Editor's Note:
The surprising thing was not the fact that meditation works well as a therapy for PTSD. Rather the surprise is what they compared it with: purposely recalling traumatic events! This is something they started doing to soldiers after Vietnam. Previously, soldiers came home and did their best to resume a normal life by focusing on positive thoughts. After Vietnam, US soldiers have been forced into therapy sessions.
Meditation worked as well as traditional therapy for military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder in a small experiment sponsored by the Department of Defense.
One method preferred by the Department of Veterans Affairs is exposure therapy, but it doesn’t work for everyone and many can’t handle what it requires: purposely recalling traumatic events and confronting emotions.
Meditation could be a better choice for some, the researchers said.
- Proverbs 17:28