{"id":109,"date":"2012-02-13T15:29:49","date_gmt":"2012-02-13T15:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ericnewhouse.com\/blog\/?p=109"},"modified":"2012-02-13T15:29:49","modified_gmt":"2012-02-13T15:29:49","slug":"energy-therapies-can-alleviate-bad-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ericnewhouse.com\/blog\/energy-therapies-can-alleviate-bad-memories\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy therapies can alleviate bad memories"},"content":{"rendered":"

After reading Dr. Norman Doidge\u2019s remarkable book, The Brain that Changes Itself, \u00a0<\/em>I tracked Doidge down by phone at his office in the University of Toronto to ask whether neuroplasticity (see my previous blog, \u201cThe Plastic Brain\u201d) could be used as a therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he said immediately, adding that EMDR was the most promising treatment that he was aware of.<\/p>\n

A number of counselors are already using eye movement and desensitization reprogramming with promising results. EMDR involves remembering a painful incident, but stripping it of its emotional content by asking the patient to follow the therapist\u2019s fingers with his or her eyes. Then when the memory is stored away again, it\u2019s in a less threatening form. Dr. Francine Shapiro, the founder of EMDR, found that three 90-minute sessions could alleviate symptoms of civilian PTSD in more than 77 percent of the patients she treated.<\/p>\n

Several years ago, I interviewed Heather Krysak, who had recently ended a nine-year career with the New York National Guard in which she had been involved in heavy combat in Iraq that left her battling anxiety, fear, nightmares, depression and anger.<\/p>\n

\u201cEye movement desensitization was really weird,\u201d she told me. \u201cIt brought things out of my memory that I had been totally repressing from Iraq. One moment I was laughing, and the next moment I was crying.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she still experiences nightmares, she said, they were less intense and much less frequent after her EMDR therapy.<\/p>\n

A related alternative is emotional freedom techniques (EFT), which involves remembering a painful incident. Four elements are generally components of this trauma: 1) it\u2019s a perceived threat to survival; 2) it overwhelms the coping capacity, creating a sense of powerlessness; 3) it violates expectations; and 4) it creates a feeling of isolation and aloneness. While remembering this trauma, the vet puts a positive spin on it and begins tapping a series of acupressure points (the same points that the Chinese have used for acupuncture over the past five millennia). \u00a0A vet might say, \u201cI had to shoot the kid who ran toward my Humvee wearing an explosive vest, but I completely and fully accept myself\u201d and begin tapping his way through five acupressure points on his face and three on his torso. For exact locations, check out the EFT Web site: http:\/\/www.emofree.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the most passionate advocates of EFT is Ken Self of Boston, a veteran of 11 years in the Marine Corps who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and two more tours in Iraq. He had three issues that were crippling him emotionally, including being forced to shoot a child.\u00a0 \u201cThat came back to me night after night for years,\u201d he told me recently. Before he started the therapy, he rated his anxiety levels as 8 on a scale of 10, but after tapping them out, they were reduced to 0, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter tapping, you still have the emotion, but it doesn\u2019t own you,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not overwhelming. It\u2019s just a memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information, visit the Veterans\u2019 Stress Project at http:\/\/www.stressproject.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

The Veterans Stress Project has completed a study in which 59 vets with PTSD received EFT. EFT is a drug-free coaching technique which can be done via Skype. It involves brief cognitive and exposure protocols but adds the novel element of the vet’s own physical stimulation by light tapping. Before treatment, the group averaged 66 on the Traumatic
\nStress Disorder Checklist-Military (PCL-M) test on which 50 or above is considered PTSD, but after six one-hour coaching sessions, the average score dropped to 35. On follow up, average scores remained far below the clinical criteria for PTSD at 35 on three-month follow-up and 38 on six-month follow up.<\/p>\n

Dawson Church, founder of the non-profit, concluded: \u201cThe wait-list group\u2019s results were unchanged over time, while the EFT group demonstrated statistically significant drops in PTSD, from clinical to subclinical scores, as well as improvement in the severity and breadth of a range of comorbid psychological problems such as depression and anxiety. The results of the present study are consistent with previous trials showing that brief EFT interventions improve PTSD as well as co-occurring conditions, with gains maintained over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Veterans Stress Project is looking for vets with military-related stress who are willing to participate in further studies, including an exact replication of the trial described above. For more information, visit the Veterans\u2019 Stress Project Web site, listed above, or call 707-237-6951.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While I\u2019m not affiliated with EFT in any way, I should say that I have personally benefited from it. In 1997, I was driving my rig along a frontage road outside of Great Falls, Mont., when a battered old car slowed down in the approaching traffic lane and the left turn signal came on.\u00a0 Just as I approached it, the car edged into my lane and broadsided me on the driver\u2019s side door. My rig dropped into the ditch, came up over a driveway and became airborne. It landed on its passenger side wheels and rolled; I remember seeing the windshield blow out in slow motion. The rig was totaled. I was unharmed but very shaken up.<\/p>\n

For the next few years, I had an unusual reaction every time I approached a car signaling to cross my lane of traffic. My heart started pounding, my throat constricted, my mouth got dry and my gut twisted. I generally had a strong urge to stop dead in the road and wave the guy in front of me across the road.<\/p>\n

Then a friend introduced me to EFT. The next time an approaching car signaled a left-hand turn, I told myself, \u201cThis scares me, but I totally believe that driver will obey the traffic laws.\u201d Tapping seven pressure points seemed too complicated, so I just tapped my own breastbone, right over my thumping heart. After four or five encounters, I was totally surprised to realize that I no longer needed to do it. And it has not been a problem since.<\/p>\n

I wondered at the time if that was like PTSD so I asked a local counselor about it. \u201cYou were probably suffering a small stress disorder, but a tiny one compared to most vets,\u201d he said. \u201cYou were in an accident, but you weren\u2019t harmed, nor was anyone else. You weren\u2019t out in the field, picking up pieces of your friends and putting them in body bags. And this happened to you once, not two or three times a day for 12 or 15 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

That gave me a whole new appreciation for what our combat vets are going through.<\/p>\n

After reading Dr. Norman Doidge\u2019s remarkable book, The Brain that Changes Itself, \u00a0<\/em>I tracked Doidge down by phone at his office in the University of Toronto to ask whether neuroplasticity (see my previous blog, \u201cThe Plastic Brain\u201d) could be used as a therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he said immediately, adding that EMDR was the most promising treatment that he was aware of.<\/p>\n

A number of counselors are already using eye movement and desensitization reprogramming with promising results. EMDR involves remembering a painful incident, but stripping it of its emotional content by asking the patient to follow the therapist\u2019s fingers with his or her eyes. Then when the memory is stored away again, it\u2019s in a less threatening form. Dr. Francine Shapiro, the founder of EMDR, found that three 90-minute sessions could alleviate symptoms of civilian PTSD in more than 77 percent of the patients she treated.<\/p>\n

Several years ago, I interviewed Heather Krysak, who had recently ended a nine-year career with the New York National Guard in which she had been involved in heavy combat in Iraq that left her battling anxiety, fear, nightmares, depression and anger.<\/p>\n

\u201cEye movement desensitization was really weird,\u201d she told me. \u201cIt brought things out of my memory that I had been totally repressing from Iraq. One moment I was laughing, and the next moment I was crying.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she still experiences nightmares, she said, they were less intense and much less frequent after her EMDR therapy.<\/p>\n

A related alternative is emotional freedom techniques (EFT), which involves remembering a painful incident. Four elements are generally components of this trauma: 1) it\u2019s a perceived threat to survival; 2) it overwhelms the coping capacity, creating a sense of powerlessness; 3) it violates expectations; and 4) it creates a feeling of isolation and aloneness. While remembering this trauma, the vet puts a positive spin on it and begins tapping a series of acupressure points (the same points that the Chinese have used for acupuncture over the past five millennia). \u00a0A vet might say, \u201cI had to shoot the kid who ran toward my Humvee wearing an explosive vest, but I completely and fully accept myself\u201d and begin tapping his way through five acupressure points on his face and three on his torso. For exact locations, check out the EFT Web site: http:\/\/www.emofree.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the most passionate advocates of EFT is Ken Self of Boston, a veteran of 11 years in the Marine Corps who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and two more tours in Iraq. He had three issues that were crippling him emotionally, including being forced to shoot a child.\u00a0 \u201cThat came back to me night after night for years,\u201d he told me recently. Before he started the therapy, he rated his anxiety levels as 8 on a scale of 10, but after tapping them out, they were reduced to 0, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter tapping, you still have the emotion, but it doesn\u2019t own you,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not overwhelming. It\u2019s just a memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information, visit the Veterans\u2019 Stress Project at http:\/\/www.stressproject.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

The Veterans Stress Project has completed a study in which 59 vets with PTSD received EFT. EFT is a drug-free coaching technique which can be done via Skype. It involves brief cognitive and exposure protocols but adds the novel element of the vet’s own physical stimulation by light tapping. Before treatment, the group averaged 66 on the Traumatic
\nStress Disorder Checklist-Military (PCL-M) test on which 50 or above is considered PTSD, but after six one-hour coaching sessions, the average score dropped to 35. On follow up, average scores remained far below the clinical criteria for PTSD at 35 on three-month follow-up and 38 on six-month follow up.<\/p>\n

Dawson Church, founder of the non-profit, concluded: \u201cThe wait-list group\u2019s results were unchanged over time, while the EFT group demonstrated statistically significant drops in PTSD, from clinical to subclinical scores, as well as improvement in the severity and breadth of a range of comorbid psychological problems such as depression and anxiety. The results of the present study are consistent with previous trials showing that brief EFT interventions improve PTSD as well as co-occurring conditions, with gains maintained over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Veterans Stress Project is looking for vets with military-related stress who are willing to participate in further studies, including an exact replication of the trial described above. For more information, visit the Veterans\u2019 Stress Project Web site, listed above, or call 707-237-6951.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While I\u2019m not affiliated with EFT in any way, I should say that I have personally benefited from it. In 1997, I was driving my rig along a frontage road outside of Great Falls, Mont., when a battered old car slowed down in the approaching traffic lane and the left turn signal came on.\u00a0 Just as I approached it, the car edged into my lane and broadsided me on the driver\u2019s side door. My rig dropped into the ditch, came up over a driveway and became airborne. It landed on its passenger side wheels and rolled; I remember seeing the windshield blow out in slow motion. The rig was totaled. I was unharmed but very shaken up.<\/p>\n

For the next few years, I had an unusual reaction every time I approached a car signaling to cross my lane of traffic. My heart started pounding, my throat constricted, my mouth got dry and my gut twisted. I generally had a strong urge to stop dead in the road and wave the guy in front of me across the road.<\/p>\n

Then a friend introduced me to EFT. The next time an approaching car signaled a left-hand turn, I told myself, \u201cThis scares me, but I totally believe that driver will obey the traffic laws.\u201d Tapping seven pressure points seemed too complicated, so I just tapped my own breastbone, right over my thumping heart. After four or five encounters, I was totally surprised to realize that I no longer needed to do it. And it has not been a problem since.<\/p>\n

I wondered at the time if that was like PTSD so I asked a local counselor about it. \u201cYou were probably suffering a small stress disorder, but a tiny one compared to most vets,\u201d he said. \u201cYou were in an accident, but you weren\u2019t harmed, nor was anyone else. You weren\u2019t out in the field, picking up pieces of your friends and putting them in body bags. And this happened to you once, not two or three times a day for 12 or 15 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

That gave me a whole new appreciation for what our combat vets are going through.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After reading Dr. Norman Doidge\u2019s remarkable book, The Brain that Changes Itself, \u00a0I tracked Doidge down by phone at his office in the University of Toronto to ask whether neuroplasticity (see my previous blog, \u201cThe Plastic Brain\u201d) could be used as a therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). \u201cYes,\u201d he said immediately, adding that EMDR […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericnewhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericnewhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericnewhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericnewhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericnewhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ericnewhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ericnewhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericnewhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ericnewhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}