'Coping Strategies' Disc Helps Those With Post-War Trauma

I have recently heard a lot about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and its effect on our troops returning from the war. Military spouses have confided that their service member was not the same person when they returned from deployment. The disorder is receiving a lot of attention from the media lately as more and more troops return home.

It has been said that PTSD is the enemy’s last stand because it follows the service member home and attacks them and their loved ones there. The Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health, reports that 20 to 50 percent of active duty service members and Reservists reported issues such as psychosocial problems, depression, relationship problems and symptoms of stress reactions. Sadly, most of these service members are reporting that they have not yet asked for help for these issues.

There is a surprising new treatment that is receiving high praise for its effectiveness in helping people who suffer from PTSD. This treatment does not involve drugs or time in counseling. Word of this new treatment is spreading through the branches of military service by word of mouth from nurses, chaplains, fellow service members and senior officers. 

This help comes in the form of a CD titled "Coping Strategies." It is distributed to the military by a 501 (c)3 nonprofit called Patriot Outreach. The CD helps the listener to overcome the effects of stress. Military members and their families can obtain this CD free of charge.

Senior officers and chaplains are reporting that this treatment is so non-threatening that it is being well received even by soldiers who hesitate or refuse to ask for help. A common scenario is that a wife will come in to the chaplain’s office in search of help in dealing with her service member. The CD is given to her to listen to and then she can pass it on to her service member. So effective is this CD that it is going viral.

There are two parts to the "Coping Strategies" CD. The first is an audio program called "Be Still and Know" which is a state-of-the-art mindfulness exercise that can increase your ability to cope with difficult emotions that are common to PTSD sufferers like anxiety and depression. It gives the user the tools  to handle stress in ways they haven’t yet been able to. The second part of the program contains additional audio on overcoming stress and fear. It also includes articles, DoD reports, guidelines, field books and other resources that are available on the data section of the CD.

To learn more about the “Coping Strategies” CD and to find out how you can get a free download of the “Be Still and Know Exercise” visit Patriot Outreach at http://www.patriotoutreach.org/.