Page 569 - Total War on PTSD

understood by family at home. What is witnessed is so overwhelming, emotionally, that there are no words. Images go unprocessed deep into their bodily systems, and come out in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), or rLung, as we call it in Tibetan medicine. In Tibetan medicine, we know that the Mind affects the Body. Indeed, there can be symptoms of mysterious pain, nightmares, insomnia, heart problems, digestive issues, skin rashes, outbursts of anger, despair.
For the struggling Veterans that come into my practice, we always take our time. Healing happens on the physical level, with Tibetan and Chinese herbal medicine to help with sleep and organ disharmonies, and on the subtle, energetic level through using meditation, Tibetan healing exercises, and more subtle herbal formulas that address nourishing the nervous system, and helping with sleep. Routine is considered a crucial part of healing. We go over foods that suit their constitution, routines of breath work, intention setting for the day, small goals leading to larger goals. As time moves on, it’s not the practitioner that does the work: it’s the patient. Among my PTSD Veteran patients, I am enamored by their ability to really commit to treatment, and want to change. Change comes quickly with Tibetan medicine, with mental health issues such as PTSD. The subtle treatment of the rLung” or Wind element in Tibetan medicine is very effective. As Dr. Dhadon Jamling, a Tibetan doctor I trained with, said to me, “you cannot see the rLung (the Wind) in the body, but you can see it’s effects, just as we see how the Wind outside causes trees to move, even though we don’t see it.”
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