Why PTSD is ignored

[Mizmoon]

I think that the reason post traumatic stress disorder is still ignored by the military is because of the current belief that all mental illness has a biological cause. The idea that someone could become violent or delusional because of events and not biology is so far from mainstream medicine that they just can't adress this disorder the way it needs to be addressed.

Any thoughts?

[xxqqqzme]

1. U don't have 2 B in

the military to suffer from PTSD. I know I went thru it after a life altering auto accident. Nothing biological about it. Shit happens.....and it can happen 2 U.

[skooooo]

12. It is biological as stress causes changes in the brain...

[donco6]

15. I can still feel the impact of my car crash.

So I think I know a little of what you mean.

[Soopercali]

2. Nope....

They ignore it because they don't want to pay full disability for it. Supporting our troops, and all that.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. You've got it

in one. That's the reason.

[mahina]

3. It's the money. Plus the culture.

The vetting process at the VA is designed to restrict access to services. The actual providers are really heroes...amazing, phenomenal, gracious, giving, kind, brilliant, and loved. The assholes who do the intake interviews do everything they can to intimidate so the vet goes to the default thinking, PTSD is for fakers and weenies.
I sat through my Dad's and the catch-22 is that you have to have exhibited symptoms within a defined and brief period after the events. Of course in 1974 nobody had ever even heard of PTSD. He was doing his best to fit back into society- in his words, pick up the calculator and put down the hand grenade. Never did really, as things turned out.
God love all the vets and their families, and the counselors and social workers who do their best. And please save a special place in hell for the * for cutting VA funding while wrapped in the flag.

[fugue]

8. Actually PTSD has been documented since the Civil War . . .

It's just that they keep changing the name ("male hysteria," "shell shock," "combat fatigue").

I once read a book about how the German military said that normal health Germans would never suffer "male hysteria" (what it was called in WWI on their side) and so anyone suffering it must have some personality flaw from before the war. Thus it was not a combat injury and a disability pension was not to be given for it.

You might like the book, mahina. "It's the money. Plus the culture" is a pretty good summation of the author's view.

[mahina]

11. Thank but I would rather read a book about how family members can cope

and get it in every library in this country, because we are going to need it.
The book my vet's PTSD counselor suggested has been out of print for years.

[fugue]

14. I just thought it might be comforting to know experts agree with you . . .

Sorry, I don't know any books about family members coping.

Here's some PTSD websites. Maybe they'll have something helpful.

http://www.ptsdsupport.net/family.html

http://ptsd.factsforhealth.org/

http://www.ncptsd.org/facts/specific/fs_relationships.html

[mahina]

17. Thank you...

My vet died in 01. He was my hero.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

5. They do not ignore it, they just shuffle the responsibility for it

off onto the VA, which can't afford what it is doing now.

No, they are very aware of it, but a combination of "macho" denial and fear of being moved to another unit keeps people from reporting it themselves. Someone who is productive does not get reported, because they would have to get a new guy and there is a learning curve for everything, even more so in combat, and no one wants to train new guys.

Lots of reasons.

[DrWeird]

6. I think you mean believe it's all psychological.

That is, lots of people think that PTSD is all in the head. That they're just being big wimps.

But there's an actual physiological response going on with PTSD.

I was reading an article about it a few months ago, about endocannabinoids. They're chemicals produced naturally by the brain that are similar to THC in marijuana. Apparently they're highly involved in memory and traumatic events. Researchers were hoping it could lead to treatment.

[meow2u3]

13. PTSD is a mental INJURY, not a mental illness

Just like a broken leg or a laceration is an injury to the body, PTSD is an injury to the mind. Combat, being the victim of a terrorist act, etc., does real damage to one's state of mind and causes chemical imbalances to the brain.

[DrWeird]

16. Yes.

As in it's biological, or I should say physiological.

[Mizmoon]

18. When you blame brain chemistry alone

you ignore people's humanity.

[knowbody0]

7. i have ptsd

it did not affect me until 10 years after the events that caused it. the drugs do not make it go away, they just make it so you can't scream any more. it's a pissy condition that takes a lot of your power away.

[mahina]

10. Hang in there baby...

Good luck with it all....God bless you and your family.
When the kids start coming home from Iraq the whole society needs to be smarter this time. Keep a look out for what we can to do build bridges to isolated families and people.
Friendship is the best gift you can give...

[MrSandman]

9. As a clinician,

It is commonly treated in this area. The trauma is usually related to childhood abuse, physical or sexual.

[smirkymonkey]

19. How would PTSD manifest in an adult

from childhood abuse? Just curious. Or does it get re-triggered by later traumatic episodes?

[knowbody0]

20. minifestation

complex. spiritual healing is the only way to go. horrific events affect everyone differently. i put the event out of my thoughts for 10 years,believing i was strong and above it.

[MrSandman]

21. The symptoms are similar...

The trauma is different. Flashbacks are to abuse. Very often, especially during therapy, the victim of the trauma is a small child who needsd help/ protection.

Disturbances of mood and personality are more prevalent it seems. That is a guess. I do not have any hard data to suppport that.

[EstimatedProphet]

22. I think it's also looked on as a sign of weakness

I think there's a lot of people that believe that mental illness in general, and PTSD in particular, comes from being a "wuss", and a Real Man would be able to handle it. John Wayne worshipper syndrome.