Music As Medicine: Potential Cure For PTSD In the Military

Perhaps, you've found that exercising or cleaning the house is much easier when listening to catchy pop music? Or maybe the quality of reading and writing is higher when you have an orchestral instrumental playing in the background? It does appear to many of us that a certain soundtrack can ease the task at hand.

Music therapy has been proven to be effective in treating numerous medical disorders such as amnesia, heart disease, stroke, and dementia. The roots of music therapy can be traced back to the US Army, specifically in 1945 when music was used for reconditioning among recovering service members who were in Army hospitals.

"Music therapy is a dynamic treatment method for service members recovering from the invisible wounds of war," says Hannah Bronson, one of the authors of a new paper titled 'Music Therapy Treatment of Active Duty Military: An Overview of Intensive Outpatient and Longitudinal Care Programs'. Published in the journal Music Therapy Perspectives, the study highlights how music rebuilds damaged neural connections and aids the release of dopamine to help service members who suffer from traumatic brain injury and PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).

By significantly improving patient outcome and survival rates, music and other creative arts have become increasingly popular in recent years for the treatment of combat-related psychological injuries. Experts have also backed the power of rhythm in treating people with attention disorders.

Brain.fm is an app that provides brain-stimulating music backed by scientific research and a patented AI engine. The software, in collaboration with music composers, offers different kinds of 'sessions' based on what listeners are looking for - Focus sessions, relaxation sessions or sleep sessions.

On 20 March 2018, the company announced that they have received a grant of $225,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF). With recognition from the government, the company will conduct research to approve their Focus sessions as a therapeutic tool for those diagnosed with ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) or even those who don't meet the criteria but do suffer from inattention.

In simple terms, ADDitude Magazine explains how music builds focus by providing a sense of structure to the mind. "Music is rhythm, rhythm is structure, and structure is soothing to an ADHD brain struggling to regulate itself to stay on a linear path," author Anni Layne Rodgers writes.

To investigate the link between brain oscillations and behavior, researchers from McGill University released a study based on audio entrainment, demonstrating how the brain's rhythmic activity could be manipulated to improve performance. The study titled 'Selective Entrainment of Theta Oscillations in the Dorsal Stream Causally Enhances Auditory Working Memory Performance' was published on 23 March 2017 in the scientific journal Cell.

This study is one among many from the science-backed research that Brain.fm is based on. The company expressed hope that the Focus sessions, which impact neural oscillations to aid sustained attention, could one day become a non-invasive replacement for ADHD medication.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/music-as-medicine-potential-cure-for-ptsd-in-military-adhd/

Catch everyone later

Hmmm, you have to be careful with music though. Anything dirge-like can really put someone on a downer if they're already depressed. Some people with anxiety and PTSD might have difficulty listening to any kind of music because they might be sensitive to noise and/or the music might inadvertently bring back bad memories.

I believe the jury is still out on PTSD.  A working definition of causes is provided by Activebeat:

Events that cause the individual to fear for personal life and wellbeing—such as a car collision or other accident, a physical or sexual assault, long term abuse, torture, a natural disaster, living in a war zone, or life-altering experiences like the death of a loved one—can all spur the following PTDS symptoms…
http://www.activebeat.com/your-health/the-signs-and-symptoms-of-ptsd/?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=bing&utm_campaign=AB_BNG_US_MOBI-AutoSearch&utm_content=o_c_74285862937323&cus_widget=kwd-74285832439579:loc-190&utm_term=ptsd%20__&cus_teaser=&msclkid=cf16716899211ed077622bdf26f8aa3f

or,

The common causes of PTSD include war, rape, terrorism, physical assault, and any threat of death or serious injury. The symptoms of PTSD have a very wide range and typically start within 3 months of the “stressor”. A stressor is the triggering event that causes PTSD, or causes the symptoms of it.
http://www.activebeat.com/health-news/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-causes-and-coping-mechanisms/

It's symptoms include physical pain, nightmares and flashbacks, depression or anxiety, withdrawal, avoidance, repression, emotional numbing, hyper-arousal, imitability, and guilt/shame.  Aren't these common personality manifestations, under varying conditions we are expected to experience in nature?  PTSD, it seems, is just nature coping with everyday life.

I find that juries are not very interested in PTSD, except where there has been a good enough PR campaign to convince the average member of the public.  For example, I've found that for some reason if you are a veteran you can believably have PTSD, but juries are less sympathetic for rape victims.  I think that juries have a hard time singling out individual life experiences and saying this cause PTSD, but that does not.  It boils down to who has the best PR campaign.  Veterans groups have made a good public case for those returning from overseas battles (even when they were not in battle), but victims of rape or violent crimes have no such organized voice.

It goes without saying that if there's no problem, there's no need for a cure.

Original Quill wrote:I believe the jury is still out on PTSD.  A working definition of causes is provided by Activebeat:

Events that cause the individual to fear for personal life and wellbeing—such as a car collision or other accident, a physical or sexual assault, long term abuse, torture, a natural disaster, living in a war zone, or life-altering experiences like the death of a loved one—can all spur the following PTDS symptoms…
http://www.activebeat.com/your-health/the-signs-and-symptoms-of-ptsd/?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=bing&utm_campaign=AB_BNG_US_MOBI-AutoSearch&utm_content=o_c_74285862937323&cus_widget=kwd-74285832439579:loc-190&utm_term=ptsd%20__&cus_teaser=&msclkid=cf16716899211ed077622bdf26f8aa3f

or,

The common causes of PTSD include war, rape, terrorism, physical assault, and any threat of death or serious injury. The symptoms of PTSD have a very wide range and typically start within 3 months of the “stressor”. A stressor is the triggering event that causes PTSD, or causes the symptoms of it.
http://www.activebeat.com/health-news/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-causes-and-coping-mechanisms/

It's symptoms include physical pain, nightmares and flashbacks, depression or anxiety, withdrawal, avoidance, repression, emotional numbing, hyper-arousal, imitability, and guilt/shame.  Aren't these common personality manifestations, under varying conditions we are expected to experience in nature?  PTSD, it seems, is just nature coping with everyday life.

I find that juries are not very interested in PTSD, except where there has been a good enough PR campaign to convince the average member of the public.  For example, I've found that for some reason if you are a veteran you can believably have PTSD, but juries are less sympathetic for rape victims.  I think that juries have a hard time singling out individual life experiences and saying this cause PTSD, but that does not.  It boils down to who has the best PR campaign.  Veterans groups have made a good public case for those returning from overseas battles (even when they were not in battle), but victims of rape or violent crimes have no such organized voice.

It goes without saying that if there's no problem, there's no need for a cure.

I don't know PTSD feels like, but I gather it's more than the kind of excessive rumination that people with depression or anxiety indulge in. I would think there are ways to help themselves such as mindfulness, distracting themselves with other things, reminding themselves that flashbacks are just memories, etc. I think music is a wonderful distraction and can lift someone up, but it has to be the right kind for them.

Northern soul always works for me. It's probably because it doesn't have "deep" lyrics, it has a good beat, and it's accompanied by a kind of dance which requires stamina.

Music is always a mood-maker. That’s what it’s for.

Music and smells, they can both whisk you off somewhere.....depends what they are as to where you are whisked off to though.

Syl wrote:Music and smells, they can both whisk you off somewhere.....depends what they are as to where you are whisked off to though.

Yeah, the smell of dog shit never takes me anywhere good.

eddie wrote:

Syl wrote:Music and smells, they can both whisk you off somewhere.....depends what they are as to where you are whisked off to though.

Yeah, the smell of dog shit never takes me anywhere good.

True, but certain smells like certain music can transport you to wondrous places.

I can see how music would help with any sort of depression or PTS.

eddie wrote:Music is always a mood-maker. That’s what it’s for.

Yes, but it can change someone's mood for the worse.

Raggamuffin wrote:

eddie wrote:Music is always a mood-maker. That’s what it’s for.

Yes, but it can change someone's mood for the worse.

I’m pretty certain that for PSTD sufferers, they’ll be careful not to play any Adele or Dido.

eddie wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

eddie wrote:Music is always a mood-maker. That’s what it’s for.

Yes, but it can change someone's mood for the worse.

I’m pretty certain that for PSTD sufferers, they’ll be careful not to play any Adele or Dido.

I think for PSTD it could be more complex than that, a certain Staccato or anything might be a trigger

Redgum's "I was only 19" which talks about PSTD after Vietnam
the line "and why the Channel 7 chopper still chills me to my feet"