening and unwelcome sexual advances. The identity or characteristics of the perpetrator, whether the Service member was on or off duty at the time, and whether he or she was on or off base at the time do not matter. If these experiences occurred while an individual was on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty for training, they are considered by VA to be MST.

How can MST affect Veterans? 

MST is an experience, not a diagnosis or a mental health condition, and as with other forms of trauma, there are a variety of reactions that Veterans can have in response to MST. The type, severity, and duration of a Veteran’s difficulties will all vary based on factors like whether he/she has a prior history of trauma, the types of responses from others he/she received at the time of the MST, and whether the MST happened once or was repeated over time. Although the reactions men and women have to MST are similar in some ways, they may also struggle with different issues. Race/ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and other cultural variables can also affect the impact of MST. Although trauma can be a life-changing event, people are often remarkably resilient after experiencing trauma. Many individuals recover without professional help; others may generally function well in their life, but continue to experience some level of difficulties or have strong reactions in certain situations. For some Veterans, the experience of MST may continue to affect their mental and physical health in significant ways, even many years later. Some of the experiences both female and male survivors of MST may have include: Strong emotions: feeling depressed; having intense, sudden emotional reactions to things; feeling angry or irritable all the time Feelings of numbness: feeling emotionally ‘flat’; difficulty experiencing emotions like love or happiness Trouble sleeping: trouble falling or staying asleep; disturbing nightmares Difficulties with attention, concentration, and memory: trouble staying focused; frequently finding their mind wandering; having a hard time remembering things Problems with alcohol or other drugs: drinking to excess or using drugs daily; getting intoxicated or “high” to cope with memories or emotional reactions; drinking to fall asleep Difficulty with things that remind them of their experiences of sexual trauma: feeling on edge or ‘jumpy’ all the time; difficulty feeling safe; going out of their way to avoid reminders of their experiences Difficulties in relationships: feeling isolated or disconnected from others; abusive relationships; trouble with employers or authority figures; difficulty trusting others Physical health problems: sexual difficulties; chronic pain; weight or eating problems; gastrointestinal problems Although post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is commonly associated with MST, it is not the only diagnosis that can result from MST. For example, VA medical record data indicate that in addition to PTSD, the diagnoses most frequently associated with MST among users of VA health care are depression and other mood disorders, and substance use disorders. 

Can Hypnotherapy help with MST?

Yes, because MST is not a diagnosis, it is an experience, and is related to PTSD, Anxiety, stress and Addictive behaviors, Hypnotherapy can be extremely effective in the healing of MST.

PTSD triggers and Veterans

Hypnotherapy has emerged as a credible, evidence-based treatment option for sufferers of PTSD.

PTSD, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, consists of a series of symptoms that arise from a traumatic event which occurs in one’s life. The symptoms of PTSD usually consist of:

1. Intrusive flashbacks (reliving a violent scene in your mind)
2. Nightmares or recurrent bad dreams
3. Anxiety disorders resulting in chronic physical pain, body tensions, teeth grinding
4. Over reacting to situations with seemingly little control
5. Sudden outbursts of rage or temper tantrums
6. Unexplained fears or phobias, such as a fear of butterflies
7. Sleep disorders
8. Inability to relax the mind and the body
9. Persistent stress, tension, fears
10. Inability to concentrate, loss of memory

Another common thread is that certain people or situations may suddenly remind the person of the traumatic event. We call these triggers.

WHAT IS A PTSD TRIGGER?

An example of a PTSD trigger is anyone who has served in combat who may be walking down the street and hears a car backfire and reacts in a similar manner to when they were in a high-stress combat situation, re-experiencing the past as if it were happening right now.  The trigger from the car backfire may cause this combat veteran to begin to sweat, feel his heart pounding, his breathing may increase rapidly and he or she may even find himself running for cover. The triggered PTSD veteran may begin to have flashbacks where intrusive memories flood their mind and they may, for some period of time, feel like they are actually right back on the battlefield

Hypnotherapy in large part deals with unlocking the subconscious mind. We must emphasize here that the main tools of the conscious mind are rational thinking, analyzing and judging. In contrast, the gifts of the subconscious mind are all located within our senses. The subconscious mind is a huge sensory vehicle consisting of the ability to experience our world through our senses: sounds, smells, tastes, visuals or pictures, and/or feelings. One way to locate what is stored in our subconscious in order to help an individual suffering from PTSD is to understand what the PTSD triggers actually are.

HYPNOTHERAPY AND PTSD

Trigger events can be very disconcerting for any victim of PTSD who does not either know they have PTSD, or are unfamiliar with their own particular triggers. PTSD often goes undiagnosed by the medical profession and even in the psychological community. Common examples of undiagnosed people with PTSD can be adults who, as children, grew up with parents who were alcoholic, where there was violence, yelling, fighting and bullying in the household. A person who was physically, emotionally or sexually abused during the formative years most likely has grown up with symptoms of PTSD without it ever having been recognized or treated as well. Familiarity with the principles of the mind through hypnotherapy gives us the most effective tools to truly recognize, diagnose, and then treat PTSD.

Hypnotherapy for PTSD is an evidence-based treatment and can effectively treat the symptoms as well as the underlying causes. The people who have the most severe PTSD symptoms and who will likely benefit greatly from hypnotherapy are people who have had previous trauma or stressful experiences during childhood. Here are some of the unique ways that hypnotherapy is effectively used in the treatment of PTSD:

1. Immediate installation of powerful stress reduction exercises that can be recorded so the PTSD client can replay recordings of these exercises daily or as often as needed after leaving the treatment facility
2. Titration of symptoms so that the PTSD client can slowly reduce his or her reactions to the common triggers
3. Identifying each trigger so that the client experiences more control of situations in their life
4. Hypnotherapy to go even deeper into individual memories to see if other, previous stressful events are adding fuel to the PTSD wildfire

PTSD and Hypnotherapy

In PTSD thought process, emotions, reactions, actions and behaviors become habituated to the trauma experience. In order to heal it’s necessary to retrain your brain.

In the therapeutic arena hypnosis is frequently used with trauma survivors because it has such a high degree of efficacy:

The American Medical Association (AMA) has officially recognized hypnosis as a valuable and beneficial treatment as applied and used since 1958. In “Psychotherapy” magazine (Volume 7, Number 1), various types of techniques were listed and profiled in a review of relevant literature by Alfred A. Barrios, PhD. In the above quoted text, the techniques that proved to generate the greatest success in providing lasting change were the following (listed in order of success rate):

Hypnosis — 93% recovery after 6 sessions (approx. 1 1/2 months @ 1 session per week).

Behavior Therapy — 72% after 22 sessions (approx. 6 months @ 1 session per week).

Psychotherapy — 38% recovery after 600 sessions (approx. 11 1/2 yrs @ 1 session per week).

What is Hypnotherapy?

When you think of hypnosis do you think of an evil looking man swinging a watch on a chain saying, You are get-ting sleepyyy?

If this is your immediate reaction to the idea of hypnosis your database needs to be updated! Stage hypnosis (and today, even stage hypnotists don’t use this method) is very different from clinical hypnosis during which a therapist gently and easily relaxes a client through guided visualization.

The reason hypnosis works so well has to do with the way it transforms the subconscious mind’s perceptions and beliefs. To begin with, hypnosis works from the assumption that the subconscious mind (the veritable source of all of our internal power) is the storage space of all our past experiences and emotions. In this incredibly vast warehouse, traumatic experiences are filed away on both physical and emotional levels, the stimulus of which can affect our immune system and health. Processing old traumas and the emotional charges attached to them allows a patient to find internal resources that begin the healing process.

Think of your mind like a computer: the unconscious mind operates automatic body systems in the same way as a computer’s operating system; the subconscious operates like a hard drive by storing information; the conscious mind functions like RAM choosing what information is to be acted on moment by moment. Immediately, the supreme importance of the subconscious mind becomes apparent. In order to update any files, the subconscious must be engaged. We cannot change memories, but we can update how we feel about them. In order to do this, the critical factor of the conscious mind must be bypassed. This is achieved through hypnosis when the conscious mind is set aside during the so-called trance state.

The subconscious is the part of your mind burdened with the job of protecting you. It will do anything – even adopt negative behaviors – in order to keep you safe. When these protective measures no longer serve us we feel the need to change. This change is difficult to bring about because the subconscious mind is devoted to its imprinted perceptions. In its bypass of the conscious mind, hypnosis brings the subconscious to the forefront so that changes can be made via suggestions. Hypnotherapy helps change perceptions of memories, which in turn helps change perceptions of the self and hence, behavior. It’s all a very neat little package. The past cannot be changed or escaped, but our emotional and intellectual attitudes toward it can be radically altered. Change happens in the subconscious. Since emotions play a large role in our activity, thoughts and actions, they are an intuitive seat of transformation.

The truth is, we all go in and out of hypnotic states throughout the day. When you read, watch TV, drive or stare at the horizon you automatically slip into a hypnotic trance.

A few key things to know about clinical hypnosis:

• Throughout the entire session you will be awake and aware.
• You can choose to come out of hypnosis at any second.
• Hypnosis is not about mind control; it is about choosing to relax to such a degree that the conscious mind lets down its defenses and the subconscious mind engages in change.

Hypnosis is also extremely effective when used in conjuction with Neuro-Linguistic Programming.

WELCOME! So glad you decided to come..

On this blog there is a variety of information, pre recorded MP3 scripts available for download, as well as information on private online session information, and how to schedule.
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