Download the free Military Service Appreciation Fund brochure, click here
HeartMath Military Service Appreciation Fund
Our military service men and women have given so much of themselves for us. Isn’t it time for us to give back to them.
A Pentagon report released in June 2007 said U.S. troops returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan suffered "daunting and growing" psychological problems: 38% of Army soldiers, 31% of Marines and 49% of National Guard members reported post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression, anxiety and other potentially disabling mental disorders. Report of the Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health – June 2007
Although not all returning soldiers develop PTSD or other mental disorders, most have significant issues returning to normal lives. Everyone has different issues while reintegrating, but common challenges include disassociation, anger, anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, nightmares, inability to stop repeating thought loops and continually replaying traumatic scenarios. Physiological responses include nausea, diarrhea and chronic pain. Many turn to drugs and alcohol to help them cope, which can lead to addiction or cause serious disruption with family members and
self-destructive behavior patterns. Giving returning soldiers the tools they need to recalibrate and connect with their hearts as soon as possible upon their return is critical for minimizing their symptoms and reducing the incidence of PTSD, depression, substance abuse and other debilitating conditions.
A RAND Corporation study reported the following alarming statistics in the spring 2008 release: "Nearly 20 percent of military service members who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan – 300,000 in all – report symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or major depression, yet only slightly more than half have sought treatment."
You Can Help
HeartMath receives several calls a week from military and veterans facilities asking for HeartMath’s stress-management and emotion-regulation programs and technology. That is why we created the HeartMath Military Service Appreciation Fund – so you can get involved personally by helping us fulfill more requests for help.
The money you donate to the HeartMath Military Service Appreciation Fund will be used to provide training programs and technology to military troops, giving them solid solutions for lessening mental, emotional and physical suffering and making it easier for them to transition back into society. Healthcare providers will receive training and technology so they can pass these skills and resources on to the men and women who need care, including those who recently served in combat and noncombatant zones as well as those who are currently deployed.
You can make a big difference in helping stabilize the mental, emotional and physiological condition of our troops by expanding the access they have to the tools that will help them cope with the personal impact of war. HeartMath’s scientifically developed and tested resources can aid in shifting feelings of hopelessness and helplessness to optimism and wisdom and help these individuals achieve heart coherence.
Your contribution, regardless of the amount, will help. Thank you for your care. We look forward to reporting on the programs and services IHM provides because of your generosity.
Call Katherine Toll Free at (866) 221-6339 Or Mail to: Institute of HeartMath 14700 West Park Ave., Initiative for Veterans Boulder Creek, CA 95006
Military service men and women must prepare with countless hours of combat training. Why not prepare them emotionally and mentally with the tools they need to combat the inevitable stress of war? You can help them get ready for deployment and reintegration when they come home.
Here’s What our Military Service Men and Women are Saying:
National Guard Member Thankful for HeartMath
New York National Guard member Jake Kubetz’s greatest fear before deploying to Iraq in 2005 was not physical death, but the sight of fellow soldiers returning from Iraq as emotional basket cases and emotionally empty shells. Fortunately, Kubetz said then, he had HeartMath. "The HeartMath tools have truly made a difference in my life and the lives around me," he said right before deployment. For full story
After returning in 2006, Kubetz said, "Thanks to HeartMath, I made it back in good spirits; it was the best weapon I had over there, and the only one I brought back with me and continue to use. ... The heart tools helped me to readjust to life in the States and the culture shock of coming back. For full story
Quote from Psychologist
Use of the HeartMath emWaves at Veterans Affairs Health Care System: "We have been utilizing the emWave portable HRV units in the treatment of returning OIF/OEF Reservist and National Guard personnel. Our findings indicate that there are dramatic reductions in the level of anxiety and hyperarousal; and significant increases in the degree of emotional regulation and sense of well-being. Without exception, every veteran who has been given the opportunity to train and utilize the emWave feels as though he/she has profited from this particular training."
Quote from Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Use of the emWaves at PTSD Clinic, Veterans Affairs Medical Center: "I use the emWave® PC/Mac (Stress Relief System) to introduce Vietnam Veterans to HeartMath and educate them on the physiological response to stress. They learn how to use the Quick Coherence® technique so they can reorient their negative thoughts and emotions to positive ones and move from low to high coherence. After three to five emWave PC/Mac sessions I introduce the emWave Personal Stress Reliever (handheld) unit, which they use to practice the technique."
How HeartMath is Helping our Military Men and Women:
Some of the facilities we are working with include,
Amputees Center: The emWave technologies are helping amputees learn to control pain, manage emotions and stay balanced through the surgery and recovery process.
Psychiatric Services Facility: Troops returning from Iraq are practicing with the technology to develop skills to help with PTSD, anger, anxiety reintegration issues and the transition process.
Substance Abuse Program: Veterans in the substance abuse program are learning the techniques and practicing with the technologies to learn to manage emotions and change addictive behaviors.
PSTD Clinic: Veterans in support groups are learning the techniques to assist with emotional management, substance abuse issues and recovering from PTSD.
What is PTSD?
The following is from the book Down Range – To Iraq and Back, by Bridget C. Cantrell, Ph.D. and Chuck Dean.
"Trauma induced by these wartime activities can create vulnerability to stress reactions such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (commonly known as PTSD).
PTSD occurs when a person has experienced, witnessed, or has been confronted with a traumatic event, which involved actual or threatened death or serious physical injury to themselves or others. At which some point they responded with intense fear, horror or helplessness." As the book notes, PSTD can happen to anyone: "The very first aspect of PTSD that requires understanding is that it is not a mental illness. It is a normal reaction to the extreme stress encountered during your wartime experiences."
Seeking help, and recognizing the effects of trauma, is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of strength, resilience and wisdom.
The following, also from Down Range To Iraq and Back, are the three groups into which PTSD falls:
Re-experiencing the trauma (nightmares, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts).
Numbing and avoidance of reminders of the trauma (avoidance of situations, thoughts and feelings, etc.).
The HeartMath Military Service Appreciation Fund is very close to my heart. Growing up as a daughter of a Marine general, there were several times as a child my father went to war and came back. I was always sad to see him leave, missed him tremendously while he was gone, but had the deepest heart feelings for him when he returned. As a quiet but perceptive child, I could see the hurt in his eyes when he came home and an occasional tear would run down his cheek when he heard about others still in Vietnam. I learned at an early age that combat does not end when one leaves the battlefield and freedom was not free: It was visible at the family dinner table. I was always hoping that I could make him feel better.
Because my father was a veteran of World War II, Korea and twice in Vietnam – surviving two airplane and one helicopter crashes – as I grew up, I came to understand how fortunate I was. I spend a few minutes each day sending compassion and heart to our military men and women and international situation, hoping one day wars will end, peace will prevail and we will all have a better world to live in. He was and is my hero, as all the military men and women are. —Sara Childre
Research Studies with Military Men and Women in progress:
Effects of HeartMath Intervention and Technologies on Improving Outcomes in Veterans with PTSD: Veterans Medical Center
Empirical Validation of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback as a Treatment to Reduce Stress Reactivity in Combat Veterans with PTSD: Veterans Medical Center
Effects of HeartMath Intervention and Technologies on Improving Outcomes in Homeless Veterans and Veterans with Substance Abuse: Veterans Residential Treatment Center
If you would like to apply for HeartMath Military Service Appreciation Funds, click here for application form. For more information to be a candidate for the HeartMath Military Service Appreciation Fund, send an e-mail to: candidate@heartmath.org; Or Mail to: HeartMath Military Service Appreciation Fund, 14700 West Park Ave., Boulder Creek, CA 95006
Although not all returning soldiers develop PTSD or other mental disorders, most have significant issues returning to normal lives. Everyone has different issues while reintegrating, but common challenges include disassociation, anger, anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, nightmares, inability to stop repeating thought loops and continually replaying traumatic scenarios. Physiological responses include nausea, diarrhea and chronic pain. Many turn to drugs and alcohol to help them cope, which can lead to addiction or cause serious disruption with family members and
self-destructive behavior patterns. Giving returning soldiers the tools they need to recalibrate and connect with their hearts as soon as possible upon their return is critical for minimizing their symptoms and reducing the incidence of PTSD, depression, substance abuse and other debilitating conditions.
You can make a big difference in helping stabilize the mental, emotional and physiological condition of our troops by expanding the access they have to the tools that will help them cope with the personal impact of war. HeartMath’s scientifically developed and tested resources can aid in shifting feelings of hopelessness and helplessness to optimism and wisdom and help these individuals achieve heart coherence.
PTSD occurs when a person has experienced, witnessed, or has been confronted with a traumatic event, which involved actual or threatened death or serious physical injury to themselves or others. At which some point they responded with intense fear, horror or helplessness." As the book notes, PSTD can happen to anyone: "The very first aspect of PTSD that requires understanding is that it is not a mental illness. It is a normal reaction to the extreme stress encountered during your wartime experiences."
