“1% of the U.S. population serves in the military; that 1% is protecting the other 99%.” ~ Ed Schloeman, Vietnam Marine Veteran; Co-chair Operation Warrior Wellness
I was invited by Kaitlyn Roberts at Social Radius to attend an event at Urban Zen in honor of Operation Warrior Wellness New York City. Operation Warrior Wellness has one, big, audacious – to teach 10,000 Transcendental Meditation (TM) as a means to treat PTSD. 550,000 troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD, and it’s estimated that for every one of those vets 10 other people – family members and friends also feel the effects by watching their loved one struggle with this illness. 5,550,000 people – and those are only the ones who have been effected by our most recent wars. There are countless others from previous conflicts who have been suffering from untreated PTSD for decades.
Why our vets need our help
With 1:7 veterans returning from duty with PTSD, the VA is overrun with demands they can’t handle. Medications aren’t working. The suicide rates and divorce rates are through the roof. Drug and alcohol abuse is rampant among returning veterans. 40% of the homeless people in the U.S. are veterans. It is too expensive (approximately $6.2B biannually) and flat-out ineffective to treat veterans with PTSD through traditional Western methods. The VA needs help from another source; it needs a better way forward.
How TM may help
Since the 1950’s people have turned to TM as a form of treatment to reduce a variety of anxiety disorders. Some studies have suggested that TM has reduced symptoms from PTSD by 50%. Further research is needed to explore these initial findings, and The David Lynch Foundation is hoping to conduct larger scale research studies in the coming years. Practitioners have explained that TM provides a way for soldiers to relieve the recall. All these veterans want is an end to the endless noise that replays over and over in their minds. Russell Simmons, an avid supporter of TM and Operation Warrior Wellness, explains, “When the mind is still, the world surrenders. Our vets need meditation, not medication.” Ed Schloeman made a call to action by saying that, “We owe our soldiers their quiet time. They need to feel whole again.”
The David Lynch Foundation and The Urban Zen Foundation, the partners who collaborated to found Operation Warrior Wellness with the inspiration and passionate energy of Jerry Yellin, a World War II Army Fighter Pilot and Co-chair of Operation Warrior Wellness, have taken on an enormous task in beginning this movement. In addition to helping veterans, The David Lynch Foundation also services schools, homeless shelters, American Indians, inmates, and at-risk children in violence ridden regions around the world. Their work is one of the efforts that is turning the tide to join Eastern and Western medicine together into a holistic healing system.
Learn more
For more information on how you can contribute to the cause of Operation Warrior Wellness, please visit http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org/
Christa Avampato 