Page 175 - Demo

173After people have experienced extreme trauma, such as war, they may continue to have serious psychological and physical symptoms %u2014 fl ashbacks (vivid feelings that the trauma is happening right now), nightmares, intrusive thoughts that keep pushing into their minds, and physical sensations such as pain, sweating, nausea, or trembling. These symptoms are collectively known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A person with PTSD may even fear that their own shadow is someone trying to attack them. It is a serious and disabling condition that is seen throughout the world, affecting not only war veterans, but also refugees, victims of family violence, prison inmates, minority groups living in racist societies, and many others. PTSD takes a severe toll on the mental, physical, and fi nancial well-being of the victims, which is shared by their families.The Department of Defense offi ce of US Army Medical Research sponsored a $2.4 million study that compared the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique with Health Education (HE) and the gold standard treatment currently in use by the military, Prolonged Exposure therapy (PE). TM acted more quickly than PE and HE and resulted in more clinically meaningful improvements. Similarly, TM reduced depression more than the comparison techniques. The study was published in one of the world%u2019s leading medical journals, The Lancet Psychiatry.A number of other studies also found that TM is highly effective in treating PTSD.Reduced Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderWeeksPTSD Checklist-Military Adjusted Mean Change ScoresChange in PCL-M for interim and 3-month post-test scoresBy treatment group0-2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18HEPETM0 4 6 8 10 13tm-024RECOVERY FROM TRAUMATIC STRESSReference: Nidich, S., Mills, P. J., Rainforth, M., Heppner, P., Schneider, R. H., Rosenthal, N. E., %u2026 Rutledge, T. (2018). Non-trauma-focused meditation versus exposure therapy in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: A randomized controlled trial. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(12), 975%u2013986. Orme-Johnson, D. W., Barnes, V. A., Rees, B., & Tobin, J. (2024). Systematic review and meta-analysis of Transcendental Meditation for post-traumatic stress disorder. Medicina, 60(12), 2050.Orme-Johnson, D. W., Barnes, V. A., Rees, B., & Tobin, J. (2025). Systematic review and meta-analysis of Transcendental Meditation for post-traumatic stress disorder. Medicina, 61(4), 659.