PTSD:Veterans Affairs offers aid in recognizing signs

I don't know if I want to be happy about this or very sad.

Families learning to spot PTSD
Veterans Affairs offers aid in recognizing signs
By Suzanne Bohan, STAFF WRITER
Article Created: 03/27/2008 02:32:42 AM PDT


Roughly one in five soldiers or Marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan develop post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that has been plaguing humans through the ages.

"It's been around for thousands of years — as long as there's been war, as long as there's been trauma," said Dr. Byron J. Wittlin, director of mental health services at the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in San Bruno.

In World War II, the condition was called "shell shock," he said. Now it has an official name: post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Many of its victims remain untreated, so the VA is trying to educate family members.

"I think it's crucial for (military) family members to be aware of the potential mental health problems of their loved ones," Wittlin said.

As part of the emphasis on training family members to spot signs of the disorder, he recently spoke to a group from the Pacifica Military Moms, a chapter of the national organization, The Blue Star Mothers of America.

Debbie Smyser, co-founder of the Pacifica group and a trainer at Genentech in South San Francisco, has a 21-year-old son in Iraq.

A number of the members of the group also have offspring in Iraq or Afghanistan, and Smyser said they wanted to be prepared to help their children should they return in mental distress.

"We need to know what to recognize, in case we need to get them help," she said. "It's just to make us aware and what signs to look for."

However, the disorder is not unique to military personnel who have witnessed or experienced violence from combatants, or other extreme stresses of wartime service, Wittlin said.
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http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_8713495

Why does it always seem the government is the last one to catch up to speed? We've been doing this for years. I've been doing this for 25 years and 10 of it has been online. Two years ago I started doing the videos. Now,,,,now the VA wants to help people understand what PTSD is!!!!!