Drumming for PTSD Therapy

Drums Aren’t Just for Music: They’re Therapy, Too
The Daily Beast
Dale Eisinger
July 21, 2014

A growing body of research shows that drumming has a positive effect on Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, depression, PTSD, and more.

YouTube user MrFasthands65 has posted more than 1,000 videos of himself drumming on top of popular songs. “Fun is learning something and doing it well in your own mind,” Lou, as he’s known on the web, writes. “Perfection or striving for it is work and ruining your fun. As I aged I realized no one can be perfect, for there will always be some self-proclaimed critic to tell you you're not.”

But Lou isn’t just drumming for psychological fulfillment. He plays the drums to help combat a very rare neurological condition known as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, or CIDP. This autoimmune disorder, which affects about seven in 10,000 people, causes numbness and pain in the limbs and imbalance walking. Lou has found that drumming relieves him of these symptoms. And he’s not alone.

Above all though, the benefits of drumming seem to mostly be psychological and emotional. The Wahlbangers Drum Circle Organization, a group based in Northern California, has been using drumming as an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans. In 2008, Science Direct Journal published a study titled Drumming Through Trauma: Music Therapy With Post-Traumatic Soldiers. It showed that “a reduction in PTSD symptoms was observed following drumming, especially increased sense of openness, togetherness, belonging, sharing, closeness, connectedness and intimacy, as well as achieving a non-intimidating access to traumatic memories, facilitating an outlet for rage and regaining a sense of self-control."
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