PTSD - ROSS

Ross joined the Marine Corp two days after graduating high school. He was deployed to Iraq as a radio operator in 2005 and was sent into combat. He described being outside his vehicle when a roadside bomb exploded. The force of the explosion blew Ross off his feet, but he was relatively lucky. He lost many friends that day, with many more wounded. He describes ongoing symptoms of PTSD from what he calls “the heaviness of war”.

When Ross came to Gray Matters in March 2022, he described feeling a constant weigh on him, saying “I still can’t let go”. He described feeling easily overwhelmed, anxious and emotionally reactive. He had nightmares and was afraid to date, concerned about his restlessness at night. He had digestive issues due to his chronically heightened emotional state.

In the 16 years before coming to Gray Matters, Ross says he spent his entire savings on mental health. He tried medication as well as other approaches, such as EMDR. Nothing seemed to help.

16 years after leaving the Marine Corp, we assessed Ross using advanced SW LORETA qEEG. It showed that the emotional areas of Ross’ brain were more than 2 standard deviations too active. Ross began a program of 19 channel SW LORETA neurofeedback, specifically targeting the calming of this brain area. We reassessed Ross in May 2022, after 20 neurofeedback sessions. The over-activity in Ross’s brain had dropped well below 2 standard deviations and he reported feeling much better.

In August 2022 we reassessed Ross again, this time after 55 sessions of neurofeedback. Ross’s brain was now at just over 1 standard deviation from normal, well within the normal range. Ross described the feeling as a weight being finally lifted from him, a weight he thought he’d never lose. After many years of being afraid to date, Ross is dating again.