PTSD Research Paper

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 is post traumatic stress disorder, a very common mental health condition triggered by experiencing or seeing a terrifying event, affecting three million adults and childrens of varied ages a year, although it can not be cured, there are forms of treatment available to help with the symptoms. PTSD is not a new diagnoses, it used to be called “Shell Shock” or “Battle Fatigue”. After a trauma has occurred in someone 's life it is normal to have some type of reaction to the event, however if the symptoms get worse over time PTSD is more likely to develop. Symptoms often have triggers that bring back past memories that can cause very intense physical and emotional reactions, along with other problems that may inhibit some parts of their life including their personal life with family, work or how they may think. PTSD is not a sickness or a disease, but a result of being exposed to something that was very traumatic and the bodies way of trying to cope.

It can be seen that the mental conditions that veterans return home with is the biggest issue facing veterans today. Whether it be depression, a TBI, or PTSD, a mental problem could prove to be deadly. It definitely is not easy for the veteran who has it. These valiant soldiers fight for their country every day, and return home to be rewarded with lack of respect and poverty just because they did not come back as the same person that they went in as. The government is constantly finding ways to support veterans, but it is not always enough for those with mental problems. For these veterans, the government needs the support of the people. The veterans took care of their country, and now it is time for their country to take care of them.

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,

War veterans brought PTSD to public attention in the early nineteen eighties, with the lack of knowledge and treatment; planning and specialized mental facilities were not available. PTSD can stem from traumatic incidents, such as mugging, assault, torture, kidnapping or held captive, child abuse, automobile accidents, train crashes, plane crashes, bombings, or natural calamities such as floods or earthquake. The majority of people exposed to such events experience some symptoms of distress (sleep problems, jumpiness). Most fully, recover in a few weeks or months. Therefore, has there been enough accomplished over the past century to help treat veterans coming home with PTSD?

(Disabled Veterans National Foundation, n.d.). Another option for funding while creating awareness within the area is fund raising. With a significant increase of veterans diagnosed with PTSD and a similar increase of those diagnosed with a mental illness the need for additional resources is there (Hermes, Rosenheck, Desai, & Fontana, 2012). An interesting fact not only are women more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD, but those in active duty are at a higher risk than Reserves. (McCarron, Reinhard, Bloeser, Mahan, & Kang, 2014). Also among the multiple branches of service the Army has a higher chance of PTSD, followed by Marines (McCarron et al., 2014). Most often in the military because of the majority of men in service women are not taken into account. As well as, women being twice as likely than men in having PTSD at some point in their life; any additional support geared to awareness and prevention is helpful ( National Center for PTSD,

Prolonged PTSD does not allow people to adapt normally to a peaceful life and causes a feeling of social loneliness, misunderstanding, and uselessness. People who are suffering from PTSD, as in a time machine, are mentally carried away all the time into the experiences of past events. It is useless to tell them to "throw it all out of your head", since it is exactly what happened in the past for them that have greater reality or relevance than the present. It seems that if you return to it, you can correct something. The event scrolls all the time in order to somehow recall something important that could change the existing state. Monson, Rodriguez, and Warner (2005) hypothesized that pretreatment interpersonal relationships could be helpful

Treatment for our veterans when it comes to PTSD has not changed much, this is due to the thinking that every case of PTSD is the same. As we do with a lot of other things we think are the same we group them together to try and solve multiple problems with just one medication or one form of therapeutically intervention. As we can see through years of research these accusations are not accurate at all, if anything grouping people together and not taking the time to individualize personal help leads to more problems than it was designed to fix. The Veterans Association (VA) does a lot to help veterans that need help receive help although this is the first step in assisting our wounded warriors we need to do more for them than just set up an organization that they go to three times a week to receive help and then are sent home when the government decides there is nothing the veteran can do to improve further or the funds for that veteran have been exhausted. Are we providing care that truly does contribute to our veterans in a productive way? Melissa Suran, the author of The Veterans Administration Provides Inadequate Care in Many Cases, shows how our system has failed Gil Rivera who was a Vietnam soldier that suffered dearly from PTSD. In this article Suran makes some very interesting points, one being that PTSD and Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) are not the same due to the fact that PTS can sometimes stay below what is classified as a disorder although if your

Thank you an informative post! I agree that the sufferings and the situations, the veterans going through, sometimes more than we can imagine. Definitely they deserve a better access to healthcare. In addition, VA system has to transform to provide easy access and high quality care for our veterans According to the national center for PTSD, knowing that recovery is a long process, will help to feel in more control. Therefore, your post is very comprehensive and very informative to the public. In addition, learning about the symptoms, normal processes in the recovery, getting access to the support groups, learning relaxation methods, learn to positively cope with the stress and talking to the doctor or counsellor are very important in dealing

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

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.

The general ability to receive the proper after care for the trauma is a significant portion of the recovery from injury. A person needs to have the essential physical and psychological care to be successful in their recovery from the life altering experience. Unfortunately, these are not easily available and nor are the easy to afford. The state run mental health clinics are underpaid and substandard. They also operate under a large umbrella of medical areas that are unrelated. Neurological, chemical, and Serious mental illness and are treated under the generic term, Behavioral health. This does include combat affected veterans. The use nurse practitioners are are given 15-20 minutes of treatment time every 90 days. They also have an emergency hot line that

I enjoyed reading your discussion because I am a Gulf War veteran under evaluation for PTSD. This PTSD not only affects your livelihood but you go through an adjustment period adapting to society. There have been numerous of studies on PTSD but the government is not telling the facts. I can recall exposed to the oil field, your campsite on a lockdown and every soldier was injected with an unknown shot by the Air Force medical personnel and I suffer with rashes on my body. The sad thing about this, if you mention your symptom they will say you are

It happens at schools, in homes, at work, and just about everywhere else. The unwelcome bitter taste of sexual assault continues to force its way in through the pursed lips of new unwilling people daily. When it comes to sexual assault, most Americans would agree that it is considered a societal issue; however, most of them would never consider the possibility of being sexual assaulted themselves. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that the likelihood of being a victim of sexual assault is more prevalent and more of an issue in today’s society than a lot of people realize.

Treatment for PTSD are being practiced and evaluated in a variety of venues, including the VA, DoD specialty clinic, VA medical center and civilian settings. From 1999 to 2004, the number of veterans receiving VA disability payments for PTSD increased 79.5%, (Grubaugh & Buckley 2008).