Communichi

First, I want to share a letter that is posted on the Acupuncturists Without Borders (AWB) website. It is written by one of the top state health officers in Louisiana, a few months after Hurricane Katrina in 2005:

“Thank you from all of us for the therapy session that you did with us yesterday. We all felt some relief right away.  You are very kind to be down here helping us.  I know that my work was easier all day and lately I have found it to be one huge task after another.

Jordan, you and your co-worker have such a lovely healing touch that made us all feel comfortable and safe right away.

If your teams could return, several of us would love to be treated again and others have now expressed an interest.  So, at the risk of seeming greedy, we would love it if you could return to see us.

Again, from all of us, thank you very much for what you did for us and what you are doing for our community.

Sincerely,

Erin E. Brewer, M.D., M.P.H.

Director, Center for Community Health, Medical Director, Office of Public Health,Assistant State Health Officer, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals”

I am posting this quote to remind any of you who might be just checking us out – this acupuncture stuff really works! In the aftermath of severe mental trauma, a simple protocol of five needles in each ear, administered to groups of people sitting together in silence, facilitates a powerful healing that helps people to put their lives and communities back together.

Veterans returning from overseas are waking up to the shock of PTSD. This is an old disease. They used to call it “shell shocked”, a World War II vet reminded me. Stephen Crane’s “The Red Badge of Courage” gives a glimpse of what “shell shocked” meant during the Civil War.

According to a RAND report released in April 2008, over 18 percent of troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan–nearly 300,000 troops–have symptoms of post-traumatic stress PTSD or major depression. At the same time, about 19 percent of service members reported that they experienced a possible traumatic brain injury. And let us not forget: millions of Americans belong to the families of these servicemen and servicewomen. Spouses, children, parents, siblings, and unmarried partners of military personnel are all being adversely affected by the stress and strain of the current military campaign.

The tremendous number of people affected makes it impossible for the military to respond adequately to the mental health needs in its greater community. For example, according to the RAND study, only 43 percent of troops reported ever being evaluated by a physician for their head injuries. Moreover, returning combat veterans suffering from depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are not routinely seeking the mental health treatment they need. RAND also reports that only 53 percent of service members with PTSD or depression sought help over the past year.

This is the primary goal of Seattle Acupuncturists for Veterans (SAV) – to bring the proven healing potential of acupuncture to these individuals struggling with PTSD, and to offer them an empowering healing modality – an alternative to pills – that holds the promise of restoring their hope and emotional balance again.

There is another important goal of SAV though, and that is, to prepare a response team capable of offering the kind of emergency intervention that AWB managed in Louisiana, should a catastrophe of Katrina-like proportions strike the Pacific Northwest.  And that is precisely what scientists and government leaders are urging us to get ready for, saying: “it is not a question of if a major earthquake will occur, but when.”

What can we do? Get ready. Store food and water. Plan for power outages. Make contingency plans. Learn more here. Get to know your neighbors. Build community, and support first responder organizations like SAV who will be mobilizing team members to quickly and effectively implment community wide solutions to help alleviate the inevitable mental health crisis (i.e. major PTSD) crisis which will ensue.

To learn more about SAV and how you can contribute, please visit our group on Facebook, or email Serena or myself (info@communichi.org)

In peace and healing,

Jordan