Post-Traumatic Stress: A Case Study

The main problem discovered is military members are experiencing psychological problems from stressors due to deployments and not seeking help for their discomforts. Many of the military members returning

In this particular article, five authors collaborated and discussed the recent innovations in the PTSD treatment field such as new technologies and family/spouse therapy, where veterans who are diagnosed go through therapy sessions with a family member or spouse instead of alone. This article is extremely credible because it has five authors that are all in the medical field.

P., Larson, J. C., & Armstrong, L. M. (2017). Facilitating successful reintegration: Attending to the needs of military families. American Journal Of Orthopsychiatry, 87(2), 176-184. doi:10.1037/ort0000201

“Studies of OEF/OIF combat veterans have revealed that rates of PTSD are higher in deployed soldiers compared to non-deployed soldiers (Buchanan, C. et al., p.743).” Unfortunately, in some cases, military spouses are not fully aware of the symptoms for PTSD. Some feel powerless and unsure on what to do when symptoms begin damaging their relationship with their love one. Broadly speaking, military couples who are challenged with a deployment suffer more stress which may lead to PTSD when they do not know how to obtain support when needed, have lower income, and are not satisfied with the military and it's missions. Other factors that may dictate the degree of stress for military couples facing a deployment are income, education, and rank. Couples who have had prior military experience such as having military parents or serving a number of years preceding a deployment may adapt well to the demands of military life. Overall, relationship satisfaction may result if couples possess excellent communication and marital quality. Greater emphasis on military assistance has been to shown to reduce stress in couples, but spouses who perceive the military as being “less concerned” for them and their love one usually experience higher levels of stress. Also, unenthusiastic emotions toward the mission in the middle east can be related to greater stress in couples. “Negative attitudes toward the U.S. Missions in Iraq and Afghanistan were associated with more stress (Allen, E.

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

Intervention strategies that are best suited for veterans when a social support from other soldiers, friends and family members. The family council will help strength the family bond and relationship satisfaction, and lower divorce rates than individual treatment. “Crisis counselors can refer clients to marital counselors or provide it themselves for increased treatment effectiveness” (Kanel

(1) “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder than can develop after a person witnesses a traumatic event. A traumatic event can take many forms; a natural disaster, sexual abuse or a terrorist attack such as 9/11, but for veterans, PTSD is most often related to combat or military exposure. In wars prior to Vietnam, the disorder was referred to as “shell shock” or “battle fatigue” and was not very well understood beyond the fact that it limited the soldier’s performance on the battlefield. Today, the disorder is more widely studied. We know that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can lead to other mental health problems such as depression, social withdrawal, and substance abuse.” This disorder is such a heavy price to pay for our soldiers. Many come home and can not function in normal society and never really get the help they need to cope with their problems. Many more soldiers suffer in silence and never even tell anyone that they may have these issues because so many of them feel they are ‘macho’ and can handle it alone, but the truth is that they simply can

Victor Monjaraz, a former Marine, says that he felt he could handle PTSD on his own, but his emotions did not allow him to. His wife had to convince him to visit a psychologist at the VA and see what the doctor had to say. Monjaraz already felt that he had PTSD before the visit. He was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Monjaraz experienced night terrors and road rage. He was easily irritated and could not be in crowded spaces. The disease also took a toll on his marriage and says, “The Marines taught me to turn off my emotions but didn’t teach me how to turn them back on” (Monjaraz).

After hearing the veteran speak about his time in the service, I wonder how this experience affected his love life and family. I know that many marriages are strained during deployment for obvious reasons like time, distance and the change in household responsibility. The guest speaker discussed the impacts of war on veterans and their families after returning from war. He suggests that the family be patient and understanding toward the disorders associated with being at war, PTSD. One of the impacts of war on veterans is hyperarousal seen as insomnia and irritability or anger.

Pincus et al. (2001) defined the deployment cycle as having the following 5 stages: pre-deployment, deployment, sustainment, redeployment, and lastly post-deployment. Morse (2006) expanded this cycle, emphasizing pre-deployment and post-deployment, to include the following 7 stages: Anticipation of Departure, Detachment and Withdrawal, Emotional Disorganization, Recovery and Stabilization, Anticipation of Return, Return Adjustment and Renegotiation, and lastly Reintegration and Stabilization. Both Pincus et al. (2001) and Morse (2006) found military wives having high anxiety during the post-deployment stage, while trying to comprehend how their husbands fit back into their lives. Vincenzes, Haddock, and Hickman (2014) found a positive relationship between duration of deployment and the wife’s psychological distress significantly increasing during the post-deployment period. Both military members as well as their family members experience an array of mental health problems due to deployment, such as stress and depression (Mansfield, 2010). A potential for regulating the relationship between psychological distress for military wives during the post-deployment period, may be with the variable of social support (Drummet et al., 2003; Vincenzes et al., 2014). Specifically, military wives at home may experience both positive and negative experiences concerning social support when separated from their husbands (Drummet et al., 2003; Skomorovsky, 2014; Vincenzes et al.,

In response, couple-based interventions have been used by clinicians to provide couples with better communication skills used to open thoughts and feelings about the deployment; and to confront emotional numbing related to trauma. Attitude based interventions have also been effective for couples who find themselves in stressful situations such as divorce, depression, and bereavement.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is becoming very common in today’s society and it’s something that many people will struggle with. PTSD is complicated by the fact that people with PTSD often may develop additional disorders such as depression, substance abuse, problems of memory and cognition, and other problems of physical and mental health. The most tenacious and difficult to treat forms of PTSD are sometimes those that have formed when a trauma victim was dissociative during his or her experience of the trauma. This effects lead to problems in families and make the whole ordeal worse, there is a great effect on families and this will be summarized in the following.

The U.S. military shows a surprising sensitivity and openness to the emotional difficulties of being stationed abroad, especially in a conflict zone, and it is making great efforts towards preventing/easing depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among its members (although it varies by branch). Group therapy is made available at Veteran's Administration hospitals and the Department of Veteran Affairs is connected to the National Center for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, which provides many helpful resources including literature that speaks openly about "private," "domestic," and "relational" issues. This is in shocking contrast with the

A pro was that Carol was very passionate about her job and, therefore, was very informative. She gladly answered questions, like when I asked about what technology they use. I’ve seen the speech monitors but I didn’t know they worked with worksheets and other tools. She explained the drawbacks and pros of using the machine. The con was that the machine is heavy for certain patients and can’t be hauled around. They use apps too to assist patients and help them improve in their recovery or learning. The other pro was that Carol had an assistant who answered questions about school. She said the programs are competitive and hard but worth it. I asked her if her degree in teaching helped her or benefitted her education experience. Sadly, it doesn’t but it helps to understand how children grow and

Military work is complex and wide. The soldiers are normally deployed to wars during the war time or deployed to complex rescue missions whenever needed. This is in the belief that military personnel are the most robust trained personnel who can handle the toughest situations and conditions in life. However, for everything there exists a limit. This is because military personnel are normal human beings. They have humanity in them and military work is just a career. Consequently, they are affected by what they go through and their families too are affected just through a fact that they are associated with them. Consequently they experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after return from war or deadly rescue missions. The impacts are diverse, especially on their families and children. Therefore, it will be important to look at the impacts of military members PTSD such as marital problems, family violence, children behavioural problems, substance abuse, and mental health. This presentation gives an overview of the effect PTSD have on the military service members and the impact on the family. It also checks on a number of interventions that can be put in place to ensure that the military service personnel from service can safely adapt back into their normal lives, especially after retirement and integrate properly with family members.