PTSD in War Veterans
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a common problem in for veterans returning from war all over the world. It can often be misdiagnosed as a traumatic brain injury or overlooked altogether because of the similarities in their symptoms. This article defines what post-traumatic stress disorder is as according to the Diagnostic Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, its correlation with insomnia and nightmares, traumatic brain injuries and heart rate conditions, and it summarizes various treatment options including virtual reality, the RECOVER process, cognitive processing therapy, clinical programs, the use of the drug propranolol, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Lastly, it reviews problems with those treatments, involving flaws in research studies, ethical issues, and gender issues.
Wars have been fought for centuries, and the soldiers fighting those wars are often scarred, either physically, mentally, or both. Soldiers who exhibit a variety of symptoms complain about having difficulty sleeping or have a hard time reconnecting with friends and family after returning from combat. These symptoms have been attributed to Da Costa’s syndrome, effort syndrome, neurocirculatory asthenia, or soldier’s heart in the American Civil War, shell shock in World War I, battle fatigue in World War II, and Gulf War Syndrome during the Gulf War (Engel, Hyams, & Scott, 2006). Today it is known as post-traumatic stress disorder, and it can afflict three out of five soldiers returning from combat all around the world (Kaiman, 2003).
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a complicated disorder. Symptoms have often been confused with symptoms of other disorders or overlooked altogether. This can create a problem when diagnosing PTSD and treating it. This paper, however, can correct these issues by reviewing the definition as according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and discussing treatments and techniques in
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a common problem in for veterans returning from war all over the world. It can often be misdiagnosed as a traumatic brain injury or overlooked altogether because of the similarities in their symptoms. This article defines what post-traumatic stress disorder is as according to the Diagnostic Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, its correlation with insomnia and nightmares, traumatic brain injuries and heart rate conditions, and it summarizes various treatment options including virtual reality, the RECOVER process, cognitive processing therapy, clinical programs, the use of the drug propranolol, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Lastly, it reviews problems with those treatments, involving flaws in research studies, ethical issues, and gender issues.
Wars have been fought for centuries, and the soldiers fighting those wars are often scarred, either physically, mentally, or both. Soldiers who exhibit a variety of symptoms complain about having difficulty sleeping or have a hard time reconnecting with friends and family after returning from combat. These symptoms have been attributed to Da Costa’s syndrome, effort syndrome, neurocirculatory asthenia, or soldier’s heart in the American Civil War, shell shock in World War I, battle fatigue in World War II, and Gulf War Syndrome during the Gulf War (Engel, Hyams, & Scott, 2006). Today it is known as post-traumatic stress disorder, and it can afflict three out of five soldiers returning from combat all around the world (Kaiman, 2003).
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a complicated disorder. Symptoms have often been confused with symptoms of other disorders or overlooked altogether. This can create a problem when diagnosing PTSD and treating it. This paper, however, can correct these issues by reviewing the definition as according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and discussing treatments and techniques in
References: Arnedt, J. T., Favorite, T. K., Horin, E., & Swanson, L. M. (2009). A combined group treatment for nightmares and insomnia in combat veterans: A pilot study. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 22(6), 639-642. Barre, K., Biesold, K Berry, M. E., Ginsberg, J. P., & Powell, D. A. (2010). Cardiac coherence and posttraumatic stress disorder in combat veterans. Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine, 16(4), 52-60. Bisson, J Bryant, R. A., Ehlers, A., & McNally, R. J. (2003). Does early psychological intervention promote recovery from posttraumatic stress? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4(2), 45-79. Burke, H Donovan, E. (2010). Propranolol use in the prevention and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in military veterans: Forgetting therapy visited. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 53(1), 61-74. doi: 10.1353/pbm.0.0140 Engel, C Foa, E. B., & Riggs, D. S. (1995). Posttraumatic stress disorder following assault: Theoretical considerations and empirical findings. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4(2), 61-65. Forman, S Jones, K. D., Leppma, M., & Young, T. (2010). Mild traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder in returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans: Implications for assessment and diagnosis. Journal of Counseling and Development, 88(3), 372-376. Kaiman, C. (2003). PTSD in the world war II combat veteran. The American Journal of Nursing, 103(11), 32-42. Scurfield, R