Mind training helps with combat, then PTSD

[unhappycamper]

Mind training helps with combat, then PTSD
By Kevin Maurer - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 8, 2008 5:49:26 EDT

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — The explosion of practice mortars sent Army Spc. Kade Williams into panic attacks, and nightmares plagued his sleep. The ravages of post-traumatic stress had left the veteran of the war in Afghanistan vulnerable, and he was desperate for help.

But sitting silently on the floor with his eyes closed while listening to a soft-spoken instructor tell him to find a focal point by pressing on his lower stomach as guitar music hums in the background? That seemed a bit far-out.

Until he tried it.

“I will be the first one to admit that I was wrong,” Williams said.

Warriors have long used such practices to improve concentration and relaxation — dating back more than 1,000 years to the techniques of the samurai. Here at coastal Camp Lejeune, 100 miles inland at the Army’s Fort Bragg and at several bases in California, such meditation now comes with a name: Warrior Mind Training.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/10/ap_warriormind_100708/%2e