Driver's ed to cope with PTSD

This is an excellent article about the challenges people with PTSD face while driving, and what one VA hospital is doing to help:

Palo Alto's VA Hospital offers driver's ed to cope with PTSD

Smartphone helps patients track their moods

Are you more anxious today than you were yesterday? More or less sad? Tired? Worried? A new smartphone app can help you track these feelings from day to day, charting the results for either yourself or you and your therapist.

The T2 Mood Tracker, available for Android smartphones, tracks the user's mood and general well-being. You can track how you're feeling each day:

...then use the app to see how your mood and emotions are changing over time:

In addition to adding a number value to their emotions, the user can also add notes about how they are feeling on a certain day.

The categories themselves change a bit depending on if the patient is monitoring stress, depression, brain injury, PTSD, or general health.

The free program was developed for and released by the Department of Defense to help service members and vets, who, statistically, are using their phones more than their laptops.

Perry Bosmajian, the psychologist who helped to develop the Mood Tracker, told the News Tribune: "The very first question a doctor or a therapist asks is 'How have you been doing since I saw you last?' Everything that follows is based on that answer. With this, it's all documented, how you're feeling."

Click the links above to find out more. And if you've used the T2 Mood Tracker, comment below and let everyone know what you think!

Yoga for PTSD: A primer for practioners

Yoga can be of tremendous help to many people with PTSD. It teaches relaxation techniques, mindfulness, and how to remain calm in a stressful world.

This article over at The Listening Blog lists presents a very good primer on how and why yoga can benefit PTSDers. It's primarily written for the yoga teacher, but if you're considering yoga yourself, this might be a good place to read up on its benefits.

Heroes: Vet crossing US barefoot to call attention to PTSD

Now here's a man who believes in his cause. 60-year-old Vietnam vet Ron Zaleski is planning to walk across America -- barefoot -- to call attention to the need for PTSD counseling for military personnel.

Philadelphia's The Reporter website has a news story and video about the walk:
Vet crossing US barefoot for his comrades

You can also visit Zaleski's website and sign his petition at thelongwalkhome.org