Mr. Kristof details the sad – but all too-often heard tale – of the debilitating problems of headaches, fatigue, insomnia and fainting spells that threatened to destroy his life and that of his family caused by repeated concussions while serving in Iraq. Unfortunately, Major Richards can’t get adequate treatment to deal with the injuries he has received serving our country. More disturbing is the fact that this growing problem is rarely addressed by either candidate running for President. As ...
Continue Reading →Opioids May Not Be Good for Treating PTSD. Really?
If the devastating implications weren’t so gut-wrenching, many of us would be rolling in the aisles with laughter. Unfortunately, Karen Seal of the San Francisco VA Medical Center has sadly concluded that “the use of opiate pain medications in those patients (veterans suffering from PTSD) is, frankly, risky.” According the Austin Statesman, “a growing body of research shows that PTSD and powerful prescription drugs can ...
Henry Grayson: Alternative Approach to Treating PTSD
In a revolutionary but very down-to-earth book entitled Use Your Mind to Heal Your Body, Dr. Henry Grayson, the founder of the National Institute for the Psychotherapies in New York City, provides a “recipe” for wellness that focuses on practical concepts and techniques for using one’s mind to relieve stress, tension and, even cure disease.
Daniel J. Benor, MD, author of Seven Minutes to Natural Pain Relief writes:
Continue Reading →“In this book, Dr. Grayson presents a radical view ...
PTSD and the VA: A Disservice to Disabled Troops
In an editorial opinion published in the New York Times on May 26th entitled ”
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The Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have repeatedly promised to do a better job of handling the medical evaluations of wounded and disabled service members. Instead, they are doing worse.
The processing of disability cases is getting slower, not faster. Efforts to ensure a “seamless transition” out of the military are falling short. Men and women are languishing without treatment, struggling to readjust ...
Continue Reading →Military Veterans with PTSD: A Failure of Leadership
In the wake of a scathing report by the Inspector General which found fault with how quickly the Veterans Administration responds to the needs of veterans seeking mental-heath care, comes the inevitable hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth regarding how poorly we as a society treat our veterans.
While it is far easier to point fingers at the VA than propose meaningful solutions, it is evident that we have a serious and growing problem on our hands. SFTT has reported ...
Continue Reading →Are Opioid Prescriptions the Right Answer for treating PTSD?
In a series of alarming reports, the V.A. and medical profession are beginning to wonder if treating PTSD with Opioid prescription drugs is the right course of action. Referring to V.A. records, U.S. Medicine reports that “more than 141,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been diagnosed with non-cancer pain. The prevalence of PTSD among that group is 32%, with 19% diagnosed with other psychiatric disorders.”
Of this group, “11% ...
Continue Reading →Treating Warriors with PTSD
Last weekend, I had the privilege of visiting Warriors Salute in Rochester, NY which has an innovative and expanding program to treat veterans of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who suffer from PTSD. I was fortunate to attend a training seminar hosted by Dr. Henry Grayson, Ph. D., for the clinical staff of Warriors Salute. Dr. Grayson is the eminent psychologist who founded and directed the National Institute for the Psychotherapies in New York City ...
Continue Reading →PTSD and Alienation
Daily SFTT receives gut-wrenching stories of warriors suffering from PTSD. For many of us, it is difficult to comprehend what goes on in the minds of these veterans and, unfortunately, we are left with the bitter after-taste of the harm they are causing to themselves and their loved ones. We would like to lend a helpful hand, but most of don’t know where to start. This poem from Universal Blogger is one person’s attempt to explain the alienation ...
Continue Reading →PTSD: The Emperor has no clothes
My dad, a retired Air Force officer, used to tell me as a kid that “If you don’t have anything smart to say, keep your mouth shut.” Now I don’t always follow this advice, but I do think that society would be better served if we kept disingenuous chatter to a minimum. Sadly, it would seem that our leaders – both civilian and in the military – are unable to keep their mouths shut when they have little to contribute ...
Continue Reading →PTSD: A Question of Diagnosis
The recent decision by the US Army to sack PTSD screeners at the Madigan Army Medical Center for questionable diagnoses raises more questions that it actually answers.
As reported by Hal Benton in the Seattle Times, “the Army Medical Command has identified some 285 Madigan Army Medical Center patients whose diagnoses of they went through a screening process for possible medical retirements, according to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray.”
The issue here is not to determine whether there has been any ...
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