{"id":9133,"date":"2013-02-12T17:36:02","date_gmt":"2013-02-12T22:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tm.org\/blog\/?p=9133"},"modified":"2015-02-19T15:24:32","modified_gmt":"2015-02-19T20:24:32","slug":"transcendental-meditation-may-help-stressed-vets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/video\/transcendental-meditation-may-help-stressed-vets\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cTranscendental Meditation May Help Stressed Vets\u201d \u2013 Bloomberg Businessweek"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following article by Caroline Winter of Bloomberg Businessweek<\/a> gives the highlights of a David Lynch Foundation conference that took place in New York City on February 4th, 2013.<\/strong>
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\nEvery 65 minutes, a U.S. military veteran committed suicide in 2010. That\u2019s according to a comprehensive study released last Friday by the Department of Veteran Affairs, which tracked veteran suicides<\/a> from 1999 to 2010 (PDF). Then there are the suicides of active-duty service members<\/a>: Last year they outpaced combat deaths, hitting a record high of 349. <\/p>\n

These alarming statistics\u2014as well as such tragedies as last week\u2019s murder of Chris Kyle, a highly decorated Navy SEAL sniper, by an ex-Marine\u2014may be one reason why the U.S. military is exploring alternative means of preventing and treating post-traumatic stress disorder, known as PTSD<\/a>. Among the alternatives is meditation. <\/p>\n

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Luke Jensen<\/p><\/div>\n

The military\u2019s first foray into meditation goes back to 1985, when it found in a small pilot study that Transcendental Meditation\u2014a trademarked technique first introduced by the Beatles\u2019 guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi<\/a>\u2014significantly decreased the stress and anxiety levels of Vietnam veterans. Within three months, 70 percent of the meditating vets no longer needed the support services of their veterans\u2019 center.<\/p>\n

Despite these positive results, \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been until the last few years that there has been a more official interest,\u201d says Bob Roth, executive director of the David Lynch Foundation, which promotes Transcendental Meditation to treat PTSD. \u201cI think the reason why they\u2019re really looking at Transcendental Meditation now is that the problem is so acute.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jerry Yellin<\/p><\/div>\n

TM is one of three major branches of meditation, all of which have different effects on the body and brain. Several U.S. vets say the technique helped them overcome severe mental distress. On Monday, Luke Jensen, a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, described at a fundraiser for the David Lynch Foundation at the New York Athletic Club how he became suicidal in Afghanistan and later put a gun to his head and threatened to kill himself in front of his wife and young children. He says TM brought him back from the edge. \u201cIt was the first time in so long that I felt hope,\u201d he said. Jerry Yellin, a fighter pilot in World War II, told of how he lived with nightmares, behavioral disorders, and addiction for 30 years before trying meditation. \u201cI got my life back 100 percent,\u201d said Yellin, who is now co-chairman of Operation Warrior Wellness. \u201c150 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nYou can view highlights of this conference in the video below.<\/strong><\/p>\n