Music and Meditation
Transcendental Meditation, You should Try It!
This complementary approach can be used alongside your more traditional medicine that promotes wellness through this relaxing activity. Studies using this meditation technique on individual veteran cases caused an overall reduction in depression and anxiety (Bellehsen et al. 2022 ). It was also noted that it would help with any sleep issues that the patient is having. Individual clinical trials have proven that this approach has worked on veterans in reducing the stress induced by their fight or flight response (Barnes et al. 2013). It has proven efficient in the overall long-term decline of cortisol levels for these individuals practicing such practice (Barnes et al. 2013).
Loving-Kindness Meditation is also beneficial too!
This is a different approach that emphasizes optimistic thoughts (Kearney et al. 2013). It was shown that following this meditation, the patients overall were more content since they internalized the methods found in the complementary approach (Kearney et al. 2013). Furthermore, other results of this meditation include a reduction in physical pain, specifically in the back region. This is an excellent demonstration of the physical benefits of meditation, meaning its benefits are not limited to solely psychological improvement. When practiced on other conditions, it also provided fruitful results similar to the benefits seen in PTSD patients (Kearney et al. 2013). Along with exemplary participation, the patients also possessed a more positive mindset (Kearney et al. 2013).
Trauma-based vs. Non-trauma based
In a study that was conducted on kids who had PTSD, there were two methods implemented. One method focused more on the traumatic event (KIDNET), and the other was a meditation approach (MED-RELAX) (Catani et al. 2009). The results of the study were that both produced similar results and led to improvement in their symptoms. For example, it was determined that "at 6 months after completion of therapy, recovery rates were 81% for the children in the KIDNET group and 71% for those in the MED-RELAX group"(Catani et al. 2009). However, it is noteworthy that the non-trauma-focused meditation being efficacious is beneficial since it might be an alternative to exposure therapy, which is considered a very harsh treatment method. This can ideally promote the use of meditation as opposed to this type of treatment.