SF Clinic Eases Veterans' PTSD With Acupuncture

Don't laugh at this. PTSD is an assault against the emotional part of the brain and the rest of the parts of the brain kick into high gear to defend the wounded part. The mind is a wondrous thing and we are all programmed to live within ourselves very well. A baby learns how to comfort himself at a very young age. They learn when they cry they are responded to but at times, they are just a bit uncomfortable and they comfort themselves. We are programmed with all we need to heal ourselves but we need help to get it all to work right again at times.

Medication helps correct some things, like the chemicals in our brains, but it can't heal a soul and that's where things like this come into play. I told Marines to take Yoga. I told National Guardsmen to go for a walk with soft music in their headphones. They all thought I was crazy but then thanked me when they made faster progress with their therapists. There is no one size fits all healing with PTSD. All things should be considered to find the right thing for you.

Jul 19, 2010 3:23 pm US/Pacific
SF Clinic Eases Veterans' PTSD With Acupuncture
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5)

"People in the military are taught, suck it up," explained Army veteran Marshall Perry. "Get over it. Don't go to sick call. Don't ask for help. Man up."

So that's Perry did, suffering alone with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

"I get everything from my muscles seizing up and my body twisting like a pretzel to associated depression," he explained.

"He was limping and he used a cain. And he wasn't smiling," reported Carla Cassler, an acupuncturist with 25 years experience.

Cassler met Perry when he finally found help at BAYVAC - the Bay Area Veterans' Acupuncture Clinic.

"I focused on general relaxation with the ear points and then I did some neck work and some massage work on his neck and back and jaw," Cassler said.

In January, Cassler helped launch BAYVAC to provide veterans with a PTSD treatment that compliments the primary Western focus of drugs and therapy.
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SF Clinic Eases Veterans' PTSD With Acupuncture