HEALING THERAPIES NEWSLETTER
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This is the 53rd email newsletter© (8,000+
registrants) associated with
<http://www.healingtherapies.info/>www.healingtherapies.info,
the purpose of which is to expand the healing
spectrum of people with physical disabilities,
especially spinal cord dysfunction.
This newsletter will further discuss the
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), an
extraordinarily easy-to-use, energy-psychology
technique for promoting mind-body healing. After
introducing the technique in the previous
newsletter, we will now discuss its potential for
treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a
condition plaguing many returning combat veterans.
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EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE & POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
(Adapted from an article appearing in February 2011 PN Magazine)
The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is an
extraordinarily easy-to-use, energy-psychology
technique for promoting mind-body healing. After
introducing the technique in the previous
newsletter, we will now discuss its potential for
treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a
condition plaguing many returning combat veterans.
Review
As summarized before, EFT is a form of
acupressure-assisted exposure therapy. The EFT
procedure consists of tapping on key acupressure
(i.e., acupuncture) points while focusing on
specific emotional issues. Interestingly, some of
these points are locations we instinctively rub
when under stress. If you have limited finger
mobility, you can use your hands or visualize the
tapping.
Although often just used to energetically deflate
life's ongoing irritants that drag us down, EFT
can be very effective in treating major mental or
physical trauma - such as child abuse, spinal
cord injury (SCI), or combat-related events.
These traumatizing incidents can be emotional
minefields buried in our consciousness, waiting
for the right triggers to explode and sabotage
life. Basically, EFT is a behavioral
desensitization technique that defuses the
emotional charge on memories so they are no
longer experienced as being painful or traumatic.
Although EFT has been criticized by skeptics as
not being an "evidenced-based therapy,"
preliminary studies suggest that it works much
faster and with greater efficacy than
conventional approaches.
The basic EFT-tapping procedures are simple and
can be easily learned by reading or watching
various, readily available resources. For major
issues like PTSD, it is helpful to be guided
initially by an experienced EFT practitioner
because complex issues need to be gently peeled
away. However, even in the most serious PTSD
cases, many have benefitted from self-learned EFT
practice. A good starting point is the book "EFT
for PTSD," authored by EFT developer Gary Craig.
PTSD
PTSD is an anxiety disorder that arises after
living through a shocking event in which serious
physical harm or threat of such harm occurred in
susceptible individuals. The incident causes a
fight-or-flight, hyperarousal state that can turn
into full-blown PTSD. PTSD is one of the
'invisible wounds' of combat, and afflicted
individuals often:
1) relive the traumatizing event through
nightmares and flashbacks, and have strong
physical reactions when reminded of it.
2) avoid reminding activities, thoughts, feelings, and conversations.
3) are unable to remember event details, feel
emotionally numb and detached from the present
moment.
4) lose interest in important activities, feel
alone with nothing to look forward to, can't
experience normal emotions.
5) can't relax or concentrate; have trouble
sleeping; are irritable, on guard, or angry.
6) are more prone to breakups, divorce, and relationship issues.
7) often use drugs and alcohol to self-medicate the pain and anxiety.
PTSD has been traditionally treated using
psychotherapy and antidepressant medications with
questionable effectiveness. Although we tend to
associate PTSD with more serious traumatization,
like combat, it represents an affliction spectrum
encompassing anyone whose thoughts and behaviors
that have been affected by a life-threatening,
traumatizing situation.
Clearly, SCI, regardless of cause, falls within
this spectrum. Within the SCI community, we have
all heard the what-if stories concerning
injuries. For example, a friend has damned
himself for years because he ordered decaf coffee
before falling asleep driving home. Another
friend has knocked himself for 30 years for
scrambling up a wobbly ladder to fix defective
roof flashing before a fast-approaching storm.
This is baggage no one needs to carry around
forever. In other words, EFT's healing
possibilities aren't just limited to, for
example, the soldier surviving an IED roadside
bomb explosion, but also can be used to deal with
the seemingly mundane actions or decisions whose
life-changing consequences haunt us.
Combat's Toll
Studies are demonstrating that combat exacts a
huge toll on our returning veterans:
All veterans in war zones are at risk for PTSD (Institute of Medicine).
300,000 troops may require treatment for PTSD.
27% of noncommissioned officers serving three or
more tours of duty may have PTSD.
After deployment, 49%, 38%, and 31% of National
Guard, Army, and Marine troops report
psychological symptoms.
PTSD is associated with addictions, depression,
anxiety, or other mental-health issues. Overall,
83% of individuals with PTSD have additional
psychological disorders.
Antidepressant medications are prescribed for 12%
of soldiers stationed in Iraq and 17% in
Afghanistan.
PTSD and depression in returning veterans will
cost nation $6.2 billion in the two years after
deployment.
Approximately 120 veterans commit suicide every week.
Such statistics underscore the problem's severity
and, in turn, the need for new solutions, one of
which may be EFT. Clearly, given the technique's
simplicity, there is nothing to lose - except
allegiance to failed treatment paradigms - and
perhaps much to gain.
PTSD is Real
Because some have suggested that PTSD symptoms
are merely the consequence of a veteran's
maladjusted personality, scientists have examined
the issue in identical twins by comparing
symptoms in a twin with Vietnam-combat exposure
with the twin that did not. If the skeptics were
correct, the non-traumatized twin would have
similar symptoms due to having the same genetic
makeup and upbringing. This was not the
situation. The investigators concluded "the
majority of symptoms reported by combat veterans
with PTSD would not have been present were it not
for their exposure to traumatic events."
EFT & PTSD
Dr. Dawson Church (Santa Rosa, CA) recently
published the results of a pilot study treating
PTSD-afflicted veterans with EFT. Subject age
ranged from 26 to 61, and seven subjects were
male and four female. Although nine had served in
Vietnam or the Iraqi wars, two were family
members with "transferred military PTSD." Several
had physical disabilities.
PTSD was measured with assessment scales and
questionnaires adopted by the military. The
scales evaluated a variety of PTSD symptoms,
including anxiety, depression, obsessive or
psychotic behaviors, phobias, hostility,
paranoia, insomnia, etc. Evaluations were carried
out one month before the study, at the beginning
and end of treatment, and periodically thereafter.
Subjects received several 60-minute EFT sessions
daily for five days. At the end of the
intervention, they were given an instructional
DVD so they could continue the practice at home.
Before treatment, the average PTSD score was 62
on a scale ranging from 85 (most severe) to 17,
meaning the subjects had a high baseline level of
PTSD. After the sessions, the average PTSD score
decreased to 23, a huge reduction. After 30 days,
90 days, and one year, the scores were still only
32, 33, and 33, respectively. The data implied
that EFT is an effective tool for persistent,
long-term PTSD alleviation.
Other studies indicate that EFT exerts specific
physiological effects. For example, it reduces
cortisol, a hormonal marker of stress. It also
induces a shift in brain waves. Specifically,
before EFT, abnormal brain waves were observed
when thinking about the traumatizing event,
whereby after treatment, a more neutral pattern
emerged.
Because these are pilot studies with a limited
sample size, results cannot be over extrapolated.
Fortunately, larger studies are being initiated
at several major research institutions, including
the Columbia Pacific Medical Center (San
Francisco) and Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
A Personal Reflection (from Church D. Traumatology, 16(1), 2010)
"I'm a Vietnam veteran and I suffer from PTSD. At
the VA I was also diagnosed as bipolar or manic
depressive. I have nightmares, I spent since 1997
in hospitals and institutions I take meds for
bipolar, it's hard to get any alternative
treatment at the VA. My world wasn't that great,
everything in my life was a major challenge. When
I came to the EFT event I had no clue what I was
walking into."
"One of my bad Vietnam War memories involved an
enemy attack where I had to pull bodies out of
the rubble. I talked about it at the EFT event
and the intensity was so bad I had to leave the
room because I felt I was going to puke. Now that
EFT has been done on it, I can think the same
incident with little or no intensity. It is no
longer part of my dreams. That's a kind of
freedom I never thought I would have. Other war
memories have faded as well."
I've been doing EFT ever since. The changes in my
life are 110 percent totally different. Once you
start EFT it's a totally different way you handle
things. Everything like sleep and nightmares and
even suicide thoughts all come into a place where
a total turnaround happens. I can't explain it..."
Conclusion
Clearly, combat veterans have much to offer
society through the insights and greater
awareness they have gained from their challenging
experiences. I, myself, have felt honored to have
worked with so many of them over the years.
Perhaps EFT is one tool that will help transform
their traumatizing experiences into needed
understandings that, as Buddhist Scholar, Thich
Nhat Hanh stated:
"Veterans are the light at the tip of the candle,
illuminating the way for the whole nation. If
veterans can achieve awareness, transformation,
understanding and peace, they can share with the
rest of society the realities of war. And they
can teach us how to make peace with ourselves and
each other, so we never have to use violence to
resolve conflicts again." - Buddhist Scholar,
Thich Nhat Hanh
Acknowledgments: Special thanks are extended to
John Freedom for insights and comments.
Resources:
Internet:
1) www.eftuniverse.com - a comprehensive EFT
website listing many resources (including free
"get-started package").
2) www.stressproject.org - Iraq Vets Stress
Project helps veterans access low-cost EFT.
Book:
EFT for PTSD, Gary Craig, Energy Psychology Press, 2008.
DVD:
Operation: Emotional Freedom - The Answer.
Skywriter Communications, 2010 (available at
www.eftuniverse.com and elsewhere) - a moving
documentary demonstrating EFT's life-affirming
potential.
Select Articles:
1) Gilbertson MW, et al. Is trauma a causal agent
of psychopathological symptoms in posttraumatic
stress disorder? Findings from identical twins
discordant for combat exposure. J Clin Psychiatry
2010; 71(10).
2) Church D. The treatment of combat veterans
using EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques): a pilot
protocol. Traumatology 2010; 16(1).
3) Diepold JH, Goldstein DM. Thought field
therapy and QEEG changes in the treatment of
trauma: a case study. Traumatology 2009; 15(1).
4) Dinter I. Veterans: Finding their way home
with EFT. Int J Healing & Caring September 2008.
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