Seeking Help for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

According to a recent article in The Christian Science Monitor, the number of veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars that are affected with post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is high and likely to increase. The official count is 150,000, but this is only the number who have sought help. Currently, a veteran seeking any type of help with PTSD must provide documents proving they experienced a specific traumatic event. President Obama announced a change in the process the VA uses for soldiers and veterans to receive help with PTSD.. The main change to the claims process is that veterans no longer have to prove that they experienced a traumatic event. This will allow many war veterans who held non combat positions in war to receive services for PTSD. The new rules will also apply to veterans of previous wars experiencing PTSD.

Post traumatic stress disorder is not a new disorder. Reports of soldiers returning from war with PTSD symptoms span back to ancient Greece. Post traumatic stress disorder is diagnosed when after a traumatic event, a person experiences symptoms that interfere with daily life including, flashbacks, dreams, avoidance of memory triggers, a sense of numbness, feelings of being constantly on guard and sleeplessness.

The new rules for receiving services for PTSD will help countless veterans and their families. Some doctors believe that beginning treatment immediately can prevent or lessen the symptoms of PTSD.

These rules would have helped my neighbor and his family immensely. A veteran of the Vietnam war, he returned home with PTSD symptoms of unpredictable flashbacks, sleeplessness resulting from disturbing dreams and a sense of numbness. These PTSD symptoms made it difficult for him to hold a job or enjoy his family. He sought help from the VA but was turned down as he was unable to produce proof of one traumatic incident. Drinking heavily and forced to deal with these problems on his own, he got counseling when he could afford it, but his on again, off again job history made that difficult. One thing that he feels did help with PTSD was taking an art course at a local community college. He had been haunted by the beauty of the Vietnam countryside as opposed to the horrible experiences he had there. Painting the remembered beauty of the landscape helped him to make sense of and separate the beautiful from the horrible. Another activity he attributed the eventual lessening of his PTSD symptoms was, giving talks to students at schools about his experiences at war and how it had affected him.

If you think PTSD may be affecting your life or that of a loved one, the website Gateway to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Information. is a good place to start. The site offers education and many links to organizations that can help. Those affected should not hesitate to seek help for this very real and life disrupting disorder.

Sources:
Brad Knickerbocker, "PTSD: New regs will make it easier for war vets to get help." The Christian Science Monitor.
Mayo Clinic Staff, "Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)", Mayo Clinic.com