THE WAR
WITHIN
Charles Freeman
HUFFINGTON
07.01-08.12
ally mustered up the courage
to deal with it,” he said, and
wrote about it for the online
magazine, Slate.
ANGRY WITH GOD
PHOTO OR ILLUSTRATION CREDIT TK
Stephen Differ
Current treatment for PTSD and
TBI consists in part of teaching
patients to manage stress.
At Fort Gordon, Rigg puts soldiers with mild traumatic brain
injury through an intensive,
three-week “functional recovery” program focused on coping strategies that include deep
breathing, yoga, massage, meditation and mind-body relaxation
exercises using bio-feedback.
Deep breathing actually slows
the cascade of stress hormones
that trigger the “fight or flight”
reflex. Massage eases tense
muscles that cause headaches.
Rigg doesn’t prescribe
drugs, which are often used
elsewhere to dull the reactions of PTSD patients.
“Medication doesn’t fix this
stuff,” Rigg says. “It only relieves some of the symptoms.”
For patients with TBI, treatment is similar:
“Our job is to help people