US Military Veterans: A Randomized Controlled Longitudinal Study

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has severely affected the lives of countless military veterans throughout the years. Consequently, there likely are many more PTSD cases that exist and go unreported, or misdiagnosed due to misconceptions when reported (Samuelson, Bartel, Jordan, & Valadez, 2017). To this extent, I am going to discuss my views on two articles. The first article explains the patient’s perceptions of PTSD symptoms. The second article explains the effects of performing Yoga as an unconventional form of treatment for PTSD patients. Each study was conducted on the men and women veterans of our Armed Forces. As citizens of the United States of America, we owe the Armed Forces a debt of

Of the many techniques people use to reduce stress, yoga is among one of the more popular. Although some may believe that effects of yoga are merely physical, there is research that suggests that yoga has direct impacts on one’s mental state. According to Forbes, in addition to the benefits on the heart and blood flow, yoga helps release dopamine and gaba and serotonin (Walton, 2012). All of these are known to create feeling of happiness in a person (K. W. Brown, personal communication, Sept. 7). For this lab, I decided I would try yoga for myself to test the results.

Veterans often experience long wait times to schedule an appointment for PTSD. Through additional research I have found that according to a study in 2003 by the American Legion, of approximately 300,000 veterans waiting for health care, over half of them had been waiting over eight months for an appointment (American Legion, 2013). I further researched how many VA facilities in the United States offer specialized treatment for PTSD. In all 50 states, and Washington, DC, there are a total of 139 facilities (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2015). I propose to conduct a telephone

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

Today's veterans offten return home and find themselves experiencing PTSD symptoms as a result of combat-related stress and signfigant amount of exposure to traumatic events. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among United States Veterans has risen to great numbers in recent years due United States involvement in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) thus far within the last 10 years 1,400,000 military service members have been engaged in these conflicts. Once Unitied States troops were deployed and participated in Operation New Dawn (OND) numbers began to rise over 2.5 million troops. (Rosenthal, J. Z., Grosswald, S., Ross, R., & Rosenthal, N. 2011) The veteran population will face exclusive types of stressors

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

Although American service members have felt the lasting effects of combat throughout the history of the nation, it was not until 1980 that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was formally added to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Once referred to as “irritable heart” or “shell-shock,” PTSD made its way into the national spotlight in the years following the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan due to U.S. military members having difficulty reintegrating into civilian life. High rates of suicide, depression, and elevated levels of violent crime within the veteran community made the need to find an effective treatment of this disorder a top priority for the Veterans Health Administration. While it is widely accepted by medical professionals that there is no single, definitive cure for PTSD, many different methods have been cultivated within the past 15 years that make coping with it an easier process; some to a greater extent than others. While medications, namely antidepressants and benzodiazepines, usually find themselves at the forefront of any discussion regarding mental debilitation, they are not a one-size-fits-all solution to the problems that combat veterans face. As this particular disorder is attached to a certain memory or traumatic occurrence, alternative methods of rehabilitation such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE) have also shown promise in

These forms are either filled out before leaving combat zones, or within the first two weeks of returning home (Hoge, et al., 2006:1024). As with the other study, these surveys were geared to understanding the mental health of returning soldiers. The combat veterans involved in this research were returning from either Iraq or Afghanistan (Hoge, et al., 2006:1023). However, unlike the above study this one requires a follow up conducted 12 months later. The reasoning for the second survey is that some veterans have difficulty adjusting to civilian (Hoge, et al., 2006:1025). Results show that there is a higher prevalence for Iraqi veterans to seek mental health help, over the Afghanistan veterans (Hoge, et al., 2006:1026-1027). Unfortunately, the majority of troops affected by PTSD are still not seeking

After the Vietnam War, thousands of veterans suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For over fifty years PTSD previously referred to as “Shell Shock” has been a significant problem for Vietnam veterans. The National Veterans Readjustment survey conducted in 1988 found that 31% of men and 27% of women suffered from PTSD upon their return home from the Vietnam War. Important to realize, it was not until 1989 did the Veterans Administrations (VA) list PTSD as one of the leading conditions treated by their medical professionals.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in war veterans is most commonly created when soldiers are put into situation in which they fear for their life. Recent war have changed in the way in which they have been fought. In past wars like World War I and World War II they type of fighting was strategically planned out. There would be attacks and retreats back to safety allowing some time to recuperate. However, in today’s war like in Iraq and Afghanistan soldier are attacking and being assaulted on the daily basis where there is little if any time for recuperation. The daily stress and common occurrences of horrific events and casualties but tremendous stress on soldiers’ brains. This daily stress is not just left on the battlefield once the soldiers return home. The physical, mental and emotional strain that war has on humans leaves lasting impression on the brain and body. When PTSD results from this strain, veterans can experience a wide range of symptoms. According to the Journal of Occupational Medicine the most common general symptoms include re-experiencing phenomena, avoidance tactics, and increased arousal (Bisson). Re-experiencing phenomena refers to a patient’s recurrent psychological recollections to the events that transpired to cause his or her PTSD. For many patients once they find a stimulus that causes them to have a recollection many try to avoid such areas in attempt to block their memories of the events. Arousal is shown through numerous methods with the most common being inability to sleep, difficulty concentrating, or irritability. Each treatment that follows is focused on reducing a patient’s symptoms and the severity in which it affects their

Researchers and neuroscientist continue to study the impacts of stress and traumatic experiences on the brain. The brain itself signals nerve cells to create stress hormones, which negatively influence the physiological and psychological functioning of a person. The focus to find effective treatments for Acute Stress Disorder, PTSD and reducing stress among people is beneficial to society in many ways; including reducing medical related expenses, people reducing use of psychoactive medications and active duty soldiers improving their mental health. Although there is more research needed about meditation, yoga and MBSR as an effective treatment to reduce PTSD symptoms, overall the studies indicate many benefits to the brain from these therapy

Although studies and researches suggest that medications have less effect than psychotherapy, medication is another way to help PTSD patients. For medications are tools that can reduce PTSD symptoms by ameliorating the biological basis of the patients' brain. There are many medications used to help PTSD patients in the past, but most of them were label used off, that is, they were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, FDA. The current first-line FDA approved drug treatment are the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRI: the medications sertraline, Zoloft and paroxetine, Paxil. These drugs are antidepressants that can help symptoms of depression and anxiety(Berger, Mendlowicz, Marques, Kinrys, Fontenelle,

One of the strengths of the sampling approach is that the external validity is strong for the population of interest: the sample is randomly selected from veterans with PTSD all over the United States. The external validity is not strong for individuals who do not suffer from PTSD, or for individuals who do not live in the United States, as they are not included in the study. The random assignment of the study is also a strength, as this will help reduce sampling error and increase generalizability (Rubin & Babbie, 2016). Lastly, the compensation for completing the study could also be viewed as a strength, as it is likely to increase the amount of participation; a larger sample is beneficial as it will yield more results and make the study more general to the population of interest (Rubin & Babbie, 2016).

Another study, done in 1995, on elite runners and highly trained meditators. The runners and meditators were matched in age, sex, and personality. There was an equal positive mood change for both groups. This shows that meditation and yoga are very similar to exercise when it comes to relieving stress and enhancing mood.

In today’s environment, many people are suffering with the stress and anxiety of day to day living and are finding themselves unable to cope with life’s little emergencies. Prescription drugs are on the rise due to the increasing need for people to deal with their stress and anxiety. However, many people are searching for ways to be less stressed and live a happy and healthy life without drugs. If stress and anxiety are getting the best of you, then think about grabbing a mat and giving yoga and meditation a spin. With that in mind, this paper will take a look at the benefits of yoga and meditation to create a more peaceful and healthy lifestyle.