Short Story Of PTSD: An Epidemic Among 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

With the recent release of the popular movie and book American Sniper, much attention has been drawn to the effects of the disease of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on its victims. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a mental illness from going through a traumatic experience, is more prevalent in veterans and men currently serving in the military, and it is important that effective treatment be sought.

Post-traumatic stress disorder abbreviated PTSD is a response to traumatic events in someone’s life. Traumatic events are events that provoke fear, helplessness or horror in response to a threat or extreme stressor (Yehuda, 2002). Soldiers and other military members are at a much higher risk to Post traumatic stress disorder due to combat and other stressful situations they are put into. People effected by Post-traumatic stress disorder will have symptoms including flashbacks, avoidance of things, people or places that remind them of the traumatic event. Also, hyper arousal which includes insomnia, irritability, impaired concentration and higher startle reactions. In this paper I will discuss post-traumatic stress disorder, its signs, symptom and effects on culture as portrayed in the movie, American Sniper.

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) 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…

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

Each of these veterans carry the physical and emotional scars of war. Most of these veterans have some form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or some level of Psychophysiological Pain. The current Veterans Affairs (VA) system is limited to treating these symptoms with opioids or moderately effective mental therapy. 34 Much of the opioid use leads to addiction, overdose, or even suicide. 35 Many veterans that have begun using marijuana, under the threat of losing all of their VA benefits, have reported marijuana is a much more effective, and less addictive, treatment in coping with nightmares, flashbacks, depression, and pain. 36 According to the VA approximately 31% of Vietnam Veterans, 10% of Gulf War Veterans, 11% of Afghan War Veterans, and 21% of Iraq War Veterans suffer from PTSD. 37 According to other reports, some 22 veterans commit suicide per day due to PTSD or pain. 38

One of the most well known and most common mental conditions that afflict veterans is PTSD. PTSD stands for post traumatic stress disorder and is caused by having high stress levels at any given time. While anyone can get PTSD, Veterans acquire it most often due to their strict training and the horrors of war. Richard Weaver, a veteran that served as a Navy Medic for two years in Iraq shared an example of what PTSD is like. He says "I could be in a classroom here and somebody would walk past and drop a book. Well, that’s a loud “pop” sound in an echoing hallway, and I’m set off for the rest of the day. I’m looking around. I’m nervous" (“Two”). Having PTSD greatly affects everyday life for veterans. For Richard Weaver, all it took was

The Vietnam War started in 1945, resulting in almost 60,000 American deaths and nearly two million Vietnamese deaths, according to Mintze. Years after combat countless Vietnam veterans suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder in every aspect of their lives (Price). Posttraumatic stress disorder is an illness that can happen to anyone who has gone through a horrifying experience. It has been documented in all forms of literature and films the brutality of the war and the side effects it came with. The history of Vietnam is quite long and winding and leaves one to question its purpose (Mintze).

This disorder leads the veterans to substance abuse to calm their nerves and help them feel more at ease. The substance abuse, in turn, leads the veterans to be more hostile, aggressive, and violent to those people around them, especially their families. A study found in The American Journal of Psychiatry revealed, "Increases in alcohol and substance abuse closely paralleled the increase in PTSD symptoms seen in the period during and immediately after the war. Patients reported that alcohol, heroin, marijuana, opiates, and benzodiazepines (but not cocaine) were beneficial for their symptoms 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

Symptoms of PTSD are also observed in patients with histories of long term exposure to ongoing traumatic events. Many times it is difficult for an observer to pinpoint the traumatic triggering event of PTSD due to the disorders nature. “The diagnosis of delayed-onset PTSD is one in which the symptoms do not manifest until a time period of greater than six months since the termination of the traumatic event has occurred” (Utzon-Frank et al., 2014). This condition is most often observed in soldiers that have experienced first-hand the traumatic and horrifying events of war. According to the Nebraska Department of Veteran 's Affairs, “About 30 percent of the men and women who have spent time in war zones experience PTSD” (“What is PTSD”,2007). However clients that have been exposed to military service or combat are not the only people effected by this condition. According to an article written by Ozer and Weis, somewhere between 5-10% of Americans have suffered from PTSD during their lifetime. (Ozer & Weis, Aug 2004). Many factors, such as physical assault, sexual assault, child abuse and exposure to traumatic events are all noted as influencing factors of this disorder. People who were exposed to ongoing events such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect or natural disaster will often develop symptoms of PTSD. Although it is not always the case, Foa & Riggs (1995) argue that many times victims of assault will a show symptoms and effects of PTSD. The issue of

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a pervasive mental disorder which affects all aspects of life. Though it is often pictured in the public eye as a disorder of the armed services, it is a heterogeneous issue that can occur in people of all backgrounds, ages, and professions. PTSD is a wide set of maladaptive and distressing symptoms that can be triggered by witnessing a horrifying or traumatic event. PTSD has a high comorbidity rate with other serious disorders such as mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders (Galatzer-Levy, Nickerson, Litz, & Marmar, 2013). Worse still, there is a significant relationship between these disorders and an increased suicide risk, which can be a serious threat for individuals with PTSD (Krysinska & Lester, 2010). In the United States, PTSD has a life time prevalence rate of close to nine percent of the population, (American Psychological Association, 2013). Part of the reason that this disorder has such a wide-reaching and varied population of sufferers is because the nature of its trigger is so diverse. Trauma is not exclusive to combat experiences, and any event, either emotional or physical, that greatly disturbs an individual can lead to serious distress and dysfunction. Trauma could result from assault, rape, abuse, natural disasters, torture, being threatened, and many other types of events (Mayo