Immediate Effective Help for Women Veterans

The data shows:

Over 500,000 U.S. troops deployed since 2001 suffer from PTSD.
Among women Veterans of those conflicts almost 20% have been diagnosed with PTSD, and 27% of women Vietnam Veterans suffered from PTSD sometime during their postwar lives.
40% of all homeless people are veterans and 8% of these are women veterans.
Health care costs for all veterans with PTS are an estimated $12.4 billion annually.
today, more than 6,500 vets die by suicide every year

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Platoon Sergeant Gets Her Life Back with Transcendental Meditation

One Practical Solution

Healing post traumatic stress in veterans requires an approach that directly impacts the mental, physical and emotional health. Thankfully, there is a solution. Over 600 research studies document benefits from the TM practice in all fields of life. Practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique for twenty minutes twice daily provides deep healing rest which decreases: stress, fatigue, anxiety, depression, insomnia, relationship problems, and addiction.

Having a tool to release traumatic stress is especially important for women, because there is evidence that differences in the way women process stress and emotions make women more likely to develop PTSD than men—even when exposed to similar types of trauma. Many experts believe that the epidemic of MST (military sexual trauma) is also contributing to the higher rates of PTSD in women veterans, who are twice as likely to develop PTSD than men veterans.

Immediate Results

The TM practice is unique among meditation techniques, distinguished by its simplicity and profound, immediate results. It is not a religion or philosophy and involves no change in lifestyle. It is easy to learn and enjoyable to practice, requiring no effort, concentration, or special skills. More Information about the Transcendental Meditation technique

Reduction of stress in veterans

Stress dramatically interferes with the ability to maintain attention and focus. The part of the brain responsible for both developing coping strategies and handling stress is compromised. Chronic stress damages the brain and creates fatigue. Reduction of stress results in improved brain function—increasing focus and attention, memory, ability to plan, and successful relationships.

Stress also creates health disorders, including hypertension, atherosclerosis, and metabolic syndrome. TM also improves health overall including increased stamina, energy, flexibility, immunity and quality of life.

Immediate Results

Reduction of stress in veterans

Women Veterans Report

“Shortly after my Navy career I began to experience … an onset of paranoia that escalated to full blown PTSD. I would drink alcohol to excess to numb the pain of loneliness I felt from isolation. I was afraid to venture out of my house or drive or do anything that included interaction with people. Through TM I began to trust, blossom, and most of all I began to heal. I began to come out of my nightmares and face the battle I had ahead. I began to attend the (treatment) sessions faithfully, I began to drive and I started community college. I got the courage to apply for a job in a hospital. This program has given me my life back.”
Ms. K.
Veteran, diagnosed with military sexual trauma

“(I came out of the military) with a variety of health challenges, like undiagnosed military sexual trauma, anxiety, and body aches as a result of performing like a machine. I was struggling to provide housing and stability for my family.
“Transcendental Meditation saved my life. It calmed my mind, helped to restore my nurturing nature, restored my femininity, and has helped me to become a better thinker. It’s made me feel good inside mentally and physically…. Transcendental Meditation is completely the opposite of trauma. As soon as I started, something shifted. I didn’t have to rehash traumatic experiences.”
Tara Wise

Evidence-based relief from PTSD

The TM program has been extensively researched by over 400 peer-reviewed studies, including over $26 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health.

*Journal of Clinical Psychology* 45 (1989): 957-974.

In this meta-analysis of 146 independent studies, the TM technique was found to be twice as effective as other techniques for stress and anxiety.

Additional Research

TM may provide a viable alternative option to current trauma-based therapies for treating veterans with PTSD. TM could be readily implemented in government healthcare systems in the U.S. and other countries to help treat veterans who do not respond to or avoid treatment with trauma-focused therapies.
The Lancet Psychiatry 2018 5(12):975-986
TM decreases the need for psychotropic medications required for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) management and increased psychological wellbeing.
Military Medicine Vol. 181, Issue 1
TM practice reduced PTSD symptoms without re-experiencing trauma. The convergence of evidence suggests that TM practice may offer a promising adjunct or alternative method for treating PTSD.
Military Medicine, Vol. 00, 0/0 2017
40-55% reduction in symptoms of PTSD and depression
Military Medicine 176 (6): 626-630, 2011
42% decrease in insomnia
Journal of Counseling and Development 64: 212-215, 1985
30% improvement in satisfaction with quality of life
Military Medicine 176 (6): 626-630, 2011
Decreased high blood pressure–on par with first-line antihypertensives
American Journal of Hypertension 21: 310–316, 2008

Doctor’s Comments

Suzanne Steinbaum

MD, DO Preventive Cardiologist, Author, Media Spokesperson, and FORMER Director of Women’s Cardiovascular Prevention, Health and Wellness at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She’s done fellowship training in both Preventive Cardiology and Cardiology. She’s been awarded a New York Times Super Doctor, and a Castle and Connelly Top Doctor for Cardiovascular Disease.

“I tell my patients that we have to treat this issue of overwhelming stress in their lives, and this (TM) is an evidence-based technique that has been shown to reduce blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes by 48 percent. ”

Gary Kaplan

M.D., PhD., Neurologist and Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology

“The TM technique simply and naturally allows the mind to settle down to experience a state of inner coherence and calm during which time the left and right hemispheres and the front and back of the brain begin to work in harmony with each other.

Norman Rosenthal

M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical School

“I have been astonished at the strength and scope of the research on TM – and of the technique’s potential for healing and trauma transformation.”

Learn more about TM for Veterans.

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