Illinois National Guard members face PTSD

Illinois National Guard members still fight their own battles after war
By Army Sgt. Keith Vanklompenberg
Illinois National Guard

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (5/31/11) - For most of the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the battle ended a year and a half ago when they returned home from Afghanistan in the fall of 2009. For some, the battle is still going today.

Several Soldiers were wounded in the Illinois National Guard's largest deployment since World War II, and though the physical scars eventually fade, the invisible injuries linger.

Post traumatic stress disorder has become a more recognized issue among deployed service members, said Juliann Steinbeigle, the Illinois National Guard's director of psychological health.

The issue of PTSD has two major aspects. The first is due to the current overseas operations, which brings with it unique dynamics that constitutes trauma and contributes to the risk factors associated with PTSD, said Steinbeigle. The other aspect is the increased capacity by the military mental health professionals to recognize and address symptoms that attribute to the diagnoses of PTSD.

PTSD can consist of several symptoms such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, irritability or outbursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, hyper vigilance and exaggerated startle responses, she said.

"This can affect every aspect of an individual's life from work to individual self-care to relationships. Feelings of inadequacy can develop and increase the symptomatology creating isolation, self medication through substance or prescription abuse, violence or suicidal tendencies."

Steinbeigle said 20 percent, 1 in 5, more than 300,000 service members returning from Middle East deployments reported symptoms of PTSD and/or major depression, yet only 53 percent of these troops sought treatment according to the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Rand Center for Military Health Policy Research, U.S. Department of Defense in 2008.

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Illinois National Guard