Uncovering PTSD this Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day to reflect.  Whether you know someone or not, someone has given their life for our freedom, and we should never take that for granted.  We can all reach out to family and friends who have lost loved ones, find someone, and thank them.  A sincere thank you to all the veterans out there, we cannot take for granted the sacrifices you and others have made for our freedom!

Even though it is Memorial Day, not Veterans day, I thought I would mention the importance of PTSD and the effect it can have. PTSD can develop from some event of trauma.  That trauma can exist in many different forms.  Myself, suffering from a chronic disease I also suffered from a form of PTSD, as it was traumatic and I lost part of myself during that time.  Losing a loved one can definitely create PTSD, but also can having a child that has say, autism.  These are all different forms.

An estimated 8% of Americans − 24.4 million people − have PTSD at any given time. That is equal to the total population of Texas. An estimated one out of every nine women develops PTSD, making them about twice as likely as men.

So, this is a REAL disorder, and very prevalent in our society.  It’s important to note, that often times this lies within our subconscious, and is not something we can actively control.  When we internalize certain emotions or traumas, it leads to physical symptoms.  That is why some chronic pain conditions can be so difficult to manage without tapping into the emotional part of the healing process.
Our mind and thoughts are the ultimate controllers within our entire body.  They trump many functions in our body, meaning that if we REALLY want to heal, but our thoughts and mind aren’t cohesive we won’t actually fully heal.

Take the work of Dr. Masaru Emoto.His photographs were first featured in his self-published books Messages from Water 1 and 2. The Hidden Messages in Water was first published in Japan, with over 400,000 copies sold internationally.

(You Make Me Sick)What has put Dr. Emoto at the forefront of the study of water is his proof that thoughts and feelings affect physical reality. By producing different focused intentions through written and spoken words and music and literally presenting it to the same water samples, the water appears to “change its expression”.
(Love And Gratitude)

Essentially, Dr. Emoto captured water’s ‘expressions.’ He developed a technique using a very powerful microscope in a very cold room along with high-speed photography, to photograph newly formed crystals of frozen water samples. Not all water samples crystallize however. Water samples from extremely polluted rivers directly seem to express the ‘state’ the water is in.

Dr. Masaru Emoto discovered that crystals formed in frozen water reveal changes when specific, concentrated thoughts are directed toward them. He found that water from clear springs and water that has been exposed to loving words shows brilliant, complex, and colorful snowflake patterns. In contrast, polluted water, or water exposed to negative thoughts, forms incomplete, asymmetrical patterns with dull colors.

The implications of this research create a new awareness of how we can positively impact personal health, and how indeed our thoughts, attitudes, and emotions as humans deeply impact the environment.

There is a TON more research on emotions, like this one that was produced by the technique NET that I use within my treatment sessions.

PHILADELPHIA (February 15, 2017) – People often experience symptoms of PTSD such as anxiety, stress, and fear from traumatic life events. Physician researchers (funded by the ONE Research Foundation) conducted a study on Neuro Emotional Technique (NET), a mind-body therapy, at The Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas Jefferson University. The study found NET effectively and rapidly reduced symptoms of traumatic stress events in patients who had experienced life-threatening medical issues.

“The results of this study were really quite dramatic,” said principal investigator Daniel Monti, M.D., MBA, and Director of the Marcus Institute. “In just four to five brief sessions, patients who received NET reported much less distress, their overall emotional state improved significantly and the way their brains reacted to stress cues normalized.”

The study focused on 23 patients who experienced traumatic stress symptoms that lasted for at least six months as a result of distressing cancer-related events. A select number of patients received NET and the rest were waitlisted to a control group. The treatment group received a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) while listening to the self reported story of their distressing memory before and after NET. After receiving NET, the treated patients saw reduced stimulation in a number of brain structures associated with the perception of emotional traumas. As an example, the parahippocampus is known to be activated by various types of traumatic stress, such as post-traumatic stress disorder in war veterans and victims of sexual assault. In the image below, the parahippocampus is no longer active after the patient had received NET (right).

“This is the first study, that our team is aware of, that assessed the combined neurophysiological and clinical effects of an intervention for traumatic stress symptoms, and most importantly, offers a demonstrable solution,” Dr. Monti said. Study participant Elizabeth Koniz, a breast cancer survivor, described high anxiety prior to receiving NET. “I was fairly skeptical and [now] feel like I am living proof this works,” she said.

Researchers attribute the success of the intervention to the combination of exposure techniques with nervous system feedback, which uniquely allows therapists to gauge the patient’s subjective distress and how the body is reacting to it. “This provides extra information that is not usually part of standard interventions and, potentially, is what makes NET an especially efficient and efficacious therapeutic solution for traumatic stress symptoms,” Dr. Monti said.

Citation: Monti, D.A., Tobia, A., Stoner, M. et al. “Neuro emotional technique effects on brain physiology in cancer patients with traumatic stress symptoms: preliminary findings.” J Cancer Surviv (2017). doi:10.1007/s11764-017-0601-8. Cushman Jr., John H. (2012, February 24). New Study Gives Scope and Cost of Combat-Related Conditions Among Veterans.

So that leads me to my next point, PTSD treatments can cost up to 7,000 per year, and for some without tapping into the self conscious and clearing the physical symptoms they aren’t fully better. Medications only can numb the symptoms for some. NET a technique I use in my office is very effective, as this study shows, and very cost effective.

Additionally, essential oils are amazing at helping my symptoms of PTSD.  One rockstar, Melissa is mentioned below to make sure to take a look.

I hope this was helpful to you this week.  This is a really common yet under looked condition.  That is why i highly emphasize NET in my chiropractic care.  I don’t always have time to tap into this aspect in your appointments, and so I do have an awesome amazing referral source that can also help to clear these as well.   Those with PTSD, don’t always want to “talk” about their traumas or symptoms.  So NET and oils are a great addition to treatment.