Iraq vets and post-traumatic stress: No easy answers

Iraq vets and post-traumatic stress: No easy answers
Story Highlights
Study shows 1 in 5 U.S. veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan has PTSD, depression

One study found about half seek treatment; other study, less than 40 percent do

Kris Goldsmith returned from Iraq depressed, angry and profoundly changed

Today Goldsmith works with veterans' rights groups and anti-war movement

By A. Chris Gajilan
CNN Senior Producer

BELLMORE, New York (CNN) -- Walking through a crowded shopping mall can bring back memories of war. The shifting crowds, the jostle of passers-by and the din can all trigger Army Sgt. Kristofer Goldsmith's post-traumatic stress disorder.

"You get used to scanning what everybody's doing. Your brain just starts working so fast and it's purely instinctual because you want to know what everyone's intent is around you," said Goldsmith, who served four years in active duty.

"You want to know if anyone has the intent to harm you or the capabilities to harm you."
That hyper-vigilance is one common symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD, an anxiety disorder, can develop after a terrifying or life-threatening event, or a series of events causing extreme stress.

It's a complex disorder that displays myriad symptoms. People may become more depressed, aggressive, or emotionally detached. For Goldsmith, the chest-tightening anxiety attacks and trouble sleeping he experienced after returning from Iraq in 2005 indicated he was suffering from PTSD.

"With PTSD comes anxiety problems, depression problems ... I get flashes of rage, which goes hand in hand with alcoholism I've been fighting since I got back from Iraq," Goldsmith said.
Dr Gupta: Watch more on Kris Goldsmith's war experience »

As more troops return from the battlefield, the U.S. military faces a burgeoning dilemma of diagnosing and treating PTSD.

According to the latest Pentagon study, published in 2004, about one in six veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suffers from PTSD, depression or anxiety. Learn more about PTSD

go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/10/24/ptsd.struggle/

A vet's struggle with PTSD 3:29Iraq vet Kris Goldsmith nearly died from post-traumatic stress disorder. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.
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Source: CNN Added October 24, 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/10/24/ptsd.struggle/#cnnSTCVideo