The client I was seeing had returned from Afghanistan less than a year ago. After completing an assessment we sat down to record his military history. It is important to be careful when asking any questions, since it may trigger any underlying intrusive memories. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) follows a three symptom diagnosis criteria following an exposure to an overwhelming event. The first criteria would be questions on any haunting intrusive memories. I would ask the veteran if there was anything that might make him remember things he wish he didn’t, or experience nightmares or flashbacks. The Second criteria is for exploring any anxiety disorders. Asking him if he gets easily startled, can’t sleep, can’t concentrate and feels like
Summary & Response The article “Alternate PTSD Therapy for Vets Ruffles VA Feathers, but Shows Results” by Mark Brunswick, talking about a practice called EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This therapy uses the senses to connect to what triggers the patient’s trauma disorder. This particular article relates to a National Guard vet named Katie Helmer, who served in a military hospital.
In Soldier from the War Returning, Thomas Childers writes that “a curious silence lingers over what for many was the last great battle of the war.” This final battle was the soldier’s return home. After World War II, veterans came back to the United States and struggled with stigmatized mental illnesses as well as financial and social issues. During the war, many soldiers struggled with mental health issues that persisted after they came home.
PTSD As a Result of Unnecessary Conflict Post Traumatic Stress Disorder occurs when an individual experiences a traumatic event, such as combat, assault or natural disasters. With PTSD, individuals feel threatened and stressed beyond the healthy reaction. The physical symptoms of the disorder include alcohol and drug dependence and the inability to maintain jobs and relationships. On the psychological spectrum, symptoms of PTSD include flashbacks and social avoidance.
It was first conceptualized in 1980, prior to that, the soldiers were just given psychotic meds and sent on their way. “In World War One, they called it shell shock. Second time around, they called it battle fatigue. After 'Nam, it was post-traumatic stress disorder”(Jan Karon, Home to Holly Springs). Despite more awareness, PTSD is still not understood by the general populace due to this, veterans coming home from war have an extremely difficult time re-assimilating into normal American society.
PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder occurs when a person has been through either emotional or physical trauma. Veterans often times develop PTSD due to the physical and emotional trauma that comes along with being in a war. Symptoms of this disorder can include; “depression, worry, intense guilt and feeling emotionally numb. People with PTSD also display impulsive or self-destructive behavior and changed beliefs or changed personality traits” (WebMD). Lastly, AboutHealth.com states that people with PTSD are also very likely to partake in substance abuse in order to numb out their internal turmoil.
PTSD Affecting Soldiers He stood there, frozen, shocked, not knowing what to do when he saw a gun pointed at him. Thankfully, the trigger didn’t work, but he had to witness a scarring event, in which he had shot his enemy in the head. It is not surprising that soldiers returning from a stressful war often suffer from a psychological condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. For instance, in the book Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, the principle character Perry unmistakably demonstrates how war troopers can be damaged and experience the ill effects of PTSD.
“Some people may even experience some PTSD symptoms such as nightmares, memories about the event, or problems sleeping at night” (Tull).
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in The Things They Carried During the turbulent times of the Vietnam War, thousands of young men entered the warzone and came face-to-face with unimaginable scenes of death, destruction, and turmoil. While some perished in the dense Asian jungles, others returned to American soil and were forced to confront their lingering combat trauma. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried provides distinct instances of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and reveals the psychological trauma felt by soldiers in the Vietnam War. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD for short, is the most common mental illness affecting soldiers both on and off the battlefield.
Before identifying PTSD, “Nostalgia” was the term used to define a condition characterized by melancholy, incessant thinking of home, disturbed sleep or insomnia, weakness, loss of appetite, anxiety, cardiac
PTSD is an anxiety disorder that follows the experience of a traumatic event. Of the 2.7 million American veterans that served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, at least 20% were diagnosed with PTSD (Veterans Statistics). PTSD affects everyone differently but the most common symptoms of PTSD include: reliving the event, increased anxiety, and avoiding any reminders of the trauma (Robinson,Segal, Smith). These symptoms negatively affect their life
More than half of all male Vietnam veterans and almost half of all female Vietnam veterans have experienced clinically serious stress reaction symptoms.” PTSD has also been detected among veterans of other wars. ("PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress
Many of the men and women who fight overseas for our freedom don’t have freedom their selves. Many veterans that have fought in war suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD for short. If you don’t know what this is, PTSD is a disorder that develops in someone who has seen or lived through a shocking, scary, or dangerous event. War is no exception to that. Although most war vets don’t suffer from this disease.
As previously described, Andrew clearly meets criteria A. for PTSD, with multiple and many exposures to traumatic experiences. Andrew evidently also meets criteria B. as he experiences intrusive symptoms associated with the traumatic event. For Andrew, all intrusive symptoms listed in the DSM are experienced. Intrusive symptoms include recurrent, involuntary, and distressing memories, distressing dreams such as nightmares, dissociative reactions such as flashbacks, intense prolonged psychological distress at exposure to cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event(s), and marked physiological reactions to resemblances of the traumatic event(s).
When you are in the military, you may see combat. You may have been on missions that exposed you to horrible and life-threatening experiences. You may have been shot at, seen a buddy get shot, or seen death. These types of events can lead to PTSD. The 2014 JAMA Psychiatry study found the rate of PTSD to be 15 times higher than
Pride is a feeling that many military service members feel when they put on their uniform everyday. Those dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the stigma that comes with it tend to feel vulnerable. Some of the issues suffered by Veterans with PTSD include, mental health, depression, anger management, and substance abuse issues. Stigma is problematic, the feeling of judgment causes many service members to not seek the treatment they need, this can lead to suicide. With an increase in deployments due to both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Veterans were returning home with both physical and mental issues.