Veterans Disability Lawyer
The U.S. Marine Corps has instituted a pilot
program to study how mindfulness and meditation can assist its warriors in
becoming even tougher. The goal is to make Marines even tougher through
meditative practices, yoga-type stretching, and exercises based upon
mindfulness. With a record high suicide rate this year and thousands of
veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, the military has
been searching for ways to reduce strains on its members.
The Marine Corps officials are
testing a series of brain calming exercises that they believe could enhance the
performance of troops. The purpose is to mentally prepare the troops to better
handle stress. Camp Pendleton
will offer the eight-week course to about 80 Marines.
This class builds on a 2011
experiment involving 320 Marines whose results are set to be published this
coming fall. In that experiment, 160 Marines were taught to focus their
attention by concentrating on their body’s sensations, including breathing, in
a period of silence. After learning these techniques, the 160 Marines went
through a mock Afghan village with screaming actors and controlled blasts to
expose them to combat stress. Their reactions and images of their brains were
recorded. Another 160 Marines who did not have mindfulness training, acting as
the control group, went through the same mock village and had their reactions
recorded. The hypothesis was that the exercises help the brain better react to
high-stress situations and recover more quickly from those episodes.
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