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Transcendental Meditation promotes true transformation in PTSD patients
by Global Good News staff writer

Global Good News Translate This Article
5 February 2013

Norman Rosenthal, MD spoke about dramatic positive transformation in his psychiatric patients. He said, 'I have seen that happen now many times with Transcendental Meditation.'

He was addressing an audience of medical professionals about his latest book, Transcendence: Healing and Transformation through Transcendental Meditation, and wanted to explain what he meant by the terms in the book's subtitle.

'Now, when I say healing and transformation . . . I don't just think somebody felt really, really awful and now they feel moderately awful. That's not transformation; that's a little bit better. Transformation is when they are like a totally different person.'

He has seen such transformation, he said, especially in patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), through their practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM).

Dr Rosenthal showed the audience a chart graphically displaying the results of a study he conducted on the effects of Transcendental Meditation on Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans with PTSD.

'Fifty per cent of [the subjects'] PTSD symptoms were reduced over a matter of two months,' he said, summarizing the findings.

Dr Rosenthal shared an example of a young man who was driving a military vehicle when it went over an IED (improvised explosive device).

'The vehicle hit the bomb, people were injured. He was angry; he felt guilty. He came home from Iraq and he was a mess. He was having flashbacks and every time he would go over a pothole in the road he would feel he was going over an IED again.'

The young man started drinking heavily and had night terrors; he thought his girlfriend was the enemy. 'This man was really disabled,' Dr Rosenthal explained.

All that changed when he learned Transcendental Meditation.

'He started meditating, and all these symptoms resolved. It was amazing to see. He started focusing on his work, he stopped drinking, his relationship improved, he set better priorities for himself,' Dr Rosenthal said.

There are many other examples like this, he added.

'Now there are some grants being funded by the VA (US Veterans Administration) and the military, which are wonderful because it's timely,' Dr Rosenthal concluded.

See related articles:
∙ US: Integrative medicine conference at University of Maryland focuses on healing through meditation
∙ University of Maryland hosts medical conference on benefits of Transcendental Meditation
∙ Conference highlights Transcendental Meditation role in integrative medicine
∙ Medical database holds extensive research on mind-body medicine, meditation
∙ The story behind the bestselling book Transcendence
∙ Studies show Transcendental Meditation can reverse heart disease, reduce blood pressure

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