...has yielded the fewer casualties and wounded soldiers. However, while seemingly healthy on the outside, many of the service members have been returning with “invisible scars,” which are mental illnesses due to combat (Jaycox, Tanielian, Rand, C & Rand, H., 2008). The list includes concussions, depression, traumatic brain injury, and most notably post-traumatic stress disorder. Research indicates that of the veterans redeploying from the Middle East, almost 22 percent...
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...Veterans with PTSD: Should Society Get More Involved? November 11th, also known as Veterans Day, is the day citizens all over the United States celebrate the soldiers who serve for America. A person can tackle his or her daily duties under the protection and services of the soldiers fighting for freedom. Soldiers put in work everyday and sacrifice more than what a lot of people realize. But most importantly, veterans and soldiers alike are human too, meaning they also have problems and struggles in life; most commonly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Because of soldiers’ great sacrifice to protect civilians and their country, more actions must be taken to assist in reintegrating veterans with PTSD back into society. When dealing with a particularly...
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...“Living With The Past” by Art Vandalay June 15, 2013 In all honesty I did not hear the term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) until some time after I re-deployed from Iraq in mid August 2003. Surely the term had been around long before them, but it wasn’t commonly used acronym in the military. I didn’t have nearly the frequent use that is has in today’s Army. Nowadays, everything a Soldier does is associated with PTSD even if the Soldier has not been diagnosed with it; it has become such a ill-used word that from what I can see everyone is try to jump on the band wagon. So if Soldier is late for my formation, the first thing he says is, “I must have PTSD or something, I need to get check out”, well the whole time I am thinking the Soldier just didn’t want to get up this morning, he doesn’t have PTSD. So I can understand how the screening for PTSD may be a bit diluted as everyone [thinks] they have it, even those who are new recruits and have never even been to combat. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat (National Institute of Mental Health, 2011). Although not all individuals who have been traumatized develop PTSD, there can be significant physical consequences of being traumatized...
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...decade. Over half of these soldiers have been deployed more than once. Deployment does not only effect the soldier, but also his family, friends, and doctors. War affects everybody and it changes some people’s outlooks on life in general. There are many different situations that soldiers and their families must face upon returning from war. Psychological and physical difficulties due to the intensity and horrors of warfare have been recorded in history since the Trojan war and in all American wars. Even though the physical damage may heal, the mental stresses do not lessen over time. Psychological disorders from deployment ranges from insomnia to poor dieting. Mental illness has become so common in returning soldiers that there is officially a name for it which is, “post Deployment Syndrome,” and affects many different people who are around the returning soldier. Like war, PDS symptoms affect everyone around them. There is no specific way to test and see if someone has a mental disorder, so they are tested through direct interviews. Almost half of a million U.S. troops have been affected by PDS and can have any of the following symptoms: polytrauma, combat stress, blast injury, hypersensitivity, PTSD, post concussive syndrome. No matter how mentally strong each soldier is, PDS is very hard to avoid. Soldiers have to deal with the aftermath of killing others and watching others get killed, but they also have to deal with physical pain as well since most soldiers do come back with permanent...
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...panic, fear, and disorder throughout the globe. This disaster, which caused an enormous number of fatalities, was witnessed live by over 100,000 people, with millions more discovering the disturbing news mere hours later (Yehuda, 2002). Thousands of deaths, along with the threat of subsequent attacks and the beginning of a possible world war, left numerous people extremely alarmed and scared for the safety of themselves and their families. Many people exposed to the attacks developed trouble coping with the repercussions and responses to the attacks. It was estimated that approximately 35% of the population directly exposed to this act of terrorism developed, or will develop, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Yehuda, 2002). An event such as the September 11th attack is a prime example of a major traumatic event in recent history that has left Americans and Canadians feeling threatened. Events, whether a large public occurrence such as the one identified above, or an individualistic personal episode, can result in the development of PTSD. PTSD is characterized by a variety of symptoms that last for at least one month, or longer, following a traumatic event (Brady 2004). It can be defined as the trauma itself and an individual’s response to that trauma. It effects the psychological, emotional, social, and physical states of the affected individual and can act as a pathway for other psychological disorders, the most common being major depressive disorder (MDD)(Van Ameringen...
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...Journal Article 1 Title of Journal Article: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Abstract: Psychological disorders take place across, time, places, moods and situations. The definition of psychological disorder that is commonly used in society today a disorder also known as a mental disorder, is a certain pattern of behavioral or psychological symptoms that have a great impact on multiple areas in people or create a unknown distress for the person that is experiencing these symptoms. I have chosen to discuss posttraumatic stress disorder and its capabilities with human beings. In this paper it is proposed that Autonomic Nervous System hyper arousal is at the core of PTSD and the driving force behind dissociation and flashbacks. Acute traumatic reactions are very different from PTSD. Review: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) often disrupts the ability to function of those affected by it, interfering with the ability to meet their daily needs and perform the most basic tasks. Trauma continues to be a part of the lives of people with PTSD as they relive the most horrible life-threatening experiences one could possibly imagine. Researchers have proven that not everyone experiencing traumatic events develops PTSD; it is a complex psychological condition that can emerge in the wake of life-threatening experiences. Certain events are life threatening and will produce traumatic stress in victims. This is a normal and adjustable response for the mind and...
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...Chapter 1: The Perfect Fit: the New Emergency Response Professional (ERP) The tougher the disaster challenge, the greater the demand for experienced, emotionally and physically prepared individuals to mitigate the challenge. To that end, elite emergency response professionals (ERP) are experts possessing at least ten years of proficiency working in all types of catastrophic relief environment. Emergency response professionals will be even-tempered, willing to work across multiple cultures, government and private business boundaries. They must remain free of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and have no addiction to any substance. They must possess family members emotionally willing to allow them to leave at a moment’s notice, stay for...
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...Running head: POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Military Veterans Jason Rosenbaum Grand Canyon University HLT-515 Dr. Rick Edwards 22 June 2014 Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Military Veterans Negative mental health outcomes following warzone exposure, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), can serve as a barrier for veterans reintegrating back into civilian life. PTSD is marked by clear physical and psychological symptoms caused by physical injury or an intense emotional distress. PTSD in military veterans can occur following a life-threatening event such as military combat, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or violent personal assaults like rape. PTSD symptoms include depression, substance abuse, problems of memory and cognition, and other physical and mental health problems. This disorder can also be traced to difficulties in social settings or family life, finding a job, marital problems, and in performing parental acts. PTSD is a condition that impacts American military personnel who have returned from deployment and were exposed to encounters with the enemy. Approximately 7% of Americans develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point in their lives (Kessler, Berglund, Demler, Jin, Merikangas, & Walters, 2005). Due to increased exposure to traumatic situations (i.e., combat), the prevalence of PTSD is much greater among war veterans compared to the general population...
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...Compelled to become instruments of war, to kill and be killed, child soldiers are forced to give violent expression to the hatreds of adults -- Olara Otunnu In the country of Uganda lies terror in the minds of many children. Many people are unaware of the inhumane and wretched experiences that happen in Uganda. Families cannot sleep peacefully at night because of unwanted attacks from rebels who torture and abduct their children. These children are then forced to be placed into an army, comprised mostly of children in an environment that radically changes their soul. Like the quote from Olara Otunnu, children are used as objects to carry forth actions that certain adults feel towards their civilization. If one is fortunate enough to escape or rescued then they must deal with the cruel effects of reintegrating into society. Research confirms that it is immoral to have child soldiers in Uganda because war-related experiences inhibit a healthy growth as a one suffers from psychological and physical trauma. Known to be one of the worse humanitarian crises since World War II, the epidemic in Uganda began over twenty years ago. This came about due to a man name Joseph Kony and his ideology of establishing a government based on the Ten Commandments (Benter 1). He believed with a large enough army, he would be able to overthrow the current system residing in Uganda today. One usually associates the idea of an army with adults; men and women who voluntary commit to serve their country...
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...had before their service. Often times they will appear emotionally detached from their loved ones, they lack social behavior, and they may even act violently or out of character in some other way. This can be interpreted common actions of someone who has just been in a warzone for a prolonged period, but the strange way they act is often defined as a symptom of some sort or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder similar to what you would see in victims of rape or violent crimes. The PTSD experienced in these violent crime victims and veterans are not the same the way each of the symptoms line up side to side is enough proof that the experiences are clearly different fundamentally. The tension is that not all veterans are afraid of what they saw and reliving it over and over because they have no choice. The problem lies in them missing the war experience rather than trying forget it. Veteran’s face serious social obstacles acclimating back into the society of the U.S. and as a culture we have become increasingly infatuated with individualisms ideals which makes it harder for them to build rapport with their community. It is necessary to explore how we as a culture are responsible for what happens to our veterans not just when they’re overseas but also when they come home. We also must examine more abstract ways of examining troubled veterans because there is an egregious amounts of troubled individuals who are experiencing unique struggles but are being treated as if they are uniformly...
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...people with violence, they might have abrupt mood changes with abuse to alcohol and drug abuse contributing to their anger. The best theory to help define domestic violence is “The Culture of Violence” playing a huge roll in shaping our youth train of thought to understand what is now acceptable in society. The culture of violence theory states that violence occurs at all levels of the social ladder and is looked at as means to straighten out a conflict. The subculture follows a set of "conduct norms", which are rules governing "the various ways in which a person might act under certain circumstances . . . the violation of which arouses a group reaction" (Wolfgang & Ferracuti, 1967: 101). The culture of violence theory considers violence and force to be used in a clash of differences between the aggressor and the potential victim. The theory believes that in order to stop an enraged male from beating on a woman on a continuous bases he must first find a way to change and find other ways to settle disputes with his spouse in a more ethical way than a vicious way to gain the upper hand against his spouse. To put this theory in to use I will use a simple case study of a soldier returning home from a tour of duty to a spouse he may have not seen for months even years due to his deployment. “Domestic violence can happen to anyone,...
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...Introductory Section For many years there have been reports, articles, movies, and other information made available to the public about post traumatic stress disorder(PTSD). The military have their own community of trained professionals that gives support during time being served in the military. Upon discharge there are some resources available but the ease of access is a challenge. Once a veteran has seen combat and is ready for discharge they are not given additional monitoring or treatment once they enter civilian life. It is left up to the individual to recognize they need mental support. Most of these veterans do not seek such assistance. Instead they consider this the norm and go on with their lives as they suffer in silence. The news is filled with reports of Veteran Administration systemic problems with their health care facilities and the ability to take care of combat veterans. The VA Secretary Eric Shinseki is getting increasing pressures from congress and the public regarding the faults of the system. The ability of the system to take of a veteran is poor. The PTSD patient warriors of current wars like Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from the inability to receive proper care. (Landen, 2014) Reports are finding problems in the VA system with improper scheduling of patients, and excessive waiting times. “1 in every 5 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD. Half on those veterans never seek treatment.” (Liebert & Williams , 2013 p. 227) Many veterans...
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...Stigma of Mental Illness Mental illness seems more prevalent today than it did in the days of our grandparents and great grandparents. Arguments range many opinions of why this is the case. One argument is that more mental illnesses are recognized today compared to the past. For example, during WWII “Shell Shock” was used to describe the abnormal mental condition affecting all soldiers who experienced traumatic events during war. Psychiatrist didn’t discover Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), until the Vietnam War (Joseph, 2011). Advancements and discovery’s in the field of Psychology today have led to the diagnosis of many mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar disorder, depression, and others. This led to many questions. Are these conditions over diagnosed? Are these just labels for behaviors not acceptable by society? What stigmas are associated with those affected by these conditions? I think it’s a combination of all of the above. (NAMI, 2016)...
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...Wakefield Dr. Tina Redd Writing 122 October 25, 2013 Gun Control for Veterans Diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder In the wake of all the recent school and military base shootings, our government and other entities are trying to pinpoint the “why” for these tragedies. Circumstances vary in each incident, but there is a common factor - the use of guns, and in a few of these incidents, the shooter has been a member or veteran of our United States military, who may or may not have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Although PTSD is not a new condition and affects all walks of life and occupations, including child abuse victims to emergency responders, focus for gun control is on those that have recently been diagnosed with PTSD after serving our country in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. PTSD is a condition naturally resulting from trauma exposure and not exclusive to American military service members. An estimated 8% of Americans will experience PTSD. Women are twice as likely as men to develop symptoms and seven million U.S adults (3.6%) have PTSD during the course of a given year. Intense feelings of fear, helplessness and stress patients endure can be caused by physical, emotional, sexual abuse, or drug addiction. Exposure to occupational horror, violence, grief or trauma, including law enforcement, medical professionals, emergency workers and soldiers, can all cause PTSD. It is a natural, human response to tragedy or suffering. (Madison). Although...
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...Clin Soc Work J (2014) 42:323–335 DOI 10.1007/s10615-014-0496-z ORIGINAL PAPER Trauma Through the Life Cycle: A Review of Current Literature Shulamith Lala Ashenberg Straussner Alexandrea Josephine Calnan • Highlight every key term that refers to the following key concepts: 1) "trauma" generally a) "large T trauma" b) "micro-trauma" 2) "resilience" Published online: 31 May 2014 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 Abstract This paper provides an overview of common traumatic events and responses, with a specific focus on the life cycle. It identifies selected ‘‘large T’’ and ‘‘micro’’ traumas encountered during childhood, adulthood and late life, and the concept of resilience. It also identifies the differences in traumatic events and reactions experienced by men compared to women, those related to the experience of immigration, and cross generational transmission of trauma. Descriptions of empirically-supported treatment approaches of traumatized individuals at the different stages of the life cycle are offered. Keywords PTSD Á Large-T and micro-traumas Á Neurobiology Á Gender differences Á Immigrants Á Treatment approaches The past is never dead. It’s not even past. William Faulkner The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the central dialectic of psychological trauma. Judith Lewis Herman S. L. A. Straussner (&) Silver School of Social Work, New York University, 1 Washington...
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