Army to Test ‘Power Dreaming’ to Combat PTSD-Related Nightmares
- Posted on October 21, 2011 at 9:43pm by
Liz Klimas
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The U.S. Army recently awarded a contracting firm a nearly half a million dollar contract to support its “Power Dreaming Project.”
Wired Danger Room reports the following scenario that the Army hopes to begin testing next here to help soldiers suffering with PTSD:
A soldier tries to sleep. But he is not safe in his dreams. Jolted awake by a nightmare, the combat veteran fumbles in the dark for his 3-D glasses.
He puts them on. Around him are the faces of people whom he trusts. They fight the darkness with him. The soldier’s re-lived this scene in his head and the laboratory over and over again, until it has become reassuringly familiar. The soldier knows that his pixelated friends will take him away from these troubled dreams. When the scene is over, he takes off his goggles and looks around him. The soldier is home.
The research for this sort of therapy will take place at the Naval Hospital Bremerton, Wash. According to the National Center for PTSD, run through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, while only 5 percent of the general population complain of nightmares, the number jumps to 52 percent for combat veterans.
This new research is a similar build off of what the National Center for PTSD calls Imagery Rehersal Therapy:
In IRT, the person who is having nightmares, while awake, changes how the nightmare ends so that it no longer upsets them. Then the person replays over and over in their minds the new dream with the non-scary ending. Research shows that this type of treatment can reduce how often nightmares occur.
Wired has more:
The hope is that these “power dreams” can be watched from laptops and “home training and 3-D goggles work to gradually enhance the strength of these new neurological images,” according to the presentation that outlines the program’s aims.
The project is another twist on biofeedback therapy, in which a PTSD-sufferer is fed real-time data on his physical stress levels so that he can be cued to calm down. If he successfully brings down his heart rate and anxiety levels, he may be rewarded with visual cues. One example of this brain-wave therapy is in use to heal troubled veterans.
The problem with existing biofeedback methods is that many patients aren’t able to easily call up imaginary scenarios in their heads that will cue them to relax. So this experiment hopes to get soldiers to custom-design scenes that they can play back to themselves.
The computer program for soldiers to build out imaginary worlds and avatars on will be based on the virtual world Second Life. It will allow dream sequences to be custom designed “to develop physio-emotional states to counteract the reactive stress response inherent in trauma memories.”
Wired states soldiers will use a program called Second Life to customize their dream worlds. Wired also notes, that this is not the sequel script to Inception.
This story has been updated for clarity.
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Comments (62)
pavnvet
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 10:50amAs someone that has PTSD, the nightmares are only part of the problem. This story sounds like it is the only symptom that PTSD sufferers have. This will do nothing for anxiety or panic attacks, trying to get to sleep in the first place, being hyper vigilant, anger management, flash backs, exaggerated startle response, poor social interaction and a host of other symptoms.
As another commentator said, the VA is great about giving out pills. They are getting better though, not too long ago they would hospitalize you and you would learn the thorazine shuffle. Now they have Vet Centers where one can receive supportive therapy. The shrinks at the VA can be good or bad, just like in the outside world, it depends on the individual practitioner.
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 11:40amfor my ptsd, instead of drugs I did emdr therapy and horse therapy. I was an equestrienne prior to ptsd and am able now to help others with the use of my horses. these dreams are brutal but the emdr really helped.
Report Post »madjaam
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 1:22pmTry the Patriot Outreach meditation – “Coping Strategies” you will be amazed at how easy and effective it is. http://www.patriotoutreach.org/
Report Post »Valrobex
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 8:36pmGlad you connected with the Vet Center. For those who don’t know, Vet Centers are run by Vets for other veterans. Most of the therapists are combat vets who have “been there, done that.” I strongly encourage the military folks I work with to connect with the Vet Centers. They are usually a better alternative than the VA.
Report Post »LDSmommy
Posted on October 23, 2011 at 5:24amPavnvet-I know it sounds bad, but thanks for the funny memory about the “Thorazine shuffle”. My dad had awful panic attacks. The stigma of it was pretty rough for him, too. Take a military guy and watch him reduced to a terrified mess-not good for the ego. This was “back in the day”, they tried electroshock and a host of other crazy things. The greatest time of his life was in the 80′s. They gave him a anti-anxiety drug that didn’t dope him up during an attack, but stopped them from happening. He was a new man and enjoyed the rest of his life.
Report Post »You are right on target about taking care of all of the symptoms, but any advance is great. Now, if only the punks that didn’t see combat would stop using PTSD to get disability. Sadly, there’s a LOT of that going on.
LiveforFreedom
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 10:13amAnother waste of money, they have given out more pills for head injuries, I know at one time I was taking 60 pills three times a day, for T.B.I. and P.T.S.D. they love pills, they have a pill for everything, they give you a pill so you can take a pill!!!! Give us T.H.C and we wouldn’t need all the other pills!!
Report Post »cayenne523
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 10:12amSo the VA is brainwashing soliders. Sounds like our government.
Report Post »Survivor101
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 9:30amThe VA is terrible…on occasion they can hit the mark, but rarely meet the standards. My exwife was a VA nurse and the horror stories are very real. I sought help a few times and it was amazing what I encountered. I will stick to my life as it is.
Report Post »BOspreadnwealth
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 9:00amI’d like to know how many in the military that are diagnosed with PTSD are women and how many are men. What are the percentages?
Report Post »Valrobex
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 8:28pmBased upon my psychological work with members from all branches, the vast majority who suffer with PTSD are men. Even though there are many women deployed into combat zones most of them are support personnel that stay inside the wire. It is true the enemy fires into the encampments but compared to the dangers outside the wire, the women tend to not experience PTSD as much as the men.
Report Post »cdcats8
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 5:33amAnything to help our vets. We are already programmed by Hollywood with all the radical and violent movies they produce. Let these folks help the vets.
Report Post »Kraig
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 4:45amBeing afraid of this and calling it brainwashing or government mind control is as ignorant as believing tthat a person can be hypnotized into doing something against their will. One thing I like about this is that the person being treated seems to be in charge from start to finish – designing their own program and only putting in what they are comfortable with. This is really a clever use of classical conditioning. You associate the happy thoughts with the goggles and create a habbit to have the person put on the goggles when their stressed and the stress turns to happier thoughts. Not unlike a child hugging a Teddy bear or a lover soothing you after a bad experience. The referrences to Jacobs ladder” and such nonsense is laughable. Therapists simply don’t have that kind of power. If we did, believe me, I’d make a whole lot more money! Lol.
Report Post »Kraig
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 5:10amSorry for all the spelling problems. I typed it on an iPhone with autocorrect. Also, for some reason I can only see the middle of the paragraph I am typing on my iPhone. The words on either side of the page are not visible until I post. So I can’t proof read. Anyone else have this problem? I wonder if the Blaze is aware of this glitch.
Report Post »OneofMany
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 12:22amStay FAR away from “MIND” therapy… I have a better idea… TRUST JESUS, the one who made you, the one who Loves you, the one who Knows you…. it’s free and He works miracles! You don’t have to be a soldier to have PTSD, but Jesus cures hearts and minds like no other… Read Mike MacIntosh’s story…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EasgXBvO5E4
Report Post »Kraig
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 5:06amI’m with you. Faith in Christ can cure anything. So, does that mean we should not take antibiotics or ibuprofen or go to counseling when we need it? Nonbeliever and believers alike have Ben cured through medical breakthroughs and I believe Christ approves of good in the world. Once there was a priest stranded on the roof of his church due to a flood. A man in a raft floated by and asked him to get in. “no thank you” said the priest, “I have faith. I prayed and I know the lord will save me”. The water continued to rise until he was waist deed before another raft through him a rescue line. “no thank you,” said the priest once again, “use the space in your raft for someone else. I know the lord will save me!”. Finally, as he was treading water, a helicopter hovered overhead and dropped him a ladder. The priest stayed firm in his faith and once again sent the rescuers on their way. About 30 minutes later, the priest stood in front of the Lord in complete dismay. “Lord, I don’t mean to complain, but why didn’t you spare my life? Why didn’t you save me? I never questioned and kept my faith to the end.”. To this, the lord replied, “My son. Because of your prayers and great faith I sent you to rafts and a rescue helicopter. What more did you want?”
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 11:51amChristian therapists outside the VA are ery very helpful. I did the emdr therapy with a Christian therapist. God puts good people ready to help in our path, he doesn’t expect us to fight these battles alone.
Report Post »lionshield
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 12:15amI see that the army is findly taking the christian-prophets to heart in what we have told them about
Report Post »the dreams people have in miltary that they are cleaning-dreams to bringing healing to all
the soldiers of war. this therapy will work to bring healing to the soliders and families.
a many-thanks to army-brass for really listing to a former soldier and true christian @ prophet of God. truely; the army will be well reward by our creater for their work in healing the soldiers in this way. and we will all be bless by your work. God blessing to all soldiers !
donh2
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 12:14amHere is the trailer for the Power Dream program …>>> http://youtu.be/WFMLGEHdIjE
Report Post »garyM
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 12:01amscaldisnoel I have experince and much info to back my assumptions up on that I won’t discuss. The VA is not perfect is an understatement!
Report Post »donh2
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 11:59pmBIG mistake. Jarred Loughner was experimenting with power dreaming. This program is going to create a breed of phsychopaths.
Report Post »garyM
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 11:46pmRandy….Look up the stats on how many vets kill themselves daily over PTSD, goggle it and then look at how many that has died from the Vietnam war since the 58000 was lost in combat. By 2015, not many Vietnam Vets will be left on earth according to the stats! Average age of a Vietnam Vet is probably 63-64! Most of them have other diseases and conditions from Agent Orange which causes all kinds of cancer and heart disease and diabetes. All this sacrifice for a season until the democrats started protesting for a pull out and made all the sacrifice in vain! By the way a democrat president started the war, another escalate it and one GOP president tried to win it by bombing North Vietnam but was stopped by yea you guessed it, the democrats!
Report Post »garyM
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 11:32pmThe VA has already killed thousands with their medication and now they are coming upp with more BS! 3D glasses my butt!
Report Post »knighttemplar999
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 11:51pmI agree, anyone remember the movie Jacobs Ladder? More likely there will be subliminal messages for the vet to turn into some sort of Manchurian candidate at the appropriate time.
Report Post »scaldisnoel
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 11:52pmGarym, there is much that we don’t understand about how the mind works. While this treatment may not work well, it is possible that these techniques may hold great promise. Just because the VA isn’t perfect, and may at times have caused very serious problems, you shouldn‘t just assume that this isn’t valid therapy.
Report Post »scaldisnoel
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 11:53pmKNIGHTTEMPLAR999, paranoid much?
Report Post »Supercalafragalisticexpialidotious
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 11:22pmI’ve done the thing where a dream ends badly and you go back and change it before properly waking up. It‘s interesting that they’re using this as a healing technique! I think it’s a great idea, it gives you a sense of calm and control when you go back and re-write the scary ending. It emphasizes that it’s just a dream, that you have ultimate control over you own thoughts- when enough effort is applied, anyway. I imagine it would take a whole lot of work in some cases though, and am not pretending to have experience with PSTD- just your normal nightmares here. :)
Report Post »Valrobex
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 11:12pmRandy, I do a lot of psychological work with our military personnel. PTSD is very real. I could bore you with the physiological and psychological data that substantiates its reality, but I suspect you’re not interested in facts. You’re entitled to your erroneous opinion. But don’t dismiss the tremendous sacrifices our military people have made. They’ve been in constant combat for 7 to 10 years. They entered combat at age 19 or 20 and are now in their late 20′s. All some of them have known as adults is warfare.
Prior to our voluntary military the most combat experience any WWII, Korean, or Vietnam veteran had was 18 months, unless they chose to return to combat. Until the 20th century, war was a part time endeavor. Combat began in late Spring after the crops were planted and ended in the early Autumn to bring in the crops. They’d hang around during the Winter and repeat. So no one was in combat for more than a few months at a time. Read your history. WW I initiated warfare non-stop 24-7/356 and the phenomenon of “shell shock” (now known as PTSD) showed up. Human beings are simply not designed to be under the non-stop continuous stress of combat & warfare
Your angry dismissal of a truly significant condition simply displays your ignorance. The price these young men and women have paid for you to hold your stupid opinion is very great. You owe them an apology. Educate yourself before you spout off.
Report Post »scaldisnoel
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 11:19pmValrobex, you hit the nail on the head. Any further response from Randy, short of an apology, will not be worth acknowledging.
Report Post »Pydge
Posted on October 23, 2011 at 2:44pmI love your writing—yes—critical incidents can be so devastating and unending: like a motorcyclist facing following a truck where they throw 55 gallon drums off the back and you have to maneuver to stay on the road and stay upright….This having to constantly adjust to one shocking event after another is stringing a necklace with events where the weight is carried around the neck. Chokes ya.
Anyone in combat or other bloody awful critical incidents for fire, LE, ICCU and ER nurses—-the list also includes victims of torture and rape and child maltreatment.
When waking up from a nightmare reaching for 3D glasses is like reaching for sanity. GETTING THERE, remembering to reach for the glasses—ahhh—that would be a problem when the mind is in lock and loaded setting. RE-SETTING the response to simply REACH for the glasses with the memory of WHY you are reaching for the glasses—well—that’s more than half the battle right there. Light therapy works because new organic tracks are laid down in the brain. Gotta couple the behavior with a new behavior—that is the secret.
Wish I could get $1/2 billion for the work I do—always a pricetag.
Report Post »Lamarr01
Posted on October 23, 2011 at 4:55pm@VALROBEX
The military knows how to measure and analyse just about everything. Soldiers respond to stress differently but eventually it causes permanent damage to the brain and nervous system. Are there some kind of tests that can be used to show when a soldier is reaching a critical state?
Report Post »Valrobex
Posted on October 23, 2011 at 11:41pm@ LAMARRO1 Our service personnel are tested with all sorts of written tests before deployment to establish a base line that can be compared to after the individual returns. Should the service member‘s Command suspect something’s wrong, the service member is usually referred to follow-up testing. This is particularly important if Traumatic Brain Injury is suspected.
At times they have to be ordered into treatment. A lot of our enlisted personnel and their non-commissioned officers are fearful of seeking help believing that it will adversely effect their military career. To my knowledge there is no regular ongoing post deployment testing to “monitor” all combat vets to determine if he or she is deteriorating.
There may be individual Commanders who order ongoing testing for their personnel but I don’t believe it is military policy. Many times I have been requested by Command to “mingle” with the combat vets to identify any “early warning signs” of psych problems. Command knows this is a problem and recognizes they are not trained in what to look for. They only recognize the really bad situations that can be determined using common sense.
Report Post »scaldisnoel
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 11:08pmRandy, What do gay soldiers have to do with this discussion?
Report Post »scaldisnoel
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 11:05pmThat is a great commercial, but what does it have to do with my point that soldiers having difficulty with nightmares because of trauma are not part of the nation of pansies?
Report Post »coolshopp
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:53pm@Randy Ever heard of Shell Shock? That’s what our grandparents had during WWII, and I don’t think many of them were pansies. Also PSTD???? PLEASE The Blaze make a better effort to proof read your posts and their headlines.
Report Post »eric344
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:50pmPTSD! Not PSTD.
Report Post »BellaMia7
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:46pmEMDR works well for PTSD. It doesn’t erase any memories, but lowers the emotional intensity associated with intense memories.
Report Post »Honest_E
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:35pmPTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.. not PSTD Post Stress Traumatic Disorder. That’s the first thing that caught my eye about this article. Power Dreaming? If it helps our troops… that’s a good thing.
Report Post »randy
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:16pmSO, what is it, PSTD or PTSD? you’re flip flopping throughout the story Liz
Report Post »randy
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:05pmMen today are freaking pansies.
Report Post »Suck it up and move on!
USAMEDIC3008
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:11pmRANDY
Report Post »Have you been in combat?????????
randy
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:15pmNope…. But my Father, two uncles and two grandfathers have.
Report Post »None of them needed a shrink.
So don’t even go there with me.
scaldisnoel
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:15pmRandy I pray for God to bless you with compassion.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:19pmBad Experiences and Nightmares… can be over come by programming yourself… upon what you should or should have done. I can do it. But, here, I think we are into Government ReEducation and Brain Washing techniques: “Obama is your friend; Obama will not hurt you”! I agree… Suck it up!
Report Post »randy
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:24pm@SCALDISNOEL
Report Post »Sorry don’t need your prayers. I’m fine with my opinion.
Men and women can’t seem to function in this day and age without some kind of drug or therapy.
Like I said, a nation of pansies lately.
scaldisnoel
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:27pmBad Experiences and Nightmares… can be over come by programming yourself… upon what you should or should have done. I can do it. But, here, I think we are into Government ReEducation and Brain Washing techniques: “Obama is your friend; Obama will not hurt you”! I agree… Suck it up!
Lukerw, What does this have to do with Obama? Soldiers experience trauma. Some deal with it well, others do not. What is wrong with making an effort to help those soldiers who do not? If someone develops a way to help bring peace to those who keep us safe, why would you oppose it?
Report Post »scaldisnoel
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:27pmLukerw, What does this have to do with Obama? Soldiers experience trauma. Some deal with it well, others do not. What is wrong with making an effort to help those soldiers who do not? If someone develops a way to help bring peace to those who keep us safe, why would you oppose it?
Report Post »scaldisnoel
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:42pmRandy, I agree with you that this has become a nation of pansies, but suggesting that soldiers who have difficulties with nightmares because of the horrors that they have witnessed is a symptom of a nation of pansies shows that you have no ability to understand how people react differently to real trauma. Your callousness towards our soldiers borders on the bizarre.
Report Post »Supercalafragalisticexpialidotious
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 11:33pmRandy, a few generations before your grandad, the country went without antibiotics, and more people died of overexertion from working in the fields. Women had to clean all the clothing by hand.
I could go on and on. My grandfather’s life (on either side)- and yeah, though I have tons of military in my family I’m not going to pretend to know what that really means, having never been in the military myself, BTW- is not the life I would want to live.
Better is what we want for the next generation, not worse. That means decreasing suicides and failure to live life effectively due to PTS, not ignoring the problem. You’ve got a chip on your shoulder- rest assured you’ll probably get the chance someday, in some way, to see if all that bravado is earned or not.
Report Post »pavnvet
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 10:35amRandy, you are a horses ass! Your statement goes beyond being ignorant I served in Vietnam and suffer from PTSD and it is not about “sucking it up.” Your grandfather and uncles served? That is like saying my dad was an airplane pilot so I know all about flying. A very accepted definition of PTSD is the normal reaction to a very abnormal event.
How you are impacted by these events has much to do with the age at exposure. I was 19 watching men die and being maimed. I sucked it up for 40 years, going through multiple jobs and relationships never understanding why I seemed to march to a different drummer. I finally crashed to the point where the pain of ending it all seemed the only solution. That is when I learned I had PTSD and it made sense. Sorry pal, you are just wrong.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on October 22, 2011 at 3:48pm@SCALDISNOEL
Report Post »If you do not think that Obama would like to declare Martial Law and use the Military against his opposition… you are an Obama Supporter!
@PAVNVET
Walk the Walk… to Talk the Talk. War is Chaos… and is a suspension of Laws & Rules. If you go into it… you should expect the Worse: Death! There are just different kinds of people… some who cannot handle the experience… and those who Suck It Up and Move On. Sorry, Pal… I did my time too.
Large Eagle
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 9:50pmWatch out for messing with the mind
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on October 21, 2011 at 10:00pmProblem is — these people have minds that their past has already messed with.
Report Post »