Post Traumatic Stress Disorder In Veterans

For this assignment, I will examine how cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is effective approach for clients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Post-traumatic stress disorder is defined as "a mental health condition that is triggered by exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury or sexual violation," (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). It is natural to feel afraid during and after a distressing experience and most people can recover after the initial symptoms. But, people with PTSD continue to feel stressed and frightened after the experience is over.

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.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (commonly known as PTSD) is an important issue associated with military soldiers. The primary focus of this paper will be on the causes of PTSD and the effects it has on returning soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will attempt to elaborate on the soldiers' experiences through my own experiences in combat both in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will explain what PTSD is, look at the history of PTSD, how people get it, and differences of PTSD between men and women, and treatment options.

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

Veterans are the people who have given part of themselves to protect our country. We have denied them, laughed at them, and forgotten them when they gave so much to defend us. There are veterans who are living on the streets, dying from starvation, sickness, and weather, when they thought they would be welcomed with open arms. Going to war changed their personalities and gave them a want to forget the things they saw. Veterans should be welcomed and cared for, not disrespected and forgotten. PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, can affect the daily lives of veterans and their families who have to help deal with it. Things such as fireworks or gunshots can trigger it, causing them to remember the horrific things they have seen and heard.

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 is just one of the possible effects of trauma. People experience a range of reactions following a traumatic event. Many people who have PTSD also suffer from many issues regarding the

Symptoms of PTSD can develop shortly after experiencing the traumatic event, or they can arise months to years after the experience. However, symptoms most last

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a serious condition and one that is challenging in terms of identifying the disorder and effectively coping with this disorder.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an emotional well-being issue that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, such as combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault. Some common manifestations incorporate, but are not limited to, remembering the event (unwelcome thoughts about the trauma can come up whenever; patients can feel very real and alarming, as if the event is happening again; This is called a flashback), avoiding things that remind the occasion (certain individuals or circumstances), having more negative thoughts and emotions than before (feeling more negative than before the trauma and being unhappy or numb and lose enthusiasm for things that deliver happiness), and feeling

PTSD is a psychiatric diagnosis found in the DSM 5. It can be attributed to those who have been affected by a traumatizing event. The person affected by the event will display symptoms as described by the DSM 5 for a period longer than one month (APA, 2013). These symptoms may include some of the following:

There are many signs and symptoms. One of the signs in the beginning could be a specific genetic mechanism. The pathological reaction to the case to trauma. The traumatic stress effects in the brain. It determines the abnormal adaptation of neurological systems to the stress of seeing trauma. The list of signs and symtoms of PTSD: having flashbacks, nightmare, anxiety, repeated disturbing memories of the event, repeated nightmares of the event, strong, uncomfortable reactions to situations that remind you of the event, avoidance, an emotional numbing or feeling as though you do not care about anything, feeling detached, showing less of your moods, avoiding places, people, or thoughts that remind you of the event, feeling like you have no future, always scanning your surroundings for signs of danger, not able to concentrate, startling easily, feeling irritable or having outbursts of anger, trouble falling or staying asleep, and may feel guilt about

Whilst these descriptions that compose the definition of PTSD are a necessary part of diagnosis, it can be said that the descriptions can be problematic. The label can lead to problems of self-fulfilling prophecy. Also in using a label to define distress people become boxed into categories that do not adequately describe exactly what they are experiencing. People who are outliers and fail to display the suggested discourse of PTSD in some cases will then not receive treatment.

PTSD is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. If you or someone you know has PTSD, there symptoms might include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, and consequently, uncontrollable thoughts about the event. It now includes four primary major symptom clusters which are re-experiencing, arousal, avoidance, and persistent negative alterations in cognitions and mood. Most of the time when you hear about PTSD, it is concerning the military, war, and soldiers. Some Veterans develop severe anxiety after a trauma or a life-threatening experience such as, the veterans of the Vietnam war. These vets experience stressful life events everyday like the transition from military to civilian life or difficult work situations. These situations can cause them to have anxiety disorders. There have been numerous studies of post-traumatic stress disorder in trauma victims, war veterans, and residents of communities exposed to disaster. Epidemiologic studies of this syndrome in the general population are rare, but add an important perspective to our understanding of