Example Of An Informative Post

Over the last 6 years I worked with Veterans that have been diagnosed with PTSD. I have seen symptoms of this diagnosis play out in a variety ways. This experience has only fueled my passion to want to become more educated and experienced on the topic so that I can better service to Veterans. I also believe that becoming better educated on the topic will allow me to dispel some of the myths associated with PTSD. As discussed in class, before the accept into the DSM-3 in 1980 service member that experienced symptoms of PTSD were seen as unfit to handle the psychological casualties that came with the War. They were often viewed as weak and were forced back on the battlefield despite showing clear indicators that the fatigue that comes along with battle had begun to affect their daily lives. After the mainstream acceptance of PTSD in 1980 many active duty service members and Veterans still had a hard time proving to the VSA that they were indeed suffering from PTSD. Over time there has been a mainstream acceptance that many Veterans as well as other populations may suffer from PTSD. The mainstream acceptance of PTSD has the ability to offer hope to those that are affected by the

Today, hundreds of thousands of service men and women and recent military veterans have seen combat. Many have been shot at, seen their buddies killed, or witnessed death up close. These are types of events that can lead to Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder ("Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD: A Growing Epidemic. “) Anyone that has gone through a traumatic event can be diagnosed with PTSD but research shows, military men and women are more susceptible to having PTSD (PTSD: A Growing Epidemic.) And, with little help from the US, many Veterans do not get the help they need or get treated for PTSD. Military men and women begin to

The government is not doing all they can to help returning vets, it is incredibly hard and stressful to get treatment, it is woefully underfunded, it doesn 't have the proper classification so therefore treatment is not as accessible. It seems as if the U.S. Government is struggling to pay attention to PTSD treatment, because it may bring the ailment into the public eye, and the Military might suffer in morale and number of volunteers, due to people not wanting the risk of PTSD. The thing about the military is that, “No one teaches anybody had to deal with that. And it also gets back to the, in the military it 's the John Wayne mentality of you don 't show emotion. You 're not allowed to admit that you 're sad or upset or anything ever. It 's not manly.”(Beer Is Cheaper 51:23)

This is like a bomb waiting to go off: Family of veterans have to live with fear, hoping that their love one would recuperate, be happy, or simply a civilian again. The Veterans Affairs Department (VA) should put a better effort to better assist veterans, and their family with a better plan to reduce this preventable death. Many veterans find it difficult to admit, control, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), let alone reaching for help; when they do so, they are considered just another number at the VA. At any moment, a veteran?s sacrifice for this country should end

The video I chose to watch was “The Wounded Platoon”. The population related to this video that faces difficulties in terms of access to health care are United States veterans. This video specifically mentions veterans of the Third Platoon, who were deployed to fight during the Iraq War. One overarching difficulty this population has in terms of access to health care is a lack of wanting to come forward. One soldier stated that those who came forward with symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) feared ridicule. PTSD is very stigmatized, especially in the military, where it is stated that coming forward with symptoms of PTSD could be considered “a sign of weakness”. Many veterans claimed they did not need help and reported no mental duress. However, it was shown that many of these veterans were self-medicating. It was stated that there was an over three thousand percent increase in Fort Carson soldiers failing drug tests after the Iraq War.

Both articles identify the issue of providing mental health services for veterans with an extra emphasis on those that served in Afghanistan and Iraq (OEF/OIF veterans). It is no surprise that returning veterans suffer from both visible/invisible (physical and mental) wounds. Most veterans have this “high” expectation that they are going to receive quality care from both the DoD and VA. Unfortunately reality steps in where veterans are slapped in the face because they are receiving a lack of poor quality care all while jumping through Beuracractic hoops. The challenges faced to access these services include resistance, stigma, lack of professionalism, and geographic and/or regional disparities in the distribution of services resources and/or benefits, and the system simply refusing to change.

There are a numerous amount of Veterans that are ashamed of seeking help for fear of appearing weak or ruining their military career. I believe raising awareness about PTSD will lessen the stigma associated with it and encourage our Veterans to seek the help they deserve and need. I did discover that June 27th is PTSD awareness day, congress passed this in the year 2010 and the senate declared that June is National PTSD awareness month. By doing this they hope to bring awareness to PTSD and the treatments available, and offer help to the Veterans affected by PTSD. I think that it is a great start but I don’t think it is enough. I believe that we as a society need to demand from our government the proper treatment of the men, women and their families that risk their lives for our country. We need to demand that these individuals receive any medical or mental health treatments needed in a timely manner. There should be no waiting lists, they should be on the list the moment they enlist as to receive treatment as soon as they return

For many years, the VA has offered health care to the men and women who have surrendered a large part of their lives to protect our nation. The VA has made great stride in providing specialized services to veterans such as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), and Mental Health treatment. In fact, the VA is leading the field on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) research, but now that many of our men and women are returning home from war, the commitment that the VA made to provide accessible health services and a smooth transition from military life back to civilian life to these heroes and their dependents are not being granted in a timely manner. Studies show that suicide among veterans is the number one leading cause of death in the United States and

As the war is coming to an end, we find more and more veterans coming home from a violent and brutal war. The services military personnel are given after being discharge is not enough to help convert them back into civilian life. I can speak from personal experience as my husband had many difficulties adjusting back to normal life. He exhibits symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as he was always hyperventilating and had nightmares when he slept. Many veterans are not given services directly until they actually request help. Getting assistance has become extremely difficult for veterans as the Veteran Affairs makes service members prove that their injuries occurred in the line of duty. This documentation is hard to provide because many service member are taught to not show weakness. This discourages them to go to “sick call” or see a medic while serving. Every time I pass by downtown Los Angeles I see a larger population of homeless people in the area. Homelessness among veteran is a problem that will continue to grow if we do not help these men and women that protected our country. Many of services members choose to self medicate because the system in place makes it so difficult for them to get help. We need to change the system and help these warriors get therapy to talk about the trauma they have witness and get them the medical help they

It is evident that reforms are necessary within the VA system and society in regards to PTSD and veterans. How can the American veterans be better taken care of? I will focus on the following four specific issues that are in need of reform,

Another issue regarding the VA system is the limitations that is places on the abilities of the private sector to provide aid to Veterans. The private sector of the United States has no access to the files of former members of our military; as a result of this, a Veteran would potentially have to drive hours to get to a VA facility for something as simple as a flu shot. Veterans should be able to enjoy the benefits that they are entitled to without having to go a great distance. This very solution presents yet another conflict: the majority of returning military members are uninformed regarding what it is that they are medically entitled to. There is often far too little communication between VA facilities and Veterans concerning how they

Veterans often feel distant from mainstream society when they return from war, and society doesn’t do enough to heal them. For example, Max Cleland, Vietnam veteran and former Democratic senator, writers in The New York Times, “ [...] my memories of death and wounding were suddenly as fresh and present as they had been in 1968.” Soldiers come back from war mentally unstable, flashbacks are just the beginning of all the trauma. Most come back with pstd, which hurts them and everyone around them because they are so unpredictable They could go berserk, and sadly what ends up happening is a lot of pain and suffering for those around them. Furthermore, when soldiers start integrating back into society, their problems end up getting ignored because people don’t know how to help them cope.

In the past, veterans who disclosed suffering from signs of PTSD encountered a great deal of ignorance and bias. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (n.d.), veterans who had the illness were often considered weak, were rejected by comrades, and even faced discharge from military service. In fact, even physicians and mental health specialists often questioned the existence of the disease, which of course led to society’s misconception of PTSD in general. Sadly because of this existing prejudice it appears even today soldiers are still worried to admit having PTSD symptoms, and therefore they do not receive the proper support they need. While individuals are assured that their careers will not be affected, and seeking help is encouraged, most soldiers see it as a failure to admit having a mental health illness (Zoroya, 2013). Educating military personal of this illness, and making sure no blame is put on the veterans who encounter this disease is therefore vital.

PTSD sufferers can be affected in many ways such as emotionally, cognitively, behaviorally and all of those combined have a negative effect on their relationships with people overall and family and friends (The Costs of Courage, 2012). A lot of them start having issues such as divorces, domestic violence which eventually leads to homelessness. Since DOD (Department of Defense) doesn’t have enough funding to hire more mental health professionals a lot of coming back home and active duty veterans are not receiving the adequate healthcare which can be provided to the service members and their families (The Costs of Courage, 2012). They feel hopeless and unneeded. I definitely agree that they are not getting the help they need or deserve. Neither the DOD nor VA have ever received the correct and needed amount of funding to help with the combat stress needs of worriers and their families (The Costs of Courage, 2012). If we look at Nicole Prince a veteran from the film who has a little baby but she isn’t getting the help she needs and she began giving up (When I Came Home,

My name is Charlene A. Williams and I am a counselor of the Community Substance Abuse Center. I have a patient by the name of Denim Bassette, who will be vacationing in Aruba next month. Please advise me what is needed to assist the patient with her hosting dosing at your methadone clinic. Should you have any questions, please contact me at 860-247-8300.