Health & Wellness newsletter: InterPlay, cell phones and veterans

What is InterPlay?

InterPlay is an active, creative way to unlock the wisdom of the body. InterPlay is easy, fun, and life changing. It is based in a series of incremental "forms" that lead participants to movement and stories, silence and song, ease and amusement. In the process, we discover the wisdom in ourselves and our communities.

InterPlay integrates body, mind, heart and spirit. Life has become so fragmented. InterPlay helps to pull everything back together so we get more of what we want.

Georgia Jean Kaftan, left, practicing the fun of InterPlay.

InterPlay teaches the language and ethic of play in a deep and powerful way. If you are convinced that seriousness is the path to inner wisdom, then you might want to look elsewhere. If you would like to become a "recovering serious person," then InterPlay might be for you.

Georgia Jean Kaftan, a retired attorney, recovering "serious person" and certified InterPlay leader, will facilitate the Nov. 19 and Dec. 3 evening introductions and the Nov. 20 and Dec. 4 afternoon "Revisioning The Dark" InterPlay programs at Lake House. Maybe she'll even talk about how InterPlay changed her. See calendar for specific info

Cell phones

How safe are cell phones? Here's a report about 10 things you can do to reduce the cancer risk of cell phones.

Veterans resources

Veterans Day was last week but every day is an important  day to refocus attention on the sacrifices and needs of those who risked their lives in service to our country. Psychologist Ken Pope offers this list of resources for people in the military, veterans, veterans' families and friends and and professionals who are interested in helping veterans here.

Veterans' wellness study to look at alternative health programs

Men who are veterans who served for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) can help with a well-being study while earning up to $299 for their participation.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison will start a Veteran's Wellness Study at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center. The study will examine the effects of complementary and alternative programs on health and well-being for recently returned veterans.

The study will take place at the the university's Waisman Center in November or December or both months. Depending on the level of their hours of participation, participants can be paid up to $299.

Veterans who are  interested should e-mail at wellness@mailplus.wisc.edu or call (608) 263-0803 to schedule a screening appointment.

(We don't see anything for women veterans, who also served. Maybe next time...)

Welcoming home Wisconsin's Vietnam veterans

A wide-reaching statewide effort to honor Wisconsin Vietnam War Veterans will culminate in a weekend of recognition and celebration of their service and sacrifice for veterans and their families.

This healing news comes from Monica Wahlberg, development officer at the Wisconsin Historical Foundation in Madison. Monica has an interest in veterans' stories and we met last week at Edward Tick's excellent"War and the Soul" retreat at the Siena Center.

The May 21-23, 2010 events – LZ Lambeau: Welcoming Home Wisconsin’s Vietnam Veterans – will feature a special evening celebration inside Green Bay’s Lambeau Field that will honor and thank Wisconsin’s Vietnam Veterans, while offering a warm welcome home that many never received.

Named for the Landing Zones that Vietnam Veterans were often deployed to and inspired by the interviews with Vietnam veterans from the forthcoming Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories documentary project, LZ Lambeau is a partnership of The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, the Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Public Television, along with an extensive group of veterans organizations statewide.

The May 22, 2010 evening event in Lambeau Field will feature special speakers, recognition, music and premiere segments from the Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories documentary.

Other events planned for the weekend include the presence of the Vietnam Moving Wall, opportunities for veterans to reunite with their fellow service men and women, a new original exhibit featuring artifacts, photographs, and other items from the vast Vietnam War collection of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and educational exhibits from the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, a book signing of the Wisconsin Historical Society Press Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories book with co-authors Sarah A. Larsen and Jennifer M. Miller, Vietnam-era military vehicle displays, tailgating and fellowship opportunities and more. Plans also include a cross-state motorcycle ride from La Crosse to Green Bay prior to the weekend events.

Other aspects of the yearlong Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories project include a companion book to the documentary published by the Wisconsin Historical Society, a centralized project Web site, a traveling gallery portrait exhibit, a school curriculum and veteran listening sessions coordinated by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.

Similar in format to the award-winning Wisconsin World War II Stories and Wisconsin Korean War Stories, the Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories documentary and book will allow Wisconsin veterans to tell their stories in their own words, sharing experiences and memories from the war and their return home.

Funding for expanding the programming and educational components of LZ Lambeau and Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories continues. Individual and corporate contributions are welcome.

To learn more about the weekend, to sign up for regular updates and for information about LZ Lambeau, visit here.

Here's a video from the site:

Veterans, trauma and steps toward healing

Years ago, a veteran told me, "I was never really prepared for the reality of war."

As a psychotherapist, I often think about his powerful observation when I work with people who have suffered various kinds of trauma. His comment continues to prove true as I hear stories from people who have been affected deeply by various kinds of trauma, whether war, abuse, crime or Sept. 11.

There are several realities to the experience of trauma, which we can describe generally as a situation that is a shock to the system of the human being. The experience calls upon all of our resources -- physical, mental and emotional -- to survive.

There are a number of online resources about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a normal response to war which affects many veterans after their service; one of the most comprehensive is The National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, offering information for veterans and families as well as health care providers.

After the survival of war, the self continues to feel the reverberations of the event. These after-effects may show up in many ways:

Hypervigilance. Keeping highly watchful is an important survival skill in wartime. In ordinary life, however, this watchfulness creates huge problems; the veteran is unable to relax and perhaps may find himself or herself suspicious of others, having difficulty in crowds and certain situations, even in close relationships.

Unexpected trauma bubbles. Ordinary events, such as seeing an insect crawling up the wall or hearing helicopter noise on a sunny day, can be extremely unsettling. They stir up feelings both consciously and unconsciously that make us erupt in anger and irritability or sink into depression, which cause personal difficulty and problems in relationships with significant others, family members and friends. Although the veteran may sometimes feel "crazy," these are normal responses to the experience of trauma.

Drug and alcohol abuse and addiction. Mood-altering substances may seem to help veterans relax the super-vigilance, stop nightmares of painful image-memories, and numb emotions that may be too difficult to bear or even identify. Use of drugs and alcohol, however, can cause serious physical health problems, and contribute to further depression since alcohol actually depresses the central nervous system and other chemicals play havoc with brain chemistry generally. Addiction, too, can create even bigger problems for the veteran.

Many veterans shy away from talking about their experiences or reaching for help because they do not believe help or healing is possible. However, the good news is that healing IS possible, as we are able to understand more clearly than ever before the components of trauma and the needs for true recovery. The first step is to admit that the war experience has affected you, perhaps even in ways that you cannot name. The next step is to reach out for resources that reduce isolation, which in itself causes depression and emotional distress.

The newest scientific research is helping us understand more clearly how traumatic experiences are stored in the body and mind. Therefore, while traditional counseling is important, other means of help are equally valuable.

Experiential modes of psychotherapy -- such as EMDR, creative arts therapies and psychodrama -- are extremely helpful in accessing the parts of the brain where trauma memories reside. So are various kinds of bodywork treatments and other modalities, such as acupuncture and acupressure which can reduce stress as well as physical pain. Some veterans have found that regimens of breathing, yoga and energy work, including Reiki, are relaxing and stabilizing -- sometimes reducing physical pain or distress as well as contributing to mental calming.

Psychologist Ed Tick has documented significant healing of veterans in his book, "War and the Soul," that includes genuine connections with older veterans and others in the community, Native American ceremony and sweat lodges, storytelling and other non-medical means. Sometimes the best healer is the hope that is generated within a human being by knowing someone who has survived trauma and has found healing and peace.