Acupuncture, the Chinese practice of using hair thin needles for healing is already championed by many western practitioners as a treatment for physical pain and is now being used within the armed forces as a treatment for mental anguish alongside other eastern practices such as yoga, meditation and tai chi.
Around 30 to 45 percent of soldiers return home with some form of mental health problem, explained Dr. Marcia Valenstein, an associate professor in the university of Michigan Department of Psychiatry and a staff psychiatrist at the Department of Veterans Affairs Center of Excellence in Ann Arbor. 17 percent of U.S veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD, which often causes anger and depression.
In order to try and combat and prevent PTSD a number of programmes across various branches of the military for active duty troops are offering acupuncture and a host of other alternative treatments such as counselling.
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