Invisible Wounds

What stress does to the soul

by Eric Newhouse

Accepting Alternative PTSD/TBI Therapies

The House version of the National Defense Authorization Act would push the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration into funding new alternative therapies for PTSD and TBI, but the Senate version doesn't go nearly as far. Vets need to tell their member of Congress to adopt the House language. Read More

Help for Wounded Souls

There’s new hope for combat vets who have what I’ve been calling “wounded souls.” Read More

Recovery Through Acting

Playing the lead role in a movie about a young Marine with post-traumatic stress disorder, Matthew Pennington came to terms with his own case of PTSD. Pennington served three tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq before a roadside bomb removed one leg, shattered the other and scorched his lungs. Read More

PTSD Policy Changes

A new Army policy discourages some types of PTSD treatments, saying they do more harm than good. And in deference to soldiers' concerns, the policy has broadened its range of approved alternative therapies to encourage programs like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprogramming (EMDR) and neurofeedback. Read More

Struggling Hero

James McCormick, an Iraqi War hero, bought this farm to give vets a place to relax, feel at peace and begin to heal, but was angered to find vandals kicked apart a memorial to his fallen companions. Read More

When Plasticity Poses a Problem

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a neuroplastic disorder par excellence because it completely rewires a victim's brain. But there are some therapies that can layer good memories over the bad ones and alleviate many of the symptoms. Read More

Whitewater Rafting: Therapy for PTSD?

Neuroscientists believe that extreme sports, like whitewater rafting, can help PTSD patients learn to relax after stress. The huge adrenaline rush also leaves them with positive memories. And one neuroscientist says the exercise is as effective an antidepressant as any pharmaceutical. Read More

PTSD Energy Therapies

Several energy therapies help the "plastic brain" lessen the severity of the bad memories that result in post-traumatic stress disorder among combat vets. Read More

Our Plastic Brain

Neuroscience may offer hope to combat vets suffering from PTSD. Doctors say the human brain continues to change in response to the events it experiences. That suggests that while battlefield memories won't be forgotten, their intensity may be alleviated. Read More

Military Suicides III

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers returning home from Iraq over the past few months will be screened for post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression as the Army tries to reduce the number of military suicides. Read More

Military Suicides II

Montana is now screening its soldiers and airmen for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues after a former member of the Montana National Guard took his own life. And the Montana model is becoming the national model. Read More

Military Suicides

America's all-volunteer military service may be threatened by the fact that one soldier takes his own life every 36 hours on average, according to an alarming new report. Read More

Driven to Help

Ever since I visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and understood the depth of my emotions about the war, I've been on a mission to get today's vets the help my generation never got. Read More

Veterans Day

It's important to listen to our veterans on Veterans Day, so I'd like to share with you the story of a young Marine who survived the battles in Vietnam – but came home with guilt, grief, anger and the "Demons of War" in his soul. Read More

Post-Combat Wounds II

Although one vet in three is seeking help for mental or emotional disorders after returning home from Iraq or Afghanistan, the VA is treating far fewer vets for traumatic brain injury than the 2008 Rand Report had predicted. Read More

Post-Combat Wounds I

VA says more than half the returning Iraqi/Afghan vets are seeking health care, which it calls "unprecedented numbers," and nearly one vet in three is reporting mental/emotional problems. Read More

Wounded Souls III

Many combat vets return home with wounded souls. They need to seek atonement for what they've done (or not done) and learn to accept themselves by creating a new, post-warrior identity. Read More

Wounded Souls II

Even though justified in combat, killing crosses a moral boundary that separates one from society and ultimately from God. No wonder one vet in three is seeking mental health treatment after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Read More

Wounded Souls I

PTSD is more than just the stress of being under fire. It's also the guilt of what a soldier does in combat. Our diagnosis and treatment should recognize that these are two very different aspects of this disorder. Read More