PTSD:A Plague of War

Trained for battle, toughened, ready to fight, courage, patriotism, many different words they hear as they prepare to risk their lives. What they don't hear is the word "human" in the vocabulary of military speak. Then they come home changed. Some, temporary, others forever. While our experiences go into who we are and we move on with memories of normal daily lives, the combat veterans have to live with the memories of war. They still have the words used to train them reverberating in their minds and none of those words fit in with seeking help.

For all the times we've heard about the concern for phony claims in the VA with PTSD, what we need to remember is that the vast majority of veterans with PTSD, never go for help at all. Ask a Vietnam vet and understand that help was for the weak in their mind and this is something the "tough" will not tolerate. The stigma lives on. They don't understand that it takes a lot of courage and tenacity to fight the government to have claims approved, have the wounds treated and begin to heal. Courage to no longer care what some uneducated fool has to say about a brave veteran seeking help for this wound. Enough knowledge to know that no one has to just suck it up and deal with it as their lives fall apart.

I tell this story often about how one day at the VA in Orlando, waiting for my husband to come out after his appointment, I talked to two Marines back from Iraq. They were trying to fill out paperwork for their claims. I had on a Chaplain T-shirt so they knew who they were talking to. One Marine began to cry. He apologized to me. He talked about his training and how Marines were supposed to be tough but he was showing his weakness in front of me. We talked for a long time and I reminded him that he was sitting there after the battle was done, after he did his duty, after he followed orders, after his buddies needed him and he did all of this carrying the wound of PTSD eating away at him. There was nothing to be ashamed of. He showed exactly how brave, tough and committed he was and it was time for him to heal.

When we hear about a soldier with a bullet wound still fighting off the enemy, we think of how brave he was but when the wound they fight with is inside of them, no one ever thinks twice about what kind of courage that takes. We award the physically wounded with medals of heroism yet we brand the PTSD wounded with animosity. Who decided there should be anything to be ashamed of when a human is touched by all they endure during combat? People die in front of their eyes. They lose friends. They see horrific results of bombs blowing up. They have to kill. People will tend to have a lot more compassion for some civilian after a natural disaster than they do a soldier after hundreds of traumatic events.

We've come a long way but there are so many battles to fight against the people standing in the way of our men and women in the military and especially the National Guards seeking help to heal from what they went thru. The question is, when do we get there?
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
International Fellowship of Chaplains
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
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

A plague of war
Asbury Park Press - Asbury Park,NJ,USA
As veterans return from Iraq, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has become common. Its treatment presents challenges.
By Michael Amsel • STAFF WRITER • November 9, 2008
They can't sleep at night, constantly tossing and turning. The slightest rumbling
reminds them of an improvised explosive device. They can't connect with their loved
ones. A feeling of despair is impossible to shake, shadowing their every move,
triggering thoughts of suicide. And the nightmares, so dark and turbulent.

These are symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, an anxiety disorder that has afflicted tens of thousands of soldiers in this country after their exposure to
traumatic events of war. During World War I, PTSD was called "shell shock." During
World War II, it became known as "combat fatigue."

Now, it is universally referred to as PTSD and is as prevalent as ever, given the
ongoing five-year Iraq War.

Estimates of the rate of PTSD among veterans returning from Iraq range from 12 to 20 percent, according to a 2007 survey taken by the American Public Health Association. The Department of Veterans Affairs has treated more than 52,000 persons; with deployment now over 1.5 million, the numbers are expected to increase sharply in the years ahead, experts say.

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder really came to light back in 1980 when a group of Vietnam veterans began showing up with the same cluster of symptoms," said Thomas Lozinski, a licensed psychologist from Manasquan who is recognized as a local pioneer in treating the disorder. "Many of them, when they woke up, didn't know where they were and turned violent. They had these feelings of alienation, which we call psychic withdrawal. They guarded their emotions. They couldn't enjoy themselves, an inability known as anhedonia. Their symptoms read like a big Chinese menu — one from Column A, three from Column B."

Many veterans, upon returning home, are unable to make the adjustment to civilian life. They have marital problems. They can't find jobs. They experience behavioral problems and are unable to control their anger.

The symptoms of PTSD fester in their minds, often lying dormant for years at a time, wreaking havoc with their lives. Many are simply too proud to ask for help. Much denial is inherent in the disorder, and soldiers are worried about being stigmatized.

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