Treatments of Combat Veterans with PTS
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is classified as an emotional illness resulting from life-threatening or severely unsafe traumatic event. It involves personal experience witnessing deadly event, assaults, natural disasters, sexual abuse, extreme violence, terrorist attacks or military combat. PTSD victims tend to avoid places, events, people or circumstances that remind them of traumatic events responsible for the disorder, and they are extremely sensitive to normal life events (Edwards, 2010). These individuals are extremely introvert and do not involve themselves in social gatherings while consistently suppressing their thoughts. People with PTSD relive the traumatic event in the form of night mares, flash back and disturbing mental images about the trauma leading to intense fear, twinge and anxiety. Responses to PTSD however, differs with individuals, the symptoms might become vigilant right after trauma while others may experience delayed response. Extreme stress in PTSD sufferers leads to overproduction of certain chemicals that blocks sensation resulting in emotional numbness and detachment, further leading to tribulations in concentration. Also, people with PTSD have hyper arousal levels and are always found in hyper-alert state. They easily get startled, irritated or tensed due to high levels of stress hormones in the body (Harrison, 2011).
PTSD is a major concern for veterans today and is visualized to be a bigger problem over time. Facts reveal that 20% of American and coalition troops are victims of PTSD, which have served in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003 (Harrison, 2011). PTSD can lead to significant losses and last for years if not treated timely. Professional help can make all the difference.
The paper discusses three articles covering various treatments strategies for PTSD victims while critically analyzing them. Cognitive theories