Post Traumatic Stress Disorder In War Veterans

Hundreds of thousands of United States veterans are not able to leave the horrors of war on the battlefield (“Forever at War: Veterans Everyday Battles with PTSD” 1). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the reason why these courageous military service members cannot live a normal life when they are discharged. One out of every five military service members on combat tours—about 300,000 so far—return home with symptoms of PTSD or major depression. According to the Rand Study, almost half of these cases go untreated because of the disgrace that the military and civil society attach to mental disorders (McGirk 1). The general population of the world has to admit that they have had a nightmare before. Imagine not being able to sleep one

This paper explores post-traumatic stress and how it is seen as a disorder. Post-traumatic stress can manifest into post-traumatic stress disorder. According to Sareen (2014), Post-traumatic stress disorder is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5 as having 4 core features that are as follows. First, the person must witness or experience a stressful event. Secondly, the person or persons would re-experience symptoms of the event that include nightmares and/or flashbacks. The person or persons would also have hyper arousal symptoms, such as concentrations problems, irritability, and sleep disturbance. The final core feature dictates

“My mind is on fire as I fear that any second, another enemy round will rip into my body and finish me off” (Johnson 2). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) effects the lives of many soldiers after returning home from war. PTSD is a psychiatric condition described in the DSM-IV as, a condition that requires a specific event to have occurred as a criterion for the diagnosis. The criteria for this disorder, according to the book Combat Trauma, can include flashbacks, times where you feel as if you are reliving the traumatic event, shame or guilt, upsetting dreams about the traumatic event, trying to avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event, feeling emotionally numb or not feeling at all, anger or irritability, poor or destructive relationships, self-destructive behavior, trouble sleeping, memory problems, hallucinations, not enjoying activities you one enjoyed and feeling as if you no longer know who is living your day-to-day life.

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).

There have been many diagnoses of PTSD in American soldiers. As Mark Thomas said in a magazine article, “The National Academy of Sciences have report estimated that up to 20% of 2.6 million US men and women who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq may have it (PTSD)”(Thomas). This quote expresses that nearly 520,000 US families have been affected by this disorder. It also shows that PTSD has become a large enough issue that more and more people and

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.

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

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.

So many people we know go to war in their lifetime. Men, women, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even our friends. No matter what their title may to you, those soldiers risk their lives fighting in order to keep each and every one of our families safe at night. However, once their home from the war, who takes the time to evaluate and treat the soldiers on the horrifying things they witnessed, the tragedy of losing their brothers in combat, and the acts they had to endure just to keep themselves alive. Too many soldiers come home from war wounded in more than a physical way, yet it goes untreated in far too many cases. Issues such as substance abuse, psychological impairments (PTSD, anxiety, depression etc.), and

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

To effectively treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD in combat Veterans and service members, therapists use different techniques, which are preceded by addressing any underlying pain associated with the disorder. In their research, Chard et al. (2011) reported significant modifications to the CPT protocol for use with patients in a TBI-PTSD residential treatment facility, including increasing the number of sessions per week, combining group and individual therapy, and augmenting the treatment with cognitive rehabilitation. However, their research was marred with the use of few participants which provides doubts regarding the outcome of the proposed treatment procedures. Moreover, the researchers do not state with certainty as to the

Post traumatic stress disorder is a psychological disorder in which the survivors of a traumatic incident or experience. Examples of this could include but are not limited to death, rape, survivors of a terrorist attack, or soldiers at war. Survivors of these incidents have a series of various symptoms (Wangelin, & Tuerk, 2014). These symptoms include, but are not limited to, irritating flashbacks, nightmares, angry outbursts, and trouble sleeping (Wangelin,, 2014). These symptoms seem to be prevalent in soldiers coming back from war and may negatively effect their personal and social lives. They are affected easily because of the trauma faced in their day to day lives. According to Wangelin (2014), between 8 and 20 percent of soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced some form of PTSD . This number comes out to between 192,000 and 480,000 soldiers. This paper will explain Post Traumatic stress disorder, its causes, and the effects it has on the soldiers life and their families. Also, gender differences and treatment will be taken into consideration.

Tests have shown around 50% of soldiers have a mental disorder or have been mentally affected by war. 14% of soldiers are suicidal. Think about that, someone risking their lives for their people and saving lives, Is willing to take their own life because of the mental impact of war.

When working with service members and assessing them for diagnosis, it is important to have an understanding of the diagnosis and the impact it has on the military population. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common mental health diagnosis veterans may develop after experiencing trauma. PTSD can occur after an individual has been through a traumatic event, such as combat exposure, terrorist attack, sexual or physical assault, or serious accidents. According to The Department of Veteran Affairs, “About 11-20 out of every 100 Veterans (or between 11-20%) who served in Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Enduring Freedom (OEF) have PTSD in a given year” (2015).