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Meditation Improves PTSD Symptoms

6/12/2018

2 Comments

 
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​PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a normal response to an abnormal circumstance.  PTSD occurs during a situation that drastically alters life experience and effects a very subtle part of the brain, the amygdala.  It turns the amygdala on to high alert, which is a signal to your system that it needs to remain in high alert, it must determine at all times if it is in danger, or if there is a threat, and finds it difficult to trust anything or anyone.  Another way to say it, is that fear is in high gear and it won’t shut off.

In a practice such as Ishayas’ Ascension, the relaxation response is invoked which down-regulates the amygdala very quickly. It gives one a simple way to redirect the mind when one is caught in a loop, helps to bring awareness to what you’re actually experiencing in the present moment without judgment and helps you be aware of your emotions, again without judgement.  All of these skills are helpful in dealing with PTSD symptoms.

PTSD effects anyone who has experienced trauma, so this includes vets as well as women who have been assaulted.  In the USA, it is believed that 10% of women and 5% of men will have PTSD during their lifetime. It is believed that 24 million people may experience PTSD symptoms each year.

In a study of 18 vets, half assigned randomly to psychotherapy and half assigned to learn meditation, the meditators not only reduced their symptoms of stress, but experienced 84% less alcohol use, 37% improvement in insomnia, 54% less depression, and 56% less emotional numbness.  Whereas the therapy group experienced 4% drop in depression, 7% drop in emotional numbness, their insomnia became worse!

In a 2013 study of war refugees who were homeless, jobless, and with an unknown future, were tested 5 times, 3 times prior to learning to meditate and twice following.  The 3 times prior to learning, their symptoms were increasing.  Following learning, their symptoms decreased significantly, but 30 days following learning, 90% of the participants were asymptomatic.  That is quite an amazing result.

Since body awareness and numbness is one of the symptoms, yoga has also been evaluated and shown to be an effective adjunct treatment for those with PTSD.

Another recent study on Meditation in prison aimed at those who experienced trauma, showed a reduction by almost one half in anxiety, depression, dissociation, sleep-disturbance, and stress over 4 months of regular practice.

In a practice such as Ishayas’ Ascension, the relaxation response is invoked which down-regulates the amygdala very quickly. It gives one a simple way to redirect the mind when one is caught in a loop, helps to bring awareness to what you’re actually experiencing in the present moment without judgment and helps you be aware of your emotions, again without judgement.  All of these skills are helpful in dealing with PTSD symptoms on a long term basis.

2 Comments
Jackie Scully
1/9/2019 06:10:22 am

Looking for an Ishaya trained therapist in Nashville area please.🙏♥️

Reply
Jyoti
1/10/2019 07:04:33 pm

Hi Jackie,
Unmaking or unlearning old patterns or attempting to sort out old traumas is extraordinarily difficult by attempting to unmake them or change them. Any psychoanalyst will testify to the great difficulty inherent in changing even one self-concept through the traditional approach of analyzing the root cause of any abnormal behavior pattern. In the attempt to root out the source of the problems that cause physical or mental imbalance, a great deal of effort is wasted and the results are usually marginal at best. Doctors, counselors and patients continue following this approach simply because nothing better has been widely available.

Imagine trying to fix a leak in the basement plumbing of your neighbor’s house from the roof of your own ten-story office building. Who could even begin to succeed? And yet this is exactly what most practitioners of mental health are attempting to do! From the surface of their minds, the 10% level of their thinking, they attempt to direct others to the sources of their afflicting behaviors, which are buried deep in their subconscious! Small wonder they so often fail.

But it is possible to change deep-seated patterns easily and effortlessly with Ishayas’ Ascension. This is done by the introduction of a few new seed thoughts which trains the mind to Ascend to the Source of all thoughts.
By touching the Source, the energy contained in the Ascendant (the Infinite Force for Good) automatically moves to purify the nervous system. Said another way, the perfect orderliness contained in the Absolute disallows the continuance of any disorder: the deep stresses of stored impressions dissolve; the inherent, self-destructive tendencies automatically fall away; action spontaneously changes to be in harmony with Natural Law. Since no action springing purely from the Ascendant is ever performed that is not in harmony with the upward-directed currents of creation, the results of such action are wholly positive, beneficial and uplifting. This kind of action creates impressions that lead to desires which create more harmony, health and happiness; quickly the whole structure of life moves away from suffering into greater and greater joy.

I was diagnosed with PTSD. I tried everything (different types of therapies and healing modalities) to deal with my issues, the emotions, the behaviors and the depression. Ishayas’ Ascension was the first thing that dealt with all the underlying issues by realigning everything in my mind and body. I didn’t have to understand it or know how it was working. But over time and with consistent practice, going to retreats, and reading MSI’s books, I found that my relationship with those thoughts and feelings had changed. It began immediately, but I didn’t know that. Ascension works on all levels, even those beyond our awareness. As in the analogy, if I am using it regularly, it is cleaning out the basement and restructuring the pipes, whether I know it or not.

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