PTSD In The Military

I. Introduction A. Attention Getter – Today, I am going to talk about something that is not talked about enough; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. For those of you who do not know, PTSD is defined by the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs as “a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood.” (“What is PTSD?”) B. Tie to the Audience – I am sure that there are a few people in this class that have had a family member or friend suffer from PTSD.

With that in mind, the Army conducted the very first study on the mental health of Iraq troops which discovered that “one in eight [soldiers] reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder” (“1”). In addition to this, the study evinced that “less than half of those with problems sought help, mostly out of fear of being stigmatized or hurting their careers” (“1”).

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been studied extensively. The majority of the population has experienced an event that was traumatic enough to potentially cause Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with it also being common for most people to experience more than one event with the potential to induce Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Kilpatrick, Resnick, Milanak, Miller, Keyes, Friedman, 2013). Studies have shown that veterans diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder show an escalation in the anxiety levels that is much greater than soldiers that have not been diagnosed with PTSD as well as higher than the general fit population (Olatunji, Armstrong, Fan, & Zhao, 2014).

I find it troubling that our Soldier’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms are being discredited by the medical community. It appears as though there has been a shift in our commitment to the health of the men and women who served this nation. These ideas connect to the overall ideas of the unit because it provides greater insight on challenges that patients and medical professionals experience when coping with cognitive health concerns. I do not have any personal experience associated with PTSD; however, the problem that I find in this article is that it suggests the effects of trauma which causes PTSD can be measured by a universal criteria. For example, I believe this research should consider that each individual has a unique level of tolerance to trauma which may cause them to respond in varying degrees of severity. Additionally, a patient’s inability to accurately express their symptoms may play a major factor which is causing this disparity. I recommend that further research should be conducted to

It was not until the 1980’s that the diagnosis of PTSD as we know it today came to be. However, throughout history people have recognized that exposure to combat situations can have profound negative impact on the mind s and bodies of individuals in these situations. But there are other catastrophic events that can have such profound impact on people resulting in PTSD…

The freedoms Americans enjoy come at a price; brave military men and women often foot the bill. Many men and women pay with their lives; others relive the sights, sounds, and terror of combat in the form of PTSD. Several causes and risk factors contribute to the development of PTSD. Combat-related PTSD appears slightly different than traditional PTSD. History tells of times when soldiers diagnosed with PTSD were viewed as “weak.” Resources have not always been available to struggling soldiers. The adverse symptoms of PTSD on soldiers and their families can be crippling.

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.

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

Battling war is something a Veteran knows all too well, but battling the demons in their mind after the war is something that they have to learn how to cope with. One of the most mentioned issues that Veterans face today is a disorder called combat post-traumatic stress disorder. Combat PTSD can easily be defined as a disorder that affects the mental state of the armed forces service member that has been through a difficult or shocking experience during their time served in the military. Experiencing war is not something that everyone can relate to, but it is something that can affect a

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans has been prevalent in the United States ever since the diagnosis of shell shock after World War I. PTSD continues to be prevalent in veterans from the Vietnam War, to the Gulf War, to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The estimated lifetime prevalence of PTSD among veterans during the Vietnam era was 30.9% for men and 26.9% for women (U.S. Department of Government Affairs, 2015). Based on a population study the prevalence of PTSD among previously deployed Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom was 13.8% (U.S. Department of Government Affairs, 2015). PTSD in combat veterans can be very difficult to understand. This is widely due to the lack of research

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

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

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as a “disorder that develops in some people who have seen or lived through a shocking, scary, or dangerous events”. This being one of the titles strapped on to most returning veterans from war is an issue that is heavily debated and relevant to future war veterans. There is no known cure for this disorder and can be destructive to one who has it. This report will be going over 1) A brief history of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 2) Why does Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder pertain to Vietnam veterans specifically how the veterans helped PTSD be what it is today 3) Some evidence from other sources that

PTSD having been on the rise following various deployments necessitated by the various wars against terror, where the soldiers encounter traumatic experiences like harsh training conditions, unfavorable living standards, enemy attacks, extreme working environment, explosions, torture by enemies, loss of colleagues as well as long term separation from family back at home (Melinda S & Jeanne S., 2012). This therefore calls for a concerted effort in handling the pandemic of PTSD since it has been constantly on the increase and as a

Military Pathway (2013) concluded “Military life, especially the stress of deployments or mobilizations, can present challenges to service members and their families that are both unique and difficult”. Hence, it is not surprising that soldiers returning from a stressful war environment often suffer from a psychological condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This paper provides a historical perspective of PTSD affecting soldiers, and how this illness has often been ignored. In addition, the this paper examines the cause and diagnosis of the illness, the changes of functional strengths and limitations, the overall effects this disease may have on soldiers and their families, with a conclusion of