They called it “stress response syndrome” at the time, but what has plagued the life of a Vietnam veteran for the past 45 years is what we now know as PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He is finally finding real relief for the first time from a very surprising source.
Retired Master Sergeant Jess Johnson served in the U.S. Army for 30 years as a Green Beret, followed by numerous missions even after retirement, including ten missions into Iraq.
Johnson began his long career in the U.S. military at the tender age of 18 as a medic serving on the front lines in Vietnam. He served in the 101st Airborne Division as their lead M.A.S.H. medic in charge of triage. Like many soldiers, he saw many unimaginable horrors in the heat of war. And like many soldiers, he has suffered from the effects of PTSD ever since, including nightmares, anger, and inability to sleep.
That is, until a chance meeting about seven months ago that has turned this vet’s world around.
Sgt. Johnson met Dr. Gary Young, founder of Young Living Essential Oils, who told him about the possibilities of the remarkable plant-based oils. The first thing that came to his mind was the question, “Could they help with PTSD?”
Over the years, Johnson has tried to find relief for PTSD through all of the typical means, but the nightmares still continued. He still was unable to sleep for a full eight hours a night. He would typically wake up between 3 and 5 am, which was the time in Vietnam that young Johnson was on radio watch. During radio watch, a soldier had to be on high alert so that, if any situation arose, he could radio for support and wake up his men.
He was a driven man, re-enlisting for more combat duty, pushing himself to be in Special Forces, becoming a Green Beret, and helping other veterans here in the states when he was home, all in the hopes of finding relief for his PTSD symptoms. But none of that has been enough to pull him out of the PTSD or feel that he could live a normal life. But essential oils are making a difference, for the first time in his life.
At a packed Young Living Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, in late June, Sgt. Jess Johnson told his audience:
“I met Gary Young seven months ago — his oils work! For the first time in 45 years, I now sleep a full eight hours and no longer experience the nightmares. So powerful!”
PTSD has only been recognized as a clinical diagnosis since 1980. The Mayo Clinic defines PTSD as “a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.”
Although it is typically associated with veterans of war, PTSD also affects survivors of rape and abuse, accident victims, people impacted by natural disasters, and, perhaps surprisingly, sometimes mothers after giving birth. PTSD can occur after someone has been exposed to a trauma where they felt that they, or someone close to them, were in danger of death or serious injury. Symptoms fall into the following categories, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:
- Re-experiencing of the event, through nightmares, intrusive thoughts, or flashbacks
- Avoidance of things or people that may remind of the event
- Negative alterations in cognition and mood, as in dissociative amnesia, survivor’s guilt, distorted blame of others or self, perception that the self is bad, or detachment
- Increased arousal symptoms – hyper-diligence, sleep disturbances, increased anger or irritability, exaggerated startle response
These symptoms may be present after any traumatic event, but if they last for more than a month, they may lead to a diagnosis of PTSD.
For Master Sgt. Jess Johnson, they have lasted for a lifetime. He tells The Inquisitr that, for many veterans, the symptoms only get worse over time. Time does NOT heal all wounds.
For the first time in 45 years, since Vietnam, he is able to sleep a full eight hours a night, without nightmares from PTSD. Johnson uses frankincense (boswellia carteri) and lavender oils to sleep. He reports that he applies Inner Child and Forgiveness oils to his spine to help him rest as well.
There are specific oils that he uses during the daytime for anxiety and to help him to focus and feel centered: Believe, Valor, Greatest Potential, and Frankincense. When he feels anger rising up, he puts the Young Living frankincense oil under his tongue, saying that it helps greatly. Idaho Blue Spruce is a relatively new oil that he uses every day. It is being studied by clinicians for its apparent ability to affect the emotional state, increasing oxytocin levels, and elevating the mood.
CONTINUE READING AT INQUISITR
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