Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects more than 7 million US adults in a given year. It’s triggered by a traumatic event and may cause flashbacks, anxiety, sleep disruptions, and other symptoms.
What Causes PTSD?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, events that can lead to PTSD include "violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, combat, and other forms of violence."
Research shows that a form of meditation known as mindfulness can significantly relieve the symptoms of PTSD.
Research is finding that no matter what contributed to PTSD, mindfulness meditation leads to improvements in stress-hormone levels, better sleep, a calmer demeanor, and a motivation to resume enjoyable activities.
A recent meta-analysis of four randomized controlled trials involving 768 participants showed that mindfulness meditation is effective for PTSD caused by different reasons. Individuals included sexual assault and other interpersonal violence survivors, accident and disaster survivors, and those with combat exposure.
Research on nurses with PTSD has also been done and mindfulness meditation with this population also shows similar positive results. Nurses, especially those in intensive care units and emergency rooms, are at a higher risk of developing PTSD.
Mindfulness sessions—which may include stretching, balancing, and deep breathing exercises while focusing on awareness of the body’s movements, sensations, and surroundings—lead to much higher levels of cortisol. PTSD symptoms also dropped significantly.
Research suggests that people with PTSD frequently exhibit lower basal cortisol levels and elevated corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), reflecting dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
