PTSD In Returning Veterans

The use of the Veterans Affairs medical care system has significantly increased over the last decade due to two recent wars and an aging Vietnam Veteran population. As females have been accepted in all roles into the military, their population within the military has progressively multiplied over the last three decades. Since females in general typically use healthcare at a higher rate than their male counterparts, it is necessary to ascertain if the female veteran

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can produce emotional responses caused by the trauma endured during combat operations. It does not have to emerge immediately, but can actually happen weeks, months, or even years after the traumatic event. PTSD was often referred to as “combat fatigue” or “shell shock” until 1980 when it was given the name post-traumatic stress disorder. According to

To the millions of veterans that have served this country by leaving behind their world as they once knew it, thank you. Entering the world of a soldier comes with a culture of warriors who are taught and trained to be ready to kill, but also ready to save, heal, and comfort (Hansen). Sergeant Hansen served in the United States Marine Corps for nine years and was deployed three times, once to Iraq and twice to Afghanistan. He was honorably discharged in April of 2014, however like many other veterans, his military experience has impacted his new civilian life due to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. It is paramount that a proper system concerning military veterans of the United States is established for the process of re-acclimating soldiers back to a civilian lifestyle. Within the current system and process that is being used, veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are discharged without the support and guidance they need to efficiently return to the civilian world.

P.T.S.D. a commonly known disorder, that has harmed soldiers in combat over the last century. A 2015 study by Ashley Hayes, found that PTSD it is not only affecting returning veterans. Further it is veterans, that are becoming a rising concern to society. Hayes implies, people who have served In the military and or Iraq, are “returning home changed men”. The exposure to trauma leading to these symptoms is no surprise, as much severity has proven ptsd when people come face to face with life altering events.

There has been controversy about whether the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs is taking care of their veterans or are resisting in recognizing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Union of Concerned Scientist found that the Department of Defense stated that, “The U.S. Army allegedly pressured psychologists not to diagnose Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to free the Army from providing long-term, expensive care for soldiers. The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has also been implicated in pressuring staff to misdiagnose veterans with the aim of cutting costs” (UCS). In result of not properly diagnosing the veterans, they are left unsure why treatment

Veterans transitioning from the rigorous and demanding lifestyle of active duty to a blue collar nine to five face unique obstacles that if go unchecked can have substantial on their mental health and over all well-being. It’s no secret that PTSD has been a hot button issue in recent years. It’s a term that has become synonymous with those serving tours in combat zones such as Iraq an Afghanistan. This mental condition brings with it a plethora of symptoms including depression, anxiety and insomnia. Not to mention high levels of stress that can have varying effects from person to person. PTSD can also come as a result of occupations outside of the military such as police, fire fighters and health care workers. This essay will be exploring how

Today's veterans offten return home and find themselves experiencing PTSD symptoms as a result of combat-related stress and signfigant amount of exposure to traumatic events. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among United States Veterans has risen to great numbers in recent years due United States involvement in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) thus far within the last 10 years 1,400,000 military service members have been engaged in these conflicts. Once Unitied States troops were deployed and participated in Operation New Dawn (OND) numbers began to rise over 2.5 million troops. (Rosenthal, J. Z., Grosswald, S., Ross, R., & Rosenthal, N. 2011) The veteran population will face exclusive types of stressors

Iraq or Afghanistan and 50% of these veterans are diagnosed with PTSD (Brozak, 2013). People are diagnosed with PTSD after going through a severely traumatic experience and it can have a long-lasting negative effects.

Some veterans experienced feelings of depression and distrust, and that the war impacted them negatively. PTSD is a severe emotional disorder that an individual can get after a traumatic life event they experienced, and for the veterans it was the Vietnam War. War includes witnessing terrible violence, the feeling of guilt of having to kill people and seeing your friends injured or dead, and the mixed emotions in the battlefield. In 1988, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study reported that 481,000 men and 716 women currently suffer from some degree of PTSD as a result of their experience in war, and overall 40% of Vietnam veterans have suffered from PTSD at some time of their life. In addition, it has been estimated that 900,000 Vietnam spouses and partners, and approximately 1,098,000 children are affected by their respective partner's and father's combat-related PTSD. These statistics showed that the Vietnam War extremely affected the veterans', and not in a good way. PTSD could have been very common among the veterans', because of the traumatic experiences they went through in the war. The war was not to be treated like a game. The war was a reality for the soldiers, and they could have constantly had the feeling of "I am going to die any minute now". Another issue that they developed was domestic violence. About one-third of six hundred men were reported of physically violating their partners. Their violent behaviour towards their partner/family could have also linked to PTSD. Veterans who were reported to perform domestic violence were treated with therapy to help them reduce their threatening behaviour. They either had group therapy with their family, or individual therapy. Not only was PTSD terrible for the veterans', but it was also bad for their children. Due to their children being raised in a home with their father having PTSD, the disorder could have

In the United States (US) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects 8 out of every 100 persons (United States Department of Veterans Affairs [USDVA], 2015). In which account for about 8 million people that include the military veterans (USDVA, 2015). About 10% of women and 4% of men will develop PTSD during some course of their lives (USDVA, 2015). Veterans are more susceptible to PTSD due to longer exposures to trauma, danger, or witness a violent life threaten incidence during their military service periods (USDVA, 2015). The development of PTSD becomes chronic after no longer seeing or under the “fight-or-flight“ experiences causing a psychological and/ or mental breakdown (National Institutes of Health [NIH], n.d). Such

One of the most well known and most common mental conditions that afflict veterans is PTSD. PTSD stands for post traumatic stress disorder and is caused by having high stress levels at any given time. While anyone can get PTSD, Veterans acquire it most often due to their strict training and the horrors of war. Richard Weaver, a veteran that served as a Navy Medic for two years in Iraq shared an example of what PTSD is like. He says "I could be in a classroom here and somebody would walk past and drop a book. Well, that’s a loud “pop” sound in an echoing hallway, and I’m set off for the rest of the day. I’m looking around. I’m nervous" (“Two”). Having PTSD greatly affects everyday life for veterans. For Richard Weaver, all it took was

1 in 8 returning soldiers suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Soon after returning home, family members start noticing a change in the soldiers. Most are in denial about having PTSD. What they need to know is that the earlier that they can get help, the better off they’ll be. With so many suffering, where are all the treatments? Even though some soldiers would abuse the treatment provided for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, American Veterans need to be provided with the proper treatment for it.

Some people are more genetically predisposed, however, to develop PTSD. If it is prevalent in someone’s family history, then they are more likely to have PTSD symptoms after a traumatic event. Many soldiers who went to Vietnam and experienced traumatic events did not develop PTSD, making it a somewhat puzzling mental disorder (“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”). PTSD also affected women in Vietnam, despite the fact that they were unable to be combat soldiers. Out of the 5,000 to 7,000 women that served in Vietnam, almost 16% of them experienced PTSD. Women often enlisted as nurses and witnessed brutal attacks and injuries, with no way to defend themselves (Badalucco). Since many veterans were treated with hostility when returning home, the social support factor was very impactful. America was divided, and this did not create a welcoming and healing environment for soldiers with PTSD

Military. When one perceives this word, what does it imply? War, soldiers in uniform, ones that protect us and several more to mention. What apropos of, the wounded or the ones that come home from battle that suffer PTSD? The military utilizes different techniques to aid their members, by practicing complementary and alternative medicine, also known as CAM, to treat their soldiers. Not every wound is the same, not every traditional medicine works properly. Complementary and Alternative medicine, works either together with traditional medicine or works instead, but together they become Integrated medicine. The military employs this medicine with their wounded service members in all sorts of ways, including: yoga, acupuncture, service animals and several additional services. These are the services to support their soldiers, to live a convalescing and purposeful life.

The relevant stratification would be defined as gender. Gender would allow for the researcher to split up males and females in order to determine which has a higher resiliency to combat operational stress. Another relevant stratification could potentially be defined as the combat operational stress exposure and levels of PTSD amongst the females. The subcategory would be the military occupational specialty served while deployed in comparison to the periodic health assessment (PHA) obtained before and after resiliency treatments were introduced. The