Symptoms And Injuries Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

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

Over the last decade, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have drastically increased the need for effective mental health services and treatment for U.S. veterans and service members, especially those suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nearly 1.5 million American service members have been deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) since the attack on the Twin Towers in September 2001 (Price, Gros, Strachan, Ruggiero, & Acierno, 2013). Approximately 25% of soldiers and wounded warriors returning home from OEF/OIF present with mental illness due to combat-related violence and other trauma exposure (Steinberg & Eisner, 2015). According to Price and colleagues (2013), OEF/OIF soldiers and veterans are at greater risk for developing mental illness compared to others who served in past military operations.

This paper explores post-traumatic stress and how it is seen as a disorder. Post-traumatic stress can manifest into post-traumatic stress disorder. The evaluation and review books and articles seem to reveal a relation to these symptoms and military member, either active or non-active veterans. These symptoms do not manifest strictly into the full-extent of the disorder in all cases of military, however, things such as depression and other physical symptoms are discussed through the readings. The end result is that we discovered that through the readings PTSD will in fact lead to suicide if left untreated.

Perhaps attesting to the enhanced understanding of PTSD and alarm at the troubling suicide rates of veterans, the media seems to be raising the public’s attention about the condition, for example, through the use of documentaries. In 2005, during the second push of the Iraqi and Afghanistan war PBS FRONTLINE released a documentary entitled, “The Soldier’s Heart,” This documentary gives an overview of the history of PTSD, but focuses specifically on the psychological toll of the Iraq war. It illuminates the fact that despite advances in our understanding of PTSD, there continues to be a stigma against psychological problems in the

The freedoms Americans enjoy come at a price; brave military men and women often foot the bill. Many men and women pay with their lives; others relive the sights, sounds, and terror of combat in the form of PTSD. Several causes and risk factors contribute to the development of PTSD. Combat-related PTSD appears slightly different than traditional PTSD. History tells of times when soldiers diagnosed with PTSD were viewed as “weak.” Resources have not always been available to struggling soldiers. The adverse symptoms of PTSD on soldiers and their families can be crippling.

Memories of war are like poison in the minds of the broken soldiers calling for help, only to find out that their voices have become a distant echo. Their words lost in the society of the land they've slaved to protect, robbed of the aid, and crippled by their illness. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), became a documented mental disorder in 1980, when the American Psychiatric Association (APA) added PTSD to the third edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. For about 30+ years, since the Vietnam war began, veterans have experienced the pain of this ailment. Human beings experience PTSD in varying degree, but often we associate it with war. Since the recognition of PTSD as an illness, the government has failed

Many veterans struggle coping with symptoms of PTSD which has a negative effect on one's emotions. A survey conducted suggest that, veterans with a positive diagnosis of PTSD reveals measures of worry, self-punishment, social control, behavioral distractions, and avoidance coping strategies (Pietrzak et al.). From this survey, many veterans who have difficulty dealing with negative emotions are most likely suffering from Post traumatic stress disorder. Unfortunately, more than the majority of veterans have dealt or is dealing with Post traumatic stress disorder because of warfare

Many veterans are unable to leave behind the trauma of Vietnam and psychologically return home. They struggle with a variety of extremely severe problems that neither they nor their families, friends, or communities knew how to understand

It is a well known fact that war is gruesome and changes those involved. We have all heard the stories of soldiers risking life and limb to protect our beliefs, but until recently we have believed that the scars of war were merely physical. While mental disorders like PTSD were debated shortly after World War II it was not diagnosed until around 1980. Even now, there is a plethora of other factors that contribute to the mental health of war veterans. These same factors are being ignored not only by the public and the medical professionals, but sometimes even the veterans themselves.

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

As the Vietnam War began preventative measures were being taken to decrease the psychological impact of war on soldiers. Unfortunately as the war ended soldiers were often met with hostile demonstrations by anti-war activists and society offered little acceptance of Vietnam veterans even years after the war. This is when early studies on PTSD and the effects on military families began being documented. Early research showed that PTSD can have devastating, far-reaching consequences on the patients functioning, relationships,

The evidence has shown by PTSD has grown into one of the fastest growing compensated conditions in the Veteran Affairs and Social Security. This disability program covers over 3 million veterans between 1999 and 2004 (Speroff, T,2012). When the diagnosis

With the ever growing epidemic of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and extended and more frequent deployments, the supportive approach is not only utilized, but is essential. The average deployment for the Army is 12 months deployed, followed by 12 months at home station, quite an extended separation from family. Reports have also shown that 5.5% of the population has been diagnosed with PTSD, whereas 13.2% have been identified within operational military units that have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan (Crum-Cianflone, Frasco, Armenta, Phillips, Horton, Ryan, Leardmann, 2015). These numbers emphasize the importance of leaders within the military to utilize the supportive approach to provide for their follower’s well being and assist

Matt, a retired police officer, presents with symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Two major events seemed to impact Matt. First, Matt’s partner John, who was known to be prejudiced against Hispanics, shot and killed a suspect that posed no real danger to the officers. Years later, Matt’s new partner Sam was found bludgeoned to death floating in the river (Criterion A3). Matt saw Sam’s body in the morgue (Criterion A4). Matt began to have several intrusion symptoms following Sam’s death. He had recurring nightmares about Sam’s dead body (Criterion B2). Also, the large Hispanic clientele he encountered at his new job triggered flashbacks to the Hispanic male that his partner shot (Criterion B3). Additionally, arguments with his wife triggered anxious feelings about his wife’s safety which caused him to insist upon driving her to and from work (Criterion B4). The arguments with his wife resembled the arguments Matt had with Sam prior to his death. Before Sam died, Matt refused to retire. He was adamant about remaining a homicide detective despite the strain it put on his marriage. However, Sam’s death made retirement seem like the best solution. He was leaving his job to avoid the distressing cognitions related to Sam’s death (Criterion C2). Matt displayed noticeable alterations in his mood and thoughts. He began to blame himself after dreaming that some missed message from Sam could have saved his life if Matt had heard it (Criterion D3). His

In the study, the participants were sampled for convenience, there were a total of 31 subjects. These subjects were patients that were in a major New York hospitals Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, the reason they were in the unit was so that they could be treated for their acute myocardial infarction. These subjects were patients in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit between August and December of 2006. The subjects who were selected to take part in this study were selected bases on certain criteria. The criteria that was used to select the subjects included the ability of the subject to speak English, there being evidence of their myocardial infarction, the stability of the patient, the ability of the subject to give informed consent for the