The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a toll on the lives of soldiers and their families and friends.
Although many have lost their lives while serving their country, improved body armor and more advanced medical treatments have kept more wounded soldiers alive than in previous wartime efforts.
When soldiers return home to their previous civilian life, they often face a variety of physical, emotional and mental challenges and problems.
Two major psychological problems, affecting almost 30% of returning soldiers, are post traumatic stress disorder and major depression.
The intense, terrifying and traumatic events they experienced and witnessed can create lasting memories that interfere with normal daily life functioning.
There are some very good and reliable treatments for these two disorders: medications, cognitive behavior therapy, body therapies and body psychotherapy, as well as many other expressive arts therapies and techniques.
However, there is another problem that many returning soldiers are having to cope with, which is not talked about as often and is much less understood by professionals, physicians and psychotherapists, as well as family, friends, coworkers, and other military personnel.
What I am talking about here is Traumatic Brain Injury.
This is a serious medical condition that can cause memory lapses, difficulty connecting thoughts and actions, uncontrolled emotions, and blocked inhibitions.
In a hospital setting, veterans with traumatic brain injury may appear to be hypersexual, self-stimulating and touching others at inappropriate times and in inappropriate ways.
Unlike sexual addictions, compulsions and paraphilias, this is not a sexual behavior problem.
The hypersexuality is resulting from a brain malfunction, preventing or blocking normal inhibitory responses that make socialization possible.
A similar manifestation of inappropriate and excessive sexual expression sometimes occurs in patients with a different brain problem - Alzheimers Disease.
A single bomb blast or multiple concussions can cause trauma to the brain.
In some cases, the brain injury goes undiagnosed until the soldier returns home.
With proper diagnosis and treatment, it may take years to recover from traumatic brain injury.
But if left undiagnosed and untreated, the long term effects can be irreversible.
Certain body therapy methods have been helping countless people to alleviate symptoms and even heal some of the damage that has occurred in the brain.
One such method, craniosacral therapy, assists the body to regulate itself by bringing the craniosacral rhythm back into harmony.
Constrictions in the membranes surrounding the brain and constrictions in the dural tube surrounding the spinal column can be alleviated, allowing the body's natural healing potential to do its work.
If you know someone who has experienced a traumatic brain injury, let them know that help is available.
Medical research continues to uncover new treatment possibilities.
First step is recognizing that there is a problem.
Next step is to get a proper diagnosis.
And then, the sometimes long treatment process can begin.
The sooner the treatment begins, the greater the possibility of partial or even total recovery.
Although many have lost their lives while serving their country, improved body armor and more advanced medical treatments have kept more wounded soldiers alive than in previous wartime efforts.
When soldiers return home to their previous civilian life, they often face a variety of physical, emotional and mental challenges and problems.
Two major psychological problems, affecting almost 30% of returning soldiers, are post traumatic stress disorder and major depression.
The intense, terrifying and traumatic events they experienced and witnessed can create lasting memories that interfere with normal daily life functioning.
There are some very good and reliable treatments for these two disorders: medications, cognitive behavior therapy, body therapies and body psychotherapy, as well as many other expressive arts therapies and techniques.
However, there is another problem that many returning soldiers are having to cope with, which is not talked about as often and is much less understood by professionals, physicians and psychotherapists, as well as family, friends, coworkers, and other military personnel.
What I am talking about here is Traumatic Brain Injury.
This is a serious medical condition that can cause memory lapses, difficulty connecting thoughts and actions, uncontrolled emotions, and blocked inhibitions.
In a hospital setting, veterans with traumatic brain injury may appear to be hypersexual, self-stimulating and touching others at inappropriate times and in inappropriate ways.
Unlike sexual addictions, compulsions and paraphilias, this is not a sexual behavior problem.
The hypersexuality is resulting from a brain malfunction, preventing or blocking normal inhibitory responses that make socialization possible.
A similar manifestation of inappropriate and excessive sexual expression sometimes occurs in patients with a different brain problem - Alzheimers Disease.
A single bomb blast or multiple concussions can cause trauma to the brain.
In some cases, the brain injury goes undiagnosed until the soldier returns home.
With proper diagnosis and treatment, it may take years to recover from traumatic brain injury.
But if left undiagnosed and untreated, the long term effects can be irreversible.
Certain body therapy methods have been helping countless people to alleviate symptoms and even heal some of the damage that has occurred in the brain.
One such method, craniosacral therapy, assists the body to regulate itself by bringing the craniosacral rhythm back into harmony.
Constrictions in the membranes surrounding the brain and constrictions in the dural tube surrounding the spinal column can be alleviated, allowing the body's natural healing potential to do its work.
If you know someone who has experienced a traumatic brain injury, let them know that help is available.
Medical research continues to uncover new treatment possibilities.
First step is recognizing that there is a problem.
Next step is to get a proper diagnosis.
And then, the sometimes long treatment process can begin.
The sooner the treatment begins, the greater the possibility of partial or even total recovery.