Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a real mental illness that needs to be taken more seriously. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is a mental illness that can develop with people who have experienced a traumatic event in their lives. There are some people that believe PTSD is not a real illness, and that it is an excuse for someone’s behavior. That idea is incorrect. PTSD can severely affect the way a person lives in a real way. It is not a disability that is new to society however it has been recently acknowledged. The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology states, “Post-traumatic stress disorder has been classified as an anxiety disorder in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders since 1980.” (505). For a lot of people they just don’t understand what PTSD really is. If someone doesn’t know what PTSD is, how can they understand it? PTSD is an anxiety disorder that’s symptoms can range widely, however The International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family categorizes them into three groups. “Symptoms are categorized into three clusters: persistent re-experiencing of the stressor, persistent avoidance of reminders and emotional numbing, and persistent symptoms of increased arousal.” (1250). When people fall in the persistent re-experiencing category they can experience many things like; nightmares, flashbacks, or traumatic daydreams in which he or she relives the trauma as if it were recurring in the present. These are only a few symptoms that can be expected from this category of symptoms of PTSD. With PTSD, there is what’s called “the trigger.” This is a person, place, object, or even a scent that triggers the reactions one has of PTSD. This trigger can be anything a... ... middle of paper ... ...lly understand them in a safe environment. Not everyone will have lifelong PTSD; some may only have a few years or months. The point is to seek professional help instead of trying to do it all by yourself. PTSD can seem to control one’s life, but with the right tools the people can take back their lives, and maintain their PTSD to a minimum degree. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a real mental illness. It needs to be taken more seriously for the sake of the public. With more public awareness people would be able to find and seek help. They would understand what they have is an illness. Soldiers wouldn’t have to be ashamed to seek help, but instead know the severity of their situation. PTSD is an illness that most will have to live with the rest of their lives. That doesn’t mean we can’t make their lives a little easier by understanding what they’re going through.
PTSD is a battle for everyone who is diagnosed and for the people close to them. The only way to fight and win a battle is to understand what one is fighting. One must understand PTSD if he or she hopes to be cured of it. According to the help guide, “A positive way to cope with PTSD is to learn about trauma and PTSD”(Smith and Segal). When a person knows what is going on in his or her body, it could give them better control over their condition. One the many symptoms of PTSD is the feeling of helplessness, yet, knowing the symptoms might give someone a better sense of understanding. Being in the driver’s seat of the disorder, can help recognize and avoid triggers. Triggers could be a smell, an image, a sound, or anything that could cause an individual to have a flashback of the intimidating event. Furthermore, knowing symptoms of PTSD could, as well, help one in recovering from the syndrome. For instance, a person could be getting wor...
...t and seeing signs of improvement in their mental health (Edge, 2010). Ultimately, the current structure of the United States’ society under capitalism does not allow for an adequate solution to the social problem of the rise of PTSD among military members. Society is structured around individual and corporate interests, which does not leave room for the unique treatments required for PTSD. Unless capitalism is dismantled and a socialist society is created, which would dramatically change the current military structure and potentially reinstate the draft, soldiers will be forced to seek treatment from the neoconservative and liberal systems that offer inadequate treatment, if at all. As social workers, we must operate from the radical humanist perspective of structural social work and seek to help our military members from within the current system, for now.
A Vietnam War veteran experienced many gruesome and horrifying events during their time of serving the army. Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking “PTSD is defined as a re-experience of a traumatic event, for example, flashbacks. Anything can trigger a flashback a click, a movement, anything associated with the past event” (Cruz). Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking. A soldier was told to forget what they saw and basically move on from it, but it only made it worse. Having everything “bottled up” makes it even harder to treat PTSD. U.S. soldiers had to live with the disorder on their own without any help. “The veterans experience combat related nightmares, anxiety, anger, depression, alcohol and/or drug dependency, all are symptoms of PTSD” (Begg). The symptoms occurred over long periods of time when that person has been in certain situations that he or she was not ready to be in. Some of these situations including the Vietnam veterans not feeling like their unit was together or united. “Soldiers were sent into replace other soldiers, which caused the other members of the group to make fun or haze them. The unit never developed as much loyalty to each other as they should have” (Paulson and Krippner). “Many of...
PTSD occurs after experiencing traumatic events and prolonged periods of emotional distress. A traumatic event is something that a person experiences that causes them to feel like their lives, or the lives of others, are in immediate danger. If after traumatic events such feelings of fear or complete loss of control do not subside and cause disruptions in a person's everyday life PTSD may occur. Such traumatic events may include: Combat in a war zone, sexual or physical abuse or assault, major accidents, or natural disasters. There are four main symptoms used to identify PTSD: Reliving the traumatic event, which can include nightmares and flashbacks. Avoiding people or situations that could remind one of the event. Negative changes in a persons thoughts or feelings, such as fear, guilt, shame or loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities. Lastly, hyperarousal, feeling jittery, alert and on the look for danger along with trouble sleeping or focusing. (National Center For PTSD). People suffering from Ptsd may also encounter problems with depression and anxiety along with relationship problems, physical symptoms, and drug and alcohol problems.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental illness that develops after exposure to an event that is perceived to be life threatening or pose serious bodily injury to self or others (Sherin & Nemeroff, 2011). According
Post traumatic stress disorder to most people is a soldier that has just come back from
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a traumatic event (Riley). A more in depth definition of the disorder is given by Doctor’s Nancy Piotrowski and Lillian Range, “A maladaptive condition resulting from exposure to events beyond the realm of normal human experience and characterized by persistent difficulties involving emotional numbing, intense fear, helplessness, horror, re-experiencing of trauma, avoidance, and arousal.” People who suffer from this disease have been a part of or seen an upsetting event that haunts them after the event, and sometimes the rest of their lives. There are nicknames for this disorder such as “shell shock”, “combat neurosis”, and “battle fatigue” (Piotrowski and Range). “Battle fatigue” and “combat neurosis” refer to soldiers who have been overseas and seen disturbing scenes that cause them anxiety they will continue to have when they remember their time spent in war. It is common for a lot of soldiers to be diagnosed with PTSD when returning from battle. Throughout the history of wars American soldiers have been involved in, each war had a different nickname for what is now PTSD (Pitman et al. 769). At first, PTSD was recognized and diagnosed as a personality disorder until after the Vietnam Veterans brought more attention to the disorder, and in 1980 it became a recognized anxiety disorder (Piotrowski and Range). There is not one lone cause of PTSD, and symptoms can vary from hallucinations to detachment of friends and family, making a diagnosis more difficult than normal. To treat and in hopes to prevent those who have this disorder, the doctor may suggest different types of therapy and also prescribe medication to help subside the sympt...
PTSD is defined as mental health disorder triggered by a terrifying event (Mayoclinic). This ordeal could be the result of some sort of physical harm or threat to the individual, family members, friends or even strangers. (NIMH) While PTSD is typically associated with someone who has served in the military, it can affect more than just that genre of individuals. It could affect rape victims, victims in a terrorist or natural disaster incident, nurses, doctors, and police and fire personnel and bystanders. PTSD can manifest itself in many forms. The primary signs and symptoms of PTSD include but are not limited to re-experiencing symptoms (flashbacks, bad dreams, frightening thoughts), avoidance of places, situations, or events that may cause those memories to resurface, and hyperarousal symptoms (easily startled, feeling tense or on edge) (NIMH). Other symptoms may include not having positive or loving feelings toward other people, staying away from relationships, may forget about parts of the traumatic event or not be able to talk about them, may think the world is completely dangerous, and no one can be trusted.
Hundreds of thousands of United States veterans are not able to leave the horrors of war on the battlefield (“Forever at War: Veterans Everyday Battles with PTSD” 1). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the reason why these courageous military service members cannot live a normal life when they are discharged. One out of every five military service members on combat tours—about 300,000 so far—return home with symptoms of PTSD or major depression. According to the Rand Study, almost half of these cases go untreated because of the disgrace that the military and civil society attach to mental disorders (McGirk 1). The general population of the world has to admit that they have had a nightmare before. Imagine not being able to sleep one wink because every time you close your eyes you are forced to relive memories from the past that you are trying to bury deep. This is what happens to the unfortunate men and women who are struggling with PTSD. Veterans that are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder deserve the help they need.
With people who are suffering from PTSD their brain is still in overdrive long after the trauma has happened. They may experience things like flashbacks, nightmares, hallucinations, panic attacks, and deep depression. They tend to avoid things that remind them of their trauma and are constantly on high alert waiting for the next possible traumatic event to take place; in events such...
PTSD, also known as post-traumatic stress disorder, is an anxiety disorder. It affects people that have experienced, witnessed, or were confronted with a life threatening event. It can cause flashbacks, depression, nightmares, and change of mood. Other common symptoms of PTSD are difficulty sleeping, anger outbursts, decreased interest in activities, avoidance of people and places that can trigger a memory, and inability to recall part of the trauma. Symptoms can occur right after the incident but also much later in life. Other common occurrences with PTSD are depression, suicide, and alcohol or drug abuse (FAQs about PTSD).
Our soldiers not only risked life and limb for our country while serving in the Vietnam War, but they continue to suffer immensely. Americans as well as Vietnamese troops and civilians suffered great losses when it comes to casualties. Witnessing first-hand the pain and death of strangers and allies, isn’t something one is likely to forget. Post-Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been one of the many repercussions of witnessing these gruesome events (Mental Health America). Veterans, their families, and the government have come together in combat in attempts to address the detrimental effects of PTSD.
In Shane’s article, he states that “military discharge review boards must consider troops’ mental health issues” (Shane). However, this is still a work in progress and isn’t officially a requirement for the government at the moment. This illustrates that currently soldiers are only discharged due to physical injuries that can be visibly seen as having a negative impact on the rest of their life. However, a PTSD or TBI diagnosis does not allow a soldier to have an honorable discharge, and thus they do not have access to mental health support. In the short story “In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway, he states, “We were all a little detached, and there was nothing that held us together except that we met every afternoon at the hospital” (Hemingway). Here he is describing the fact that him and all of the other soldiers had become emotionally numb after the war, yet they were all being treated for their physical injuries on a regular basis. The soldiers are given false hope through the previous “successful” results of the machines they are using, instead of being given emotional support to be able to cope with the reality of their situations. By not receiving help, there is no guarantee that these soldiers may be able to effectively communicate and relate with other non-veterans, as they have a tendency to close themselves
Treatments for PTSD cannot erase your memory of those events,” (Tull) and, “That said, it is important to remember that symptoms of PTSD can come back again” (Tull). Even though it cannot be cured, it can be treated effectively with treatment. According to mayoclinc.org, “The primary treatment is psychotherapy, but often includes medication” (None). With the help of psychotherapy and medication, people who suffer from PTSD can begin to regain their life from anxiety and
...y need in order to live a happy and healthy rest of their life. Just by reading this article it allows you into a whole new world of the military, something deeper than what we see from the outside world. At first when one reads this article they might find it biased and not very beneficial, but once they present the data tables you see the numbers and it blows your mind to see how many veterans are suffering from posttraumatic disorder. The presentation of the evidence and the way the argument is presented is in a well-organized manner for any reader to follow along. “ Mental Health in Deployed and Non-deployed Veteran Men and Women in Comparison With their Civilian Counterparts,” is a reliable source due to the academic presentation which includes data, personal interviews, qualified sources and a balanced argument that have points that support their argument.