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| An estimated 14 percent of US veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD (AFP Photo/Javier GALEANO) |
Paris (AFP)
- Transcendental meditation -- the practice of effortless thinking -- may be as
effective at treating PTSD in conflict veterans as traditional therapy, US
researchers said Friday, in findings that could help tens of thousands deal
with their trauma.
Post
traumatic stress disorder, a debilitating condition that can lead to psychosis,
bipolar disorder or suicidal and homicidal thoughts, affects an estimated 14
percent of US veterans who serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The most
common treatment for PTSD is a process known as prolonged exposure
psychotherapy, which forces sufferers to re-experience traumatic events by
confronting their memories of the conflict.
Researchers
from three US universities decided to look into whether more everyday techniques,
which help civilians lower their stress levels and increase focus and
productivity, would work on traumatised veterans.
They
trialed 203 former servicemen and women with PTSD, most of whom were receiving
medication for their symptoms, and randomly assigned them courses of
transcendental meditation, prolonged exposure therapy or a specialised PTSD
health education class.
They found
that 60 percent of veterans who did 20 minutes of quiet meditation every day
showed significant improvement in their symptoms, and more completed the study
than those given exposure therapy.
"Over
the past 50 years, PTSD has expanded to become a significant public health
problem," Sanford Nidich, of the Maharishi University of Management
Research Institute, told AFP.
"Due to
the increasing need to address the PTSD public health care problem in the US,
UK and worldwide, there is a compelling need to implement governmental policy
to include alternative therapies such as transcendental meditation as an option
for treating veterans with PTSD."
Transcendental
meditation involves effortlessly thinking of an idea or mantra to produce a
settled, calmer state of mind -- scientists call it "restful
alertness".
Unlike
exposure therapy, meditation can be practised at home, takes up relatively
little time, and researchers say it would be significantly cheaper than current
treatment techniques.
It also
avoids forcing combat veterans to relive their trauma in a bid to get better.
"Transcendental
meditation is self-empowering, and can be practised just about anywhere at any
time, without the need for specialised equipment or ongoing personnel
support," said Nidich, who was the lead author of the study published in
The Lancet Psychiatry journal.
'Gave me
my life back'
The main
problem with existing PTSD treatment, according to Nidich, is that forcing
veterans to relive their trauma means many never finish the courses.
Exposure
therapy, although officially approved as a treatment by the US Veterans'
Association, is ineffective in up to 50 percent of patients and drop-out rates
range from 30-45 percent.
"New
treatments, including options not involving exposure to the traumatic
experience, are needed for veterans who do not respond to treatment or drop-out
due to discomfort," said Nidich.
One study
participant, a 32-year-old navy veteran whom authors identified only as Ms. K,
said learning the meditation technique had "given me my life back."
After being
diagnosed as having suffered sexual trauma while on military service, her
symptoms worsened until she drank to excess every night and sought to avoid human
interaction.
After the
transcendental meditation course, "I began to come out of my nightmares
and face the battle I had ahead," she said.
She added
she had since applied for a job in a hospital.
Researchers
said further studies were needed to see if meditation could be a long-term aid
for PTSD sufferers.
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