Wounded Soldier "PTSD is a violation of the soul"

"PTSD is a violation of the soul," Brewer said. "If you don't address that, you're only going to be half-healed."

Center helps traumatized vets heal
by Jeremy Thomas - Apr. 5, 2008 07:24 PM
Cronkite News Service
STAR VALLEY - Ken Moorin lies on his back, knees bent, hands behind his head. His body trembles and shakes involuntarily, releasing tension.

As an Army Reserve sergeant stationed an hour from Baghdad, Moorin and his supply convoy were under a constant threat of mortar attacks.

The memories stayed buried deep inside long after he returned in 2004. Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, Moorin suffered from anxiety attacks and depression, forcing him to quit his teaching career.

On this day, he is starting a long process of pulling himself out of the abyss. His new routine of exercises, he said, is beginning to allow him to let go.

"It works," said Moorin, who came here from Phoenix. "You have to be able to release on a physical level."

The regimen is known as TRE - trauma-releasing exercises- which he learned during his first weekend at the Merritt Center, a non-profit retreat funded by private donations and provided free to combat veterans.

The retreat's namesake, Betty Merritt, started the center after leaving her job as an executive with an East Coast data-services corporation in 1986. It started with a vision she had during a massage, Merritt said.

go here for more

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/04/05/20080405retreat0406.html

Yet one more piece of evidence that we need to treat the mind/body and spirit to help them heal.