PTSD And Suicide Essay

PTSD and suicide are two things that are very common among veterans in the U.S.. A recent study has shown that there are a much as 8,000 veteran suicides a

The untreated depression, frequent deployments, financial stress, substance abuse, borderline personality disorder, often brutal choices and the family separation have been linked to suicide rate among soldiers.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a relatively new diagnosis that was associated with survivors of war when it was first introduced. Its diagnosis was met largely with skepticism and dismissal by the public of the validity of the illness. PTSD was only widely accepted when it was included as a diagnosis in 1980 in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) of the American Psychiatric Association. PTSD is a complex mental disorder that develops in response to exposure to a severe traumatic event that stems a cluster of symptoms. Being afflicted with the disorder is debilitating, disrupting an individual’s ability to function and perform the most basic tasks.

(Zilvin 2007). A study was conducted to identified higher risks of suicidal in veterans, and the conclusion stated that veterans that are depressed have higher risk for suicide. This results can assist to focus on a certain group continuously and monitor closely to detect suicidal behavior and prevent it. Another cause of suicide is PTSD leads to depression and if not treated could lead to suicide but more study is to be done. ?For example, use and frequency of psychotherapy visits and adherence to psychiatric medications could influence the relationship between depression, PTSD, and completed suicide? (Zilvin 2007).

Focusing on these research questions, I propose to conduct research on decreasing wait times for PTSD related appointments, reducing, or eliminating, the stigma attached to PTSD in veterans, providing a way for veterans to receive immediate PTSD crisis help, and a way to ensure that veterans diagnosed with PTSD continue treatment.

At least 50% of all adults and children are exposed to a psychologically traumatic event (such as a life-threatening assault or accident, humanmade or natural disaster, or war). As many as 67% of trauma survivors experience lasting psychosocial impairment, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); panic, phobic, or generalized anxiety disorders; depression; or substance abuse.(Van der Kolk, et al, 1994) Symptoms of PTSD include persistent involuntary re-experiencing of traumatic distress, emotional numbing and detachment from other people, and hyperarousal (irritability, insomnia, fearfulness, nervous agitation). PTSD is linked to structural neurochemical changes in the central nervous system which may have a direct

McKinney, Hirsch, & Britton (2017) state that the “disproportionate rate of suicide in the veteran population may be due to various risk factors”, including symptoms of PTSD and depression (p.100). Their study population was comprised of 545 military veterans who completed a Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire indicating a link between higher PTSD related suicide and depression (p. 100). McKinney et al. (2017) found that “Depression, as well as other disorders, often serves as a mediator of the relation between PTSD and suicide risk” (p.101).

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is an illness that is extremely hard to treat. With a multitude of symptoms such as agitation, severe anxiety, guilt, and self-destructive behavior, each diagnosis is unique therefore treatment must be specialized. The most common way to diagnose someone with PTSD is through an in depth screening process

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a person is exposed to one or more traumatic events, such as major stress, sexual assault, warfare, or other threats on a person’s life. There are many factors surrounding posttraumatic stress disorder suicide that we will attempt to further summarize. We will clarify the epidemiology of posttraumatic stress disorder and that the classical conditioning theory best explains posttraumatic stress disorder’s formation.

The American Psychiatric Association (2013) diagnostic criteria to identify the trigger to PTSD are exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury or sexual violation. The exposure must result from one or more of the following scenarios, in which the individual directly experiences the traumatic event; witnesses the traumatic event in person; learns that the traumatic event occurred to a close family member or close friend with the actual or threatened death being either violent or accidents

All three articles were specifically aimed at this population. The articles concurred that PTSD and depressive disorder were associated with suicidal ideation. Article two and article three both supported the use of interpersonal communication. Article one and article two use some of the same self-report scales during the study like the PTSD checklist and all the Beck Scales as well as looking at the different risk factors associated with suicidal ideation, including PTSD and MDD. There were little differences in the articles beside populations between all the

Studies show that military members are nearly twice as likely to attempt or commit suicide (Childress, S. 2015). The reasons for suicide among soldiers may surprise you, since many soldiers with mental illness have not seen combat situations (Childress, S. 2015). Studies have given few answers, as to why there are such high suicide and mental illness rates among soldiers. Soldiers are encouraged to depend on their fellow warriors and build strong bonds with them. The military family is a close knit community, however when a soldier is unable to maintain close relationships they tend to struggle. Soldiers may suffer disconnection because of retirement, injury, deployment, relocation or loss of loved ones. These situations lead a soldier to often feel alone in an unfamiliar environment.

Someone, somewhere, commits suicide every 18 minutes. You might never be able to tell who it will be, it could be the person sitting right next . Statistics reveal that approximately three million youths, between 12-18, have either thought about or attempted suicide in the past year. More than 1/3, actually succeeded.

Depression affects everyone's life at sometime or another. Depression comes in a wide variety of forms, from mild unhappiness to a chemical imbalance in the mind. There are many different symptoms that reveal a person's problem with depression. If left untreated, depression may continue to develop into a serious illness or even death.

According to Harned, Jackson, Comtois, and Linehan (2010), individuals that have been diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are at an increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behavior and non-suicidal self-inflicted injury. The U.S. National Comorbidity Survey found that individuals with PTSD were six times more likely to attempt suicide and five times more likely to report thoughts of suicide than those without PTSD (Kessler, 2000).