A Case Study of Meditation to Reduce Alcohol Use Disorder Symptomology in Veteran PTSD Comorbidity
Background: Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol comorbidity is becoming a rising issue within the military veteran community highlighted by research indicating individuals diagnosed with PTSD are more likely to have a drinking problem [1]. The implementation of meditation as an alternative form of stress release was aimed at reducing PTSD symptomology and therefor reducing factors that lead to drinking.Methods: A single veteran was recruited to complete a two-week intervention. The participant completed a behavioural diary noting alcohol consumption and mood respectively. During the middle of the study, an interview was undertaken to determine reasons of alcohol consumption and potential reasons and motivations for the cessation of drinking.Results: A moderate correlation between using meditation as a tool to reduce alcohol consumption in veterans with PTSD however this was not significant. Conversely, meditation was able to reduce PTSD symptomology.Conclusions: These results indicate that an alternative to drinking can be implemented as a successful form of treatment. However, these findings are specific to this study and need to be amplified and reproduced to determine if it can be applied to the general population.