Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a somewhat new title for a condition that has affected combat veterans throughout the history of warfare. Studying the evolution of PTSD allows us to learn how we can better support individuals, specifically United States military veterans, who are affected by this disorder today. Through the history of treating this disorder, new treatments were discovered and ways to handle the symptoms. The psychiatric community is still learning about PTSD and the harmful effects of having the disorder. History The symptoms identifying the deteriorating psychological state of troops can be found from the accounts of the Battle of Marathon (490 B.C.) and the infamous Spartan stand at Thermopylae. A 14th century exposition was discovered wherein a knight instructs young soldiers on how to defeat the melancholy and stress associated with combat hardships (van der Kolk, 2013). Military doctors made the first concerted attempts to categorize and diagnose the manifestations of acute combat stress for which Johannes Hofer championed the term “nostalgia” in his 1688 medical dissertation. During the Seven Years War, the symptoms were believed to be associated with the soldiers’ longing to return homeland, not relating it to the actual battlefield experiences (van der Kolk, 2013). Military physicians were barely able to discharge the most severe cases of psychological breakdown during the first few years of the American Civil War. Sadly, most of the affected troops were corralled into train cars with the names of their hometowns or states pinned to their clothing. Those less lucky were left to wander the countryside until they submitted to exposure. The number of these lost veterans was enough to prom... ... middle of paper ... ...esn’t emerge for several months or even years after the veteran returns home. Some symptoms include sleeping disorders, irritability, and flashbacks. Although the Veteran’s Administration conducts annual screenings, the Defense Department currently does not. Since if could take some time before PTSD is diagnosed, the Defense Department should screen veterans annually. As with all illnesses, the quicker a diagnosis is made, the better the success rate is for treatment. And since the Defense Department is responsible for active duty personnel, it is imperative testing is done frequently to prevent veterans who show symptoms of PTSD from returning to areas of conflict. The Department of Defense and Veteran’s Administration have invested time, money and effort to better assess government programs supporting and researching PTSD but even more resources are needed.