Meditation & Yoga: Intervention to treat PTSD in BiH
Problem
Long-term exposure to severe trauma during the Bosnian war that lasted from 1992-1995, and post-war conditions, might perpetuate psychological consequences and high rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Bosnian civilians.
Solution
To assess the use of mind-body interventions to improve PTSD symptoms and well-being of adolescents exposed to war-related trauma in post-conflict communities in Bosnia & Hercegovina.
What is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder?
PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress disorder is a common and complex psychiatric disorder that may develop after experiencing a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, war, a terrorist attack, a life-threatening accident, rape, or being threatened with death, sexual violence, or injury.
Exposure to unexpected extreme traumatic events can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in up to 10 – 40% of war survivors.
Symptoms and psychological distress can persist far beyond the years of exposure to traumatic events. Symptoms can emerge months or even years after the traumatic event exposure.
4 Core PTSD Symptoms
Each of the symptoms must be associated with the traumatic event.
The four core features of PTSD include:
1 - Intrusion symptoms: experiencing or witnessing a stressful event, re-experiencing symptoms of the event that include nightmares and (or) flashbacks.
2 - Avoidance symptoms: efforts to avoid situations, places, and people that are reminders of the traumatic events.
3 - Alterations in arousal and reactivity, or hyperarousal: irritable behavior and angry outbursts, hypervigilance, concentration problems, and sleep disturbances.
4 - Negative alterations in cognition and mood: persistent and exaggerated negative beliefs or expectations about oneself, others, or the world, and feelings of detachment or estrangement from others.
The Situation in BiH:
During the war from 1992-1995 in Bosnia & Hercegovina, civilians experienced ongoing life-threatening events and trauma with a high risk of developing PTSD under such conditions.
According to the World Health Organization, 10%-50% of Bosnia's population, or 400,000 people, have been diagnosed with PTSD.
Internal organizations supporting citizens with PTSD argue that the number is closer to 1.7 million.
Due to stigmatization, lack of awareness of symptoms, and education surrounding this mental disorder, the prevalence may be higher than the 400,000 diagnosed, given the higher estimate of suspected cases.
30 Years After the War ...
Bosnia & Hercegovina (BiH) is still coming out of post-conflict conditions, driven by widespread political corruption and economic stagnation, which have a further negative impact on mental health beyond the influence of cumulative trauma exposure from the war.
Untreated PTSD after exposure to severe trauma during the Bosnian war that lasted from 1992-1995, and post-war conditions, might perpetuate psychological consequences and high rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Bosnian civilians.
Barriers to PTSD healing in BiH
➔ Stigmatization
➔ Limited Mental Health Workforce and Mental Health Centers
➔ Socioeconomic factors limit access to treatment
Benefits of Yoga & Meditation Mind for Body Healing
Decreases stress, depression, and anxiety.
Improves mood and energy levels.
Increases joy, satisfaction, and positivity in your life.
Improves both physical and mental health.
Why Meditation & Yoga:
➔ Provide Yoga and Meditation Classes to the target population.
➔ Education on PTSD symptoms.
➔ Introduction to yoga and meditation therapy for PTSD treatment given barriers to current treatments.
➔ Improve mental health outcomes and well-being after exposure to war trauma.
Yoga & How it Benefits You:
Yoga helps manage stress, depression, and anxiety.
Yoga improves strength, balance, and flexibility.
Yoga helps with back pain relief.
Yoga helps improve high blood pressure and benefits heart health.
Yoga improves energy levels and elevates brighter moods.
Yoga helps us reclaim our body and space in it.
Meditation & How It Benefits You:
The practice of meditation has been around for thousands of years, and studies are continuing to discover a wide array of benefits of practicing meditation.
How does Meditation work on PTSD?
It counteracts our physical and emotional reactions to core PTSD symptoms of stress, and pain by bringing "the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgmentally.” By focusing on our breathing, the idea is to cultivate attention on the body and mind as it is moment to moment versus digressing into painful memories and triggers.
Meditation & How It Benefits You:
Meditation has been scientifically proven to reduce symptoms of PTSD after war-related trauma
Stress
Depression
Anxiety
By providing more:
Happiness
Self-understanding & knowledge for soothing oneself
Inner calmness
Sharpens the ability to focus
Meditation & How It Benefits You:
Mindfulness meditation is the practice of paying attention to the present moment exactly as it arises.
THE KEY IS YOUR BREATHING.
In a world filled with noise and demands, learning to let go builds mental clarity and frees up space in your mind for what truly matters. This will bring you freedom.
The focus of any meditation intervention is to focus attention on one's breath.
Start by sitting for 5 minutes with your eyes closed.
Coming back to notice your breath as often as you need as your mind begins to wander.
It’s okay to feel emotion, silly, and internally fidgety. Doing something new makes our minds race and our minds want to reason and build logic for everything. Observe what comes.
Sit with yourself and allow whatever comes to come. Keep going. The gifts that come from sitting in stillness are profound.
Sitting in Mindful Meditation
The idea is to invite the participant to orient themselves in the present moment with curiosity, openness, and non-judgment of what arises during the time of reflection and stillness.
Start by finding a comfortable position in an environment with minimal distractions. Sitting, with your back upright either in a chair, or on the ground with your legs crossed.
Meditation
The power of meditative practices is that it has elements of exposure, cognitive change, attentional control, relaxation, acceptance, and self-management techniques built into the therapy.
Meditation is a tool that we all have to promote health by decreasing stress, anxiety, and depression and for developing calmer, happier minds.
How does it help someone with PTSD?
When we are triggered by either memories or situations that remind us of a particular feeling when we felt unsafe, our first reaction is a fight or flight response. In the body, this looks like a faster heart rate, a faster breathing rate, an angry outburst, a loss of emotional control, worry, and fear. If we can recognize when we are losing emotional control, we can stop to turn inward and start breathing.
What is Meditation?
Meditaton is the art and act of paying attention to our breathing with intention.
Over time and with consistent practice, meditation can help us feel more calm, and happy.
Consistency is the most important when it comes to meditation and its physical and mental health benefits.
Regular meditation practice will be more important than the length of time spent in each meditation.
PTSD & Meditation
Each of these elements of meditation practice is important to the clusters of symptoms most typically experienced by persons with PTSD related to improvements in emotional regulation.
In a country of 3.5 million population devastated by war, 10-40% suffer from PTSD in BiH.
Helping to heal PTSD in post-war communities can be achieved.
PTSD & Yoga
Meditation = Focused Breathing
Yoga = Movement with Focused Breathing
Yoga incorporates breathing techniques, meditation, and relaxation while adding to the experience of the movement of physical postures.
Emotional awareness of the physical body helps to reduce physiological arousal in PTSD patients. It can affect the pathology of PTSD by improving somatic regulation and body awareness, which are critical in emotional regulation. Somatic therapy is a way to connect the mind and body to help regulate the nervous system by focusing on your breathing. It can help treat mental and emotional health issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder. It's a key part of emotional self-regulation, which is the ability to guide yourself through your emotions and adapt your behavior in response to changing circumstances.
