When drinking is a symptom and not the problem with PTSD

Triple threat: Young macho men with serious injuries often abuse alcohol
Men with serious injuries, such as traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury, must deal with a range of emotions. If these men have strong traditional masculine ideas and abuse alcohol, it becomes even more difficult to help them heal and come to terms with their emotions and situations. A University of Missouri psychology researcher studied these challenging factors to find better ways to understand and treat men who fit this mold, such as the injured soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan.

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“It is really a triple whammy,” said Glenn Good, professor of educational, school and counseling psychology in the MU College of Education. “Counselors face many challenges when it comes to helping men deal with emotions surrounding serious injuries. Newly injured men often face adjustments in the level of personal assistance they require, and this may result in struggles with some aspect of the traditional masculine role, such as a ‘go it alone’ mentality. When three factors - injury, traditional male role and alcohol abuse - occur together, the rehabilitation process may be a challenge. In this study, we examined the combination of all three factors with the aim of better understanding how to treat men with several challenges.”
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http://www.physorg.com/news127057610.html

When drinking is a symptom and not the problem with PTSD


This article is very good but it misses something that really gets forgotten when the problem is actually PTSD and not an addiction.

Vietnam veterans went in and out of drug and alcohol rehabs in droves for years. None of the programs worked and they went right back to their drug of choice all over again. In this case, the drug of choice is actually a replacement for the medication they need. This is called self-medicating. Most think that if they drink to get drunk, they're drunks or if they use drugs, they're drug addicts. When they also happen to have PTSD, they are addicted to the relief they get by killing off feelings and calming down jumping nerves.

Culture, especially in this age group, does in fact leave them feeling indestructible, especially when they have just survived combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. Additional problems not addressed nearly enough is reckless driving, endangering others as well as their own lives. Speeding in a car and on motorcycles have lead to many deaths yet very few are looking at the cause behind these kinds of impaired decisions. Part of it could be the age but part of it could be PTSD when decision making skills are lost in translation.

If a combat veteran with PTSD is not treated for PTSD, then this leads to all kinds of additional problems as well as medical attention that will not work properly. AA works great for people addicted to alcohol and there have been reports through the years that this kind of approach also works with PTSD veterans but these are reports and very little controlled studies have been done on relief that comes without the traditional treatments for PTSD. What really needs to be known first is what the mental health of the individual is to know if there are other problems other than just being reckless, irresponsible and lacking self control.