A study was conducted to show the effectiveness of mindful meditation on the average person. Fifteen healthy people participated and none of them had prior meditation experience. The training was spread over four days with each session lasting 20 minutes.

They found that after each session, every participant’s anxiety dropped between 15-22%, suggesting that meditation activates higher functioning of the PFC and ACC. Thus, meditation is postulated to regulate emotions by stabilizing the attentional processes, allowing one to detach from affective appraisals and having the individual remain in the present moment.

Anxiety itself stems from several mechanisms of the brain and it occurs when one has the inability to govern ruminative cognitive thoughts, or rather, having excessive self-focus on one’s distress rather than finding solutions. This is associated with a decreased executive-level brain activity in the bilateral prefrontal cortex, PFC (regulates behavior, cognitive, and emotional functioning), and the anterior cingulate cortex, ACC (plays a major role in decision making and processing emotions).

The cognitive control of ruminative thoughts is mediated by the PFC and ACC.In other words, the brain creates a sense of fear due to uncertainty, and instead of thinking rationally towards a non-threatening situation, it blows it out of proportion.

Archaeologists believe that meditation dates back to sometime between 3,500 – 5,000 BCE, thanks to a wall art that was found in the Indus Valley. In the art, people were depicted in meditation-like postures, sitting with their legs crossed, back straight, and hands resting on their knees.

People of different religions and cultures have cultivated a meditation practice for hundreds of years. It is now also becoming mainstream here in Western society.

Mindfulness and healing sometimes seem to be cases of easier said than done, however. Avoidance tactics often feel the most secure to many, even those without PTSD. To avoid the recurring experiences of PTSD, some turn to abusing drugs and alcohol, as substance abuse can both numb the symptoms and distract the suffering individuals.

Drug addiction help can be a solution that can provide strategies and holistic therapies. Such assistance can teach those struggling with addiction how to prevent avoidance behaviors and achieve self-empowerment.

PTSD is a phenomenon that is still being researched today. There are methods that can be taught to help people address and treat this illness.

Substance abuse and other avoidance tactics can be means to postponing the effects of PTSD, but they are not solutions. Therapeutic treatments, counseling, and proper medication are better tools to assist those who suffer and teach them proper strategies to overcome PTSD. Such tools can help them actively confront the condition, not passively avoid it.