...Significant Problem With Combat Related PTSD In Women? Is there a significant problem with combat related post-traumatic stress disorder in women service members? In the past two decades, with soldiers being deployed on frontlines of combat in Iran, Afghanistan, and the Middle East, or with random terrorist attacks, PTSD has become an increasingly challenging issue, and needs to be taken more seriously by society. Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder resulting from direct or indirect exposure to traumatic situations such as violence, serious injuries, or life threatening situations that can negatively impact a person’s life....
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...Are women capable of serving in combat roles in the military psychologically? Kevin Carpenter BCOM/275 July 16th, 2012 Sandra Payne ABSTRACT According to an article in the Huffington Post women handle combat stress as well as men (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/08/women-combat-stress_n_873381.html). It is the purpose of this paper to show that psychologically women do not handle combat stress as well as men. Through research I will show that women have a higher chance of suffering from Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and have increased risk of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The definition of MST used by the VA is given by U.S. Code (1720D of Title 38). It is “psychological trauma, which in the judgment of the VA mental health professional, resulted from a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment which occurred while the Veteran was serving on active duty or active duty for training.” Sexual harassment is further defined as “repeated, unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature which is threatening in character.” In more concrete terms, MST includes any sexual activity where you are involved against your will (http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/military-sexual-trauma-general.asp ). PTSD as covered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs can occur after a traumatic event. A traumatic event is something terrible and scary that you see, hear about, or that happens to you like combat exposure...
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...Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often associated with war veterans. These days, assuming symptoms of PTSD in soldiers returning from combat tours is almost stereotypical. In fact, in the 2012 American Psychological Association (APA) annual meeting, some argue to change PTSD to post-traumatic stress “injury” to be more accommodating to soldiers, and to resolve the issue of unreported PTSD-related symptoms within military ranks (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Military officials explained that many soldiers do not report their symptoms because of the fear of being viewed as weak (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). However, the incidence of PTSD can be as common among civilians as it is for those in the military. Barlow and Durand (2013) reported recent studies showing that those who are “raped, held captive, tortured, or kidnapped, or badly assaulted” are more at risk for developing PTSD than those who experienced military combat. While the reports conveying “zero” conditional risk of PTSD from exposure to military combat seem to need clarification, PTSD remains to be a debilitating condition for those who have the proclivity to develop the disorder. This paper will discuss the diagnostic criteria, etiology, effective treatment, and outcome research pertaining to PTSD. PTSD: A trauma and stressor-related disorder PTSD now belongs in the group of trauma and stressor-related disorders as published in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual...
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...The Military, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, and Personality Jaye Crouse Northcentral University Dr. Claire Clifford PSY8100 Jul 20, 2014 Introduction The field of personality psychology has developed out of the necessity to know why people act, feel, and think like they do, to analyze their inward and outward motivations, and to discover where behaviors originate. It is the age-old debate of nature versus nurture that is found in many psychological theories and personality is no exception. Some researchers are convinced that the structure of personality is uniform and personality traits are universal, fundamentally heritable, and comprised of broadly defined dimensions where cultural, social, and gender influences are irrelevant and personality traits are fairly stable (Cattell, Eber, & Tatsuoka, 1970; McCrae & Costa, 1997: Terracciano & McCrae, 2006). Other psychologists such as humanistic and positive psychologists believe quite the opposite and contend that humans are essentially good with free will to make choices, change outcomes, and seek out opportunities to enhance their quality of life with the goal of self-actualizing, making personality a more fluid and less deterministic perspective with a focus on values, resiliency, and subjective well-being (Cloninger, 2013). Other researchers such as Freud, Adler, Horney, and Jung believe culture, society, and environment are profoundly important influences on personality (working in tandem...
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...Military service members who are and have been deployed to the Middle East show high levels of emotional distress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Both active duty and reserve component soldiers who have fought in the war (i.e. experienced combat) have been exposed to high levels of traumatic stress. As a consequence, many have gone on to develop a wide range of mental health problems such as PTSD. “According to researchers, PTSD is a long-term reaction to war-zone exposure that can last up to a few minutes, hours, several weeks, and for some a lifetime.” Common symptoms include: emotional numbing, anxiety, feelings of guilt, and depression. If the disorder turns chronic veterans may experience functional impairment (Friedman, M. J. et al., 1994, p. 265).” PTSD is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders from veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In general, the younger veterans are the more likely they are to develop PTSD when deployed. Deployment related issues from veterans may have a devastating impact on their relationships back home. “Numerous research studies have linked PTSD to family relationship problems (Goff, Crow, Reisberg, &ump; Hamilton, 2006).” PTSD is likely to be “the” contributor to relationship problems that are not related to deployments. Spouses or partners of veterans who are diagnosed with PTSD are at greater risk of hostility and aggression in their relationship than spouses whose veterans are not diagnosed. To combat this direction...
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...of that you may find a person who overeats to compensate their depression. d. Arrangements – A person suffering from severe depression may choose to make arrangements if they are considering suicide. These arrangements can include care for their family and pets in their absence. 2. Research a disorder associated with stress or mental health. - PTSD A military deployment can take a toll on any given person. The toll can be seen in many different forms such as emotional and mental disorders. These types of disorders can destroy an individual from the inside, out. Now multiply those symptoms by the number of deployments some soldiers have endured and the chance for mental disorders like post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increase drastically. There have been many studies done to determine the correlation between the number of deployments and PTSD. One particular study was conducted with the help of the US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery under the Wounded, III, and Injured/Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Program to determine if the amount of dwell time a soldier has between deployments decreases PTSD. It has been shown by this study and several others that...
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...Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disorder triggered by exposure to a highly traumatic event that results in a recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive memories of the event; avoidance of stimuli and situations associated with the event; negative changes in thoughts or moods or emotions; and a persistent state of heightened physical arousal (Hockenbury & Nolan, 2016, p. 546/547). Society has always been aware of PTSD, especially in soldiers who have recently returned from war. However, it was not until the 1980’s when PTSD was finally identified as a disorder with specific symptoms. In recent findings, studies showed that 20% of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans,...
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...examined has to do with active duty soldiers and their PTSD that they encountered while on active duty. The issue being examined also has to do with treatment during or after active duty. This is significant due to the effects of PTSD on soldiers and in order to determine if PTSD can be slowed before it reaches its peak or if soldiers should wait until they are no longer serving to seek treatment. According to Winter (2009), “Hotopf assessed a large probability sample of initial invasion troops from the UK with diverse roles in OIF 1-2 years post deployment and compared their PTSD rates with non-deployed troops. Using the PCL, they found relatively low and comparable rates of probable PTSD (4%). Subsets that subsequently deployed during the OIF insurgency war did not have higher rates. By contrast, PCL-based probable PTSD rates were appreciably lower among the non-deployed service member”. The reason behind recording this information is because it is crucial in determining whether or not soldiers should receive treatment for PTSD during or after active duty. There have been many tests done finding results of PTSD in active/non active duty soldiers. Those results rank higher when it comes to PTSD being much more of an issue for active duty servicemen. Therefore, making PTSD a point of interest when it comes to treating it promptly and not waiting until the soldiers become inactive or non-deployed. Review of Literature PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is a disorder that occurs...
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...Larisa Litvinko Litvinko 1 English 100-Professor Dana J Kerrigan Essay #3: The Expository Essay 31 July 2012 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD- Post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health problem that can occur after one goes through a traumatic event in their life. Today, military people or people who struggled with challenges, such as injuries caused by the attack on September eleven, could have been experiencing the PTSD. Doctors, families, Psychologists, and scientists are very concerned about this disorder and are finding right ways to resolve this problem. Some scientific studies have been completed over the past few years. The studies were regarding the impacts of combat deployments and their relation to spouse abuse. Research in the article “Psychology of Violence” shows that numerous psychological and behavioral outcomes are related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The most common symptoms were depression, alcohol intoxication, and spouse abuse. The September eleven, terrorist attack, serving in military, and being deployed into a war has a direct impact on soldiers and their families. The article gives us three studies that examined the effects of deployment on spouse abuse. The first study discovered that returning Army soldiers report abuse rates that lasted longer than six months (McCarroll et. al.,2000). The second and third study found no association between deployment and self-reported spouse abuse during a post deployment period...
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...these additional claims; and (c) Providing medical care and disability compensation benefits to the Soldiers returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan can cost anywhere from $400 - $900 billion depending on the type of care required, how quickly they file their claims, and the growth rate of those benefits. The recommendations that need to be considered include: increasing the staff as well as the budget for Veterans Medical Centers especially those that specialize in mental health treatment; restructure the claims process and increase staffing to help speed the process to get Veterans claims to them more expeditiously. Cost/ Benefit Analysis of Providing Medical Care to Soldiers Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan-PTSD and TBI MSA 685 Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science in Administration (Concentration in General Administration) By Ronnie E....
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...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. For example, research indicates...
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...to war. When becoming a soldier, the individual is stripped down and then rebuilt as one. Individuality and free thinking are not acceptable in the military. The group (the squad, brigade, branch of the military), is to function as one under the same rules and regulations. They are to follow and strictly abide by these. Each soldier will do as they are told by their commanding officer, and by not doing so will be punished. When a soldier is combat ready, they see things that can be unimaginable to others. War brings death, fear, anger, and aggression. Many soldiers are subject to being fired upon and/or killing others. Non-combat soldiers in combat settings see death of comrades and innocent people. In both situations, soldiers have many emotional and physical stressors that they deal with while at war. Within this paper, we will look at emotional stress in times of war and how they cause severe mental stress. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how it affects the soldier will be discussed as the leading disorder that impedes reintegration into society. Definitions Combat soldiers- Any military persons who have witnessed and/or acted in a time of war. To include, but not limited to being shot upon, killing, witnessing death, and hand to hand. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that may develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which severe physical...
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... Abstract Military veterans have consistently experienced high unemployment rates. Challenging veterans’ efforts in finding and maintaining employment is the issue of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Exacerbating this problem, is civilian employers’ utilization of deficient hiring and employment practices. In particular, employers have developed a sense of fear and uncertainty about PTSD. These perceptions often prove to be a reason why employers choose not to select veteran candidates for employment. Additionally, organizations fail to successfully acclimate and socialize new veteran employees (who do or may suffer from PTSD) into the organization’s culture. Such failures can lead veteran employees to quit their job. Together, the deficient hiring and employment practices displayed towards former service members have significant ethical implications that serve as the catalyst for high unemployment rates for the veteran population. To minimize these implications and to improve veteran employment opportunities, organizations’ human resources (HR) departments must develop and incorporate new approaches to hiring and employing veterans who do or may suffer from PTSD. Keywords: PTSD, invisible disability, human resources, implicit bias Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Unethical Business Practices and their Influence on Veteran Unemployment Since the onset of World War II, United States military veterans have been plagued...
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...America has debated the role of women in combat since 1779.That's when the Continental Congress first awarded a military disability pension to Margaret Corbin ( who nickname was " Molly Pitcher", but many women who served in the Revolutionary War had that same nickname. They couldn't let each woman have their own nickname.) after she manned a cannon at the battle of Fort Washington in northern Manhattan. Corbin got only half the pension male soldiers received, but she asked for the full and the respect which she received almost a year later. On the other hand, Women have played an important part in the military since on the battlefields of the 19th century, Crimea to the impairment of airplanes in WWII. Today, the percentage of female active and inactive served in the military continues to grow every year. In the United State Armed Force alone 15% of their troops are women of many colors. But as we honor fallen service members both men and women this Memorial Day, but let's also remember that living veterans, especially women, are still struggling. You will never know the struggle women go through every day in the military, but you will get an outlook of some of the challenges women go through while trying to get in or being enlisted, the rate of...
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...hyper-arousal. In spite of the deleterious impact of PTSD within the U.S. military, our current understanding of the human pathophysiology governing the divergent paths associated with extreme stress response the remains unabated. Given the widespread phenomenon of ‘trauma’, it begs the question of whether or not preexisting features accompany some suffers who have developed PTSD and why others may or may not face the same effect. Much research has been conducted in this arena and it seems that no one researcher has a definitive cause, much less a standardized treatment approach for PTSD sufferers. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops as a consequence of traumatic events such as interpersonal violence, disaster, severe accidents, or other life-threatening experiences. The most common characteristics of PTSD are the re-experiencing of symptoms linked to a specific event. Patients involuntary re-experience aspects of the traumatic event in a very vivid and distressing way. This includes: flashbacks, in which the person acts or feels as if the event were recurring, nightmares, intrusive images or other sensory impressions from the event. For example, one soldier witnesses another, mortally wounded during a bombing. Consequently this survivor continues hearing the sound of the explosion and unwillingly relives the memories of the horrific encounter over and over. Patients who suffer from PTSD display periods of both hyperarousal and numbing...
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