At a certain point in my life, I studied shotokan karate with a remarkable teacher, and then, unable to find her equivalent in the San Francisco Bay Area, took up wing chun for a while with a very amusing guy.
Past research has suggested that teaching soldiers meditation exercises prior to their deployment can help them better cope with the trauma of war. Now, new findings show that mindfulness-based therapies can also be effective in helping treat veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after they return home.
Faced with circumstances beyond their control, animals including humans often hunker down and develop physical symptoms of depression, German researchers say.
A group representing psychiatrists in New York state and two individuals are bringing a nationwide class-action suit against Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group for violating laws requiring parity in mental health coverage.
For several years now, Americans have become increasingly aware that a large number of veterans have gotten post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Iraq and Afghanistan. Studies estimate that at least 1 in 5 returning vets — possibly as many as 1 in 3 – have it. Less notice has been given to the huge numbers of veterans who suffer some PTSD symptoms but not quite enough to be diagnosed as having the disorder. Civilian employees of the U.S. government, contractors, and of course the inhabitants of the countries caught up in America’s wars have gotten even less notice.
Today, thanks to better early detection, there are 63% fewer deaths from heart disease than there were just a few decades ago. Thomas Insel, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, wonders: Could we do the same for depression and schizophrenia? The first step in this new avenue of research, he says, is a crucial reframing: for us to stop thinking about “mental disorders” and start understanding them as “brain disorders.”
Delaware guardsman is facing diagnosis head-on, accepting treatment and trying to dispel stereotype of crazed war veteran who becomes violent.
Leslie Morgan Steiner was in “crazy love” — that is, madly in love with a man who routinely abused her and threatened her life. Steiner tells the harrowing story of her relationship, correcting misconceptions many people hold about victims of domestic violence.
Mental health challenges related to their service are a fact of life for many returning U.S. military personnel, and not just the men.
Veteran filmmaker David Lynch says US authorities should use more transcendental meditation to help soldiers returning from Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder.