Combat PTSD From violence back to society

From violence back to society
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder conference to be held next week at Eden Resort Inn.

By ANYA LITVAK, Staff
Lancaster New Era

Published: Sep 18, 2007 11:12 AM EST

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Jan Yupcavage, a Vietnam War veteran and a readjustment counselor at the Harrisbug-based Vet Center, recently met with a young veteran of the Iraq War who was traumatized while watching "Monday Night Football."

The former soldier was stunned watching his friends cheer and yell at professional football players, as he had once done.

To muster such emotion for something so meaningless, he thought — comparing the experience to his time in battle — seemed, for the first time, ridiculous.

Now, Yupcavage said, the veteran dreads Monday nights.

That's just one way Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can hinder a soldier's readjustment into civil society, he said.

Yupcavage is scheduled to speak on the issue at a conference sponsored by the YWCA of Lancaster and Samaritan Counseling Center called "The Many Faces of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."

The two-day event, focusing on soldiers and others with PTSD, will be held Thursday and Friday, Sept. 27-28 at Eden Resort Inn.

A keynote speech given by Dr. Sandra Bloom of Community Works will kick off the event at 6:30 p.m on Sept. 27. The following day, lectures and workshops will run from 7:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

Registration is open until Monday, Sept. 24, at $65 per person, or $75 for those obtaining continuing graduation credits at the event.

Yupcavage's presentation — "When the Soldier Comes Home: The Impact of PTSD on Relationships" — is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. on Sept. 28.

"The experience of war is so intense that you come back altered," Yupcavage said.
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