The Impact Of Social Support In Women

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.

Combat veterans are among the highest at risk for issues in transitioning form military life to civilian. Many potentially suffer from both physical and/or mental traumas. Many veterans and even active duty services members have allowed the unofficial culture of if you need mental or medical help you are weak. Many military families are also afraid of utilizing family support mechanisms out of fear of

There is concern about military service members receiving stigma about getting or needing treatment in the area of mental health. Stigma occurs when individuals view others negatively because they have been labeled or identified as having a deviant behavior against societal norms; deviant behaviors such as mental illnesses or diagnoses uncommon or harmful to others. How does that impact the military? Military men and women alike are termed heroes, warriors, and survivors; this is quite the reputation to keep up. Military members go to war or deploy to hostile combat environments, which many come back with severe mental illnesses and diagnosis that need immediate care. At this point they may not feel like a hero. The terms psychological, mentally ill, PTSD, and behavioral health has gained a reputation as having or being a problem. Being labeled a problem is not what service members want. Many studies are trying to pinpoint the problem and resolve the stereotypes associated with getting treatment. Consequently, an individual’s attitude toward mental health treatment is thought to be affected by other people’s views on mental health care (Held & Owens, 2012).

2. Mental health issues in the USAF are associated with a stigma which affects how Airmen seek treatment and care. This problem is self-stigma, which according to Patrick Corrigan and Deepa Rao, develops when a person believes the discrimination and prejudice applied to them is in fact truth.1 Self-stigma leads to lowered self-esteem and diminished self-efficacy.2 Self-efficacy is a person’s belief of one’s

The study of psychology refers to collective trauma as the effect experienced by many people in the aftermath of a tragedy or event. The pain of collective traumatic disorders is common among soldiers who experienced military combat, but has the potential to affect an entire community. Although, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can alter relationships with the family and the community, future generations will not have to endure combat directly to experience collective trauma. Many Veterans suffering from PTSD might shy away from others due to stigmas associated with the diagnosis. Some might have difficulty concentrating, or have guilty feelings, cannot find work, feel helpless, fearful, or have a loss of interest in usual activities. All

Department of Veteran Affairs reflects on a study done by the National Center for PTSD (2015) about how stigma is strongly associated with a PTSD diagnosis in the veteran’s workplace and community. This stigma is mainly due to a lack of education which feeds the negative view (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2015). This stigma can also transfer into how the diagnosed person feels about themselves which is called self-stigma (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2015). These types of stigma can potentially affect a person’s ability to get a job or housing if it is not explained or understood to the full extent (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2015). There are some communities that offer job skills training for veterans who have PTSD (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2015). This type of training helps veterans with PTSD diagnoses get ready for their interviews, assist in resume preparation, and other various job skills in order to help diminish the stress that surrounds all of that (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2015). The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (2015) also lists social workers and case managers as helpers in the community to assist veterans with PTSD in finding adequate and stigma-free housing

Mittal et al. (2013) identify some U.S. military veterans that can agree there has been much improvement from the demoralizing diagnoses of combat/battle fatigue to PTSD. More army veterans believe the negative stereotypes of PTSD to be less stigmatizing than the assortments of other mental health disorders in the DSM-V. In essence, this is a legitimate issue that community members must rectify to eliminate the stigma associated with PTSD to increase the quality of life for our

Haynie believes the cause of this distorted reporting is due to three main problems: money, The Bedford Guide for College Writers, 10th edition, includes the article: “As Attitudes Shift on PTSD, Media Slow to Remove Stigma,” by Mike Haynie. Haynie, a U.S. Air Force veteran, is also the founder and executive director of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, at Syracuse University (546). In the article, Haynie theorizes “some in the media continue to perpetuate a stigma linking military service to mental illness and violence” (547). He reiterates President Bill Clinton’s imperative that “Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of.’

In the past, veterans who disclosed suffering from signs of PTSD encountered a great deal of ignorance and bias. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (n.d.), veterans who had the illness were often considered weak, were rejected by comrades, and even faced discharge from military service. In fact, even physicians and mental health specialists often questioned the existence of the disease, which of course led to society’s misconception of PTSD in general. Sadly because of this existing prejudice it appears even today soldiers are still worried to admit having PTSD symptoms, and therefore they do not receive the proper support they need. While individuals are assured that their careers will not be affected, and seeking help is encouraged, most soldiers see it as a failure to admit having a mental health illness (Zoroya, 2013). Educating military personal of this illness, and making sure no blame is put on the veterans who encounter this disease is therefore vital.

Many service members said they do not seek treatment for psychological illnesses because they fear it will harm their careers. Thus as a society we should strive to empower veterans to get help. Empowerment could play an important role in bringing together veterans who might be feeling isolated because of mental health issues. By empowering soldiers about dealing with these problems faced by some veterans upon returning home, it is hoped that soldiers will feel more comfortable about seeking help and receive the necessary support for

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a concern for many Americans, especially soldiers. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs reports that 11-20% of military personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan struggle with PTSD ("PTSD: National Center for PTSD"). Thankfully, extensive time, effort, and money go into researching the disorder so that psychologists, psychiatrists, and doctors can provide their patients proper treatment. Today, one branch of this research focuses specifically on whether gender plays a role in the development of symptoms. The number of and roles for women in the military continue

PTSD is an incapacitating emotional roller coaster that affects the lives of many who have experienced a traumatic event. Not only does the concern of PTSD impact survivor’s lives, but it can have an impact on the entire family or those who are close to the individual with the disorder. “PTSD can take a heavy toll on the family if you let it. It can be hard to understand why your loved one won’t open up to you” (Segal, Smith, 2014). The traumatic stress can trigger episodes where the survivor re-experiences the emotional event, causing intimacy issues, trust and social issues with their relationships. How both cultures and communities impacted me that may be perceived as normal vs. abnormal? How has stigma played a role in my mental illness?

Many challenges still remain as Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seek available access to mental health care. These challenges include the resistance and stigma to seek care, lack of

Steenkamp et al. (2016) – due to a longitudinal study and veterans being prone to early death, more than 20% of the participants had died. Simon et al. (2016) – identified CSA processing at one point in time. A longitudinal study that produces the same strategies over time would produce more reliability. Weiss et al. (2015) did a study examining PTSD and related symptoms among SM and heterosexual women. They used the umbrella term SM but did not account for individual differences among individuals who identified as lesbian, bisexual, and others. Fredette et al. (2016) did a systematic review to examine social roles, CBT, and PTSD. They examined how each impacts the other. They mentioned that it is hard to study how social support is administered in cases of trauma. There needs to be further research on the details of positive versus negative social support; as well, how those factors play into treatment seeking and