Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD is said to affect approximately 30% of Vietnam Veterans and possibly the same number in today's conflicts. We have seen our fellow veterans lose jobs, marriages, homes, and their life to PTSD. The VA established changes to it's rules for claiming PTSD as a disability making it easier for veterans to file a claim and receive compensation.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
PTSDLast reviewed: February 14, 2010.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a type of anxiety disorder. It can occur after you've seen or experienced a traumatic event that involved the threat of injury or death.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may occur soon after a major trauma, or it can be delayed for more than 6 months after the event. When it occurs soon after the trauma, it usually gets better after 3 months. However, some people have a longer-term form of PTSD, which can last for many years.
PTSD can occur at any age and can follow a natural disaster such as a flood or fire, or events such as war, a prison stay, assault, domestic abuse, or rape. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States may have caused PTSD in some people who were involved, in people who saw the disaster, and in people who lost relatives and friends. These kinds of events can produce stress in anyone, but not everyone develops PTSD.
The cause of PTSD is unknown, but psychological, genetic, physical, and social factors are involved. PTSD changes the body’s response to stress. It affects the stress hormones and chemicals that carry information between the nerves (neurotransmitters). Having been exposed to trauma in the past may increase the risk of PTSD. (Excerpt from National Institute of Health).
Visit the National Center for PTSD for more informaiton.
There are numerous resources for veterans suffering from PTSD. Just google "help for PTSD" and and you will come up with several sources for help. A good first step is to vist a VA clinic or hospital. There are other options available. The VA is somewhat backlogged in seeing patients with PTSD in a timely manner in some areas but don't be discouraged. As mentioned, there are other resources available and many free to veterans. In addition to help the VA does provide compensation for PTSD. New treatments are constantly being discovered.
Not sure if you are suffering from PTSD? Check out this checklist from Veterans Outreach Center.
It is truly a tragedy when the suicide rate for veterans is as high as the number of those killed in combat. We want you to be around. If you are suffering from PTSD please seek help.
Additional Resources
- Suicide Prevention Hotline
1.800.273.TALK (8255) - National Call Center for Homeless Veterans
1.877.4AID.VET (424.3838) - Wounded Warrior Resource Center
1.800.342.9647
PTSD News from Our Blog
(Click on a title to view more)
Vietnam Vets and PTSD |
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| Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:44:30 +0000 |
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All vets can benefit from this video. It’s difficult to watch. It’s hard to come to terms with what we’ve seen but you have an entire brotherhood and sisterhood of vets willing to help. |
Local News | Army doctor at Madigan suspended over PTSD comments | Seattle Times Newspaper |
| Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:32:03 +0000 |
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Army doctor at Madigan suspended over PTSD commentsTwo physicians on a Madigan Army Medical Center psychiatric team have been removed from clinical duties, as the Army opens an investigation into whether PTSD screenings for soldiers were mishandled. via Local News | Army doctor at Madigan suspended over PTSD comments | Seattle Times Newspaper. |
PTSD Overload – Battleland – TIME.com |
| Tue, 20 Sep 2011 22:05:33 +0000 |
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Pity the poor grunt who comes back from war with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He goes online to learn how to cope and is overwhelmed. There’s the Real Warriors website, the My Army OneSource, and the Defense Centers of Excellence (as opposed to the military’s other centers of mediocrity) for Psychological Health & Traumatic Brain Injury. [...] |
August 2011 Update from the National Center for PTSD |
| Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:44:54 +0000 |
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PTSD Monthly Update: Advancing Science and Promoting Understanding of Traumatic Stress News relevant to the issues of trauma and PTSD Lecture and Webinar: Sept 7th 2:30-4:15 EST Ten Years Later: What we have learned? The Psychological Impact of 9/11 Hosted by Psychology Beyond Borders, together with Columbia University – Department of Psychiatry and the Dart [...] |
More on dogs helping with PTSD |
| Tue, 23 Aug 2011 20:24:44 +0000 |
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Dogs Assist Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress: MyFoxPHOENIX.com |
FBI program helps wounded soldiers – WTKR |
| Sat, 20 Aug 2011 23:12:25 +0000 |
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FBI program helps wounded soldiers – WTKR. |
Leaving the service with TBI and PTSD |
| Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:23:10 +0000 |
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Having met with several new veterans to discuss submitting a claim to the VA, I see and hear things from them that the rest of America should know. All of the services have a transition unit of some type for wounded warriors. The aim is to return them to active duty or get them ready [...] |
Dogs help veterans with PTSD cope, improve |
| Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:41:31 +0000 |
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York, PA – It’s fourteen-hundred-hours in York County. U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. E5 Harold Fake heads into battle. He’s pressed his black Vietnam veteran ball cap into his gray hair. He’s locked and loaded into his 2008 Kia Sorento. He eases into the West Manchester Township Wal-Mart parking lot and cuts the engine. Fake doesn’t [...] |
PTSD and TBI Resources |
| Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:30:09 +0000 |
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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Resources 08/10/2011 10:08 AM EDT Provides various pages of information on PTSD including symptoms and treatments. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Resources 08/10/2011 10:35 AM EDT Provides various pages of information on TBI including symptoms and coping skills. Center for American Military Music Opportunities (C*A*M*M*O) 08/04/2011 05:04 PM EDT Provides opportunities to wounded warriors and Veterans to heal through music. Puts [...] |
Support and Family Education (SAFE) – Mental Health Facts for Families |
| Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:38:07 +0000 |
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Support and Family Education (SAFE) – Mental Health Facts for Families 08/04/2011 07:25 AM EDT An 18-session family education program for people who care about someone living with mental illness or PTSD. Workshops are organized into four categories: information about disorders, skills for family members, the experience of caring about someone living with serious mental [...] |