PTSD mind, body and spirit connection

PTSD and Older VeteransFrom the time of Homer's ancient story of the battle between the Trojans and the Greeks, and the times of the Bible and Shakespeare, military personnel have been confronted by the trauma of war. Recent books and movies have highlighted the impact of war trauma on veterans of the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War. However, the traumas faced by veterans of World War II and the Korean conflict have been publicly acknowledged in the media less often and less clearly. The recent movie, "Saving Private Ryan," showed the reality of war trauma during World War II. World War II was terrifying and shocking for hundreds of thousands of American military personnel. For most World War II veterans, memories of the war can still be upsetting more than 50 years later, even if the memories arise only occasionally and for brief periods. For a smaller number of World War II veterans, the war trauma memories still cause severe problems, in the form of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

(UPDATE, the link was updated January 2020)


Each of them go into combat with their past life in their minds. They know the mistakes they've made, sins committed, people they've hurt, words they said and regret. In other words like the rest of us, they have baggage. They may have joined from the most noblest of reasons, defending the nation, or for a combination of that along with selfish reasons of paying for college. Each one enters in with their own purpose and at different levels. I happen to think they were born heroes and would have done something for society no matter what they chose to do with their lives.

They train to kill and in the back of their minds they think it's wrong to kill. This quiet voice is hushed in training and focusing on moment. It reawakens when they are putting their training to use and have to kill someone or come into contact after or even when they see one of their friends killed.

Trauma strikes people. For victims the wound does not cut as deep it seems. For emergency responders, it cuts a bit deeper because they come into contact with traumatic situations often. For police officers, it cuts even deeper because they are participants in it doing their job and are often in a situation where they have to kill someone. For the combat forces, it cuts even deeper than all the others because they participate in it more often.

When a bomb blows up and they survive, they either survive thinking God spared their lives or God judged them for their lives and this was punishment. They may believe that God abandoned them because of what they had done in their lives or judged them because they just killed someone.

Depending on the relationship the warrior has with God and the knowledge of how He forgives, this will predict if the baggage they carry will awaken or remain asleep. What most people do not understand is that war and the traumas of war were in the Bible and throughout recorded history. War is not murder and God did not condemn the warrior. Neither did Christ. When the Roman Centurion went to Christ seeking to have his slave cured, a slave he loved, the Roman was filled with so much faith that Christ could do it, he told Christ he didn't have to go to his house in order to heal his slave. Christ, knowing the Romans were responsible for the hardships on the Hebrews and knowing they would nail Him to the Cross, healed the slave and blessed the Centurion for his faith in Him. Those who know they are forgiven for all they have done wrong, will usually leave the trauma behind them in enough of an amount they do not feel as if it has penetrated their soul. They thank God for watching over them.

For those who do not understand, most of the time they feel God either hates them and they are paying the price with the ravages of what they lived through taking over their mind or God abandoned them and they are on their own.

This is one of the biggest reasons why the healing is so much stronger when the connection between mind/body/spirit are all treated at the same time. Mind is helped by talk therapy and medication. Body is helped with exercises that do not require aggression for most, but for some they find it helps to do something like weight training. Spirit is helped when they speak to others of their faith or a spiritual counselor. Usually with a member of the clergy or a Chaplain with a strong understanding of the spiritual needs of all people. They must be non-judgmental, which is hard for a lot of members of the clergy. Chaplains get into this because they are under no church authority and are allowed to take care of the spiritual needs of all people no matter what faith they have or if they have no faith at all. Most of the time it is the act of human kindness that goes a long way in healing the spirit.

If they feel they have been abandoned by God and then by their country, this cuts the wound even deeper. Not having someone to help them as they see their lives fall apart, cuts even deeper. By they time this happens, they are seeking someone to show some compassion for them and find it very hard to receive. Now think of what it would have been like for them to go through trauma in combat and then have the ability to debrief like police and first responders do with Chaplains. How deep do you think the wound would cut if this happened?

Read the rest from the center.

Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.namguardianangel.blogspot.com/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/



"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation."

- George Washington

How does war affect "normal," "healthy" military personnel?
War is a life threatening experience that involves witnessing and engaging in terrifying and gruesome acts of violence. Most military personnel also feel that participating in war is their patriotic duty, and they do so to protect and defend their country, their loved ones, their values, and their way of life. The trauma of war is the shocking confrontation with death, devastation, and violence. It is normal for human beings to react to war's psychic trauma with feelings of fear, anger, grief, and horror, as well as with emotional numbness and disbelief.

Many studies have shown that the more prolonged, extensive, and horrifying a soldier's or sailor's exposure to war trauma, the more likely it is that she or he will become emotionally worn down and exhausted. This happens to even the strongest and healthiest of individuals, and often it is precisely these soldiers who are the most psychologically disturbed by war because they endure so much of the trauma. Most war heroes don't feel brave or heroic at the time, but they do their duty, despite often feeling overwhelmed and horrified, in order to protect others.

It is, therefore, no surprise that when military personnel have had severe difficulty recovering from the trauma of war, their psychological difficulties have been described as "soldier's heart" (in the Civil War), "shell shock" (in World War I), or "combat fatigue" (in World War II). After World War II, psychiatrists realized that these problems usually were not an inborn mental illness like schizophrenia or manic depressive illness but were a different form of psychological dis-ease that resulted from too much exposure to war trauma. This form of psychological dis-ease is known as "traumatic war neurosis" or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Although most war veterans are troubled by war memories, many were fortunate enough either to have not experienced an overwhelming amount of trauma exposure or to have immediate and lasting help from family, friends, and spiritual and psychological counselors so that the memories have become manageable. A smaller number, probably about one in twenty World War II veterans, had so much war trauma and so many readjustment difficulties that they now suffer from PTSD.

How is it possible to have PTSD 50 years after a war?Because most World War II veterans received a hero's welcome and a booming peacetime economy when they returned to the states, many were able to make a successful readjustment to civilian life. They coped, more or less successfully, with their memories of traumatic events. Many had disturbing memories or nightmares, difficulty with work pressure or close relationships, and problems with anger or nervousness, but few sought treatment for their symptoms or discussed the emotional effects of their wartime experiences. Society expected them to put it all behind them, forget the war, and get on with their lives. But as they grew older and went through changes in the patterns of their lives-retirement, the death of spouse and friends, deteriorating health, and declining physical vigor-many experienced more difficulty with war memories or stress reactions. Some had enough trouble to be diagnosed with a delayed onset of PTSD symptoms, sometimes with other disorders like depression and alcohol abuse. Such PTSD often occurs in subtle ways. For example, a World War II veteran who had a long successful career as an attorney and judge and a loving relationship with his wife and family might find upon retiring and having a heart attack that he suddenly felt panicky and trapped when going out in public. Upon closer examination, with a sensitive helpful counselor, he might find that the fear is worst when riding in his car, and this may relate to trauma memories of deaths among his unit when he was a tank commander in World War II.

How can I help an older military veteran who may have PTSD?First, if one feels emotional about past memories or experiences some of the normal changes associated with growing older (such as sleep disturbances, concentration problems, or memory impairment), it does not necessarily mean that person has PTSD. If a World War II or Korean conflict veteran finds it important, but emotionally difficult, to remember and talk about war memories, help him or her by being a good listener, or help find a friend or counselor who can be a good listener.

Second, get information about war trauma and PTSD. The Department of Veterans Affairs' Vet Centers and Medical Center PTSD Teams offer education for veterans and families, and they can provide an in-depth psychological assessment and specialized therapy if a veteran has PTSD. Books such as Aphrodite Matsakis' I Can't Get Over It (Oakland: New Harbinger, 1992) and Patience Mason's Home from the War (High Springs, Florida: Patience Press, 1998) describe PTSD for veterans of all ages and other trauma survivors and PTSD's effect on the family.

Third, learn about the specialized therapies available at Vet Centers and VA Medical Centers. These include medications to help with sleep, bad memories, anxiety, and depression; stress and anger management classes; counseling groups for PTSD and grief (some particularly designed to bring together older war veterans to support one another in healing from war trauma or prisoner of war experiences); and individual counseling. It is important that family members be involved in the veteran's care and in their own individual care.

This fact sheet was based on:
Bonwick, R.J., & Morris, P.L.P. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in elderly war veterans. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 11, 1071-1076.

Hyer, L., Summers, M.N., Braswell, L., & Boyd, S. (1995). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Silent problem among older combat veterans. Psychotherapy 32(2), 348-364.

Schnurr, P.P. (1991).PTSD and Combat-Related Psychiatric Symptoms in Older Veterans. PTSD Research Quarterly 2(1), 1-6.

Snell, F.I. & Padin-Rivera, E. (1997). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the elderly combat veteran. Journal of Gerontological Nursing 23(10), 13-19.
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/ncdocs/fact_shts/fs_older_veterans.html