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PTSD Characteristics in Veterans
Welcome Home! A simple statement that means so many different things to people that have PTSD in their lives!Most Viet Nam Veterans have adjusted well to life back in the United States after their wartime experienes. That's a tribute to these veterans who faced a difficult homecoming, to say the least. However, a very large number of veterans haven't made it all the way home from the War. At least a half a million Viet Nam veterans still lead lives plagued by serious, war-related readjustment problems. These problems vary from veteran to veteran. Flashbacks to combat ... feelings of alienation or anger ... depression, loneliness and an inability to get close to others ... sometmes drug or alcohol problems .. perhaps even suicidal feelings. The list goes on and on. The readjustment problems these veterans suffer are designated as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is important to stress that these disorders are not mental illnesses. They are delayed reactions to the stress these veterans (particularly combat veterans) underwent during the War in Southeast Asia.
The bruises evenually fade, the bones may eventually ment, but not all wounds are visible. And the scars left by Viet Nam remain. The nightmares are vivid and realistic, sleep patterns change, your sense of trust leaves, unexplaiend anger rises, isolation occurs, smells and sounsd trigger nasty memories, behavior towards others change, your physical health is affected. The journey to healing is as individual as there are individuals. It's a long, painful, but rewarding journey. PTSD can happen to anyone. It strikes a person without regard to race, age, gender, income or education. PTSD is the only diagnosis that recognizes that, subject to enough stress, any human being has the potential for developing PTSD or its symptoms. This means that anyone can develop PTSD if subjected to enough stress. In addition, the severity of the sy mptoms has more to do with the intensity and duration of the stress than any preexisting personality pattern. Other factors, such as an individual's previous mental stability and psychological state are irrelevant in predicting the devlopment of PTSD. The degree of exposure to the traumatic event is alone responsible for the severity of PTSD. Trauma refers to the wounding of the emotions, the spirit, the will to live and basic beliefs. People are in trauma when they believe they may be injured or killed, or that others may be. For combat veterans, the traumatic event can be the war itself. It can be witnessing the death of someone. Many can deal with their trauma and have no adverse effects. However, combat veterans with PTSD continue to reexperience their trauma. This can be in the form of nightmares, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts. For many veterans, reexperiencing may be caused by "triggers". Triggers are any object, place or event that reminds the veteran of his traumatic experience. This could be smells, weather, sounds or people. Many veterans have specific triggers that include the sound of helicopters, humid weather, sand and certain types of people. War veterans try to avoid these situations where they would be reminded of the these memories.
Veterans often express their PTSD in a mulittude of emotions. These emotions include self-blame, survivor guilt, grief and anger. With self-blame and survivor guilt, the veteran feels as if he was in some way responsible for the death of a comrade. As a result of this self-blame and survivor guilt, these veterans also feel grief and anger. Veterans with PTSD may also experience health problems, depression and substance abuse. The health problems may be psychophysiological, such as an ulcer that flares up under stress, or they may be the result of a medical illness. The depression can be clinical or just present as symptoms of depression. Studies have shown that at least 50 percent of those with PTSD also suffer from depression. The depression and symptoms of PTSD can often lead to sbstance abuse. Drinking to relax, to free one from their own mind, to fall asleep or to handle people or events in their life. Too often, drinking can give the veteran the courage and confidence needed to feel comfortable with others. In addition to affecting the individual, PTSD also affects the veteran's family and marriage. Some symptoms that can affect the family include reducued tolerance for stress, emotional isolation, feelings of powerless and inadequate bonding. Many partners focus on the survivor's problem. They try to "fix" the veteran. The partner tends to think he or she is fine and the survivor is not, that if the survivor would get better their lives would be fine. This thinking gives way to feelings of powerlessness and learned helplessness. The veteran is often in a state of emotional isolation, dealing with their own trauma and unable to deal with other aspects of the family and marriage. This creates tension in the intimate relatinship as well and the relationship the veteran has with his children. As we all know, Viet Nam veterans were not well suported by civilians during the war. When the war was finally over, many returned home to find that the war had never left them. They had difficulty trying to fit in and in coping with their present lives.
INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS AND FLASHBACKS Replaying military experiences in their minds, searching for alternative outcomes. Flashbacks triggered by everyday experiences: helicopters, smells, green tree lines, popcorn popping, rainy days. ISOLATION He has few friends. Isolates family emotionally and sometimes geographically. Fantasizes about being a hermit, moving away from his problems. Believes no one can understand and no one would listen if he tried to talk about his experiences. Isolates himself from his partner, family and others with a "eave me alone" attitude. He needs no one. EMOTIONAL NUMBING Cold, aloof, uncaring, detached. Constant fearl of losing control -- "I may never stop crying". DEPRESSION Sense of helplessness, worthlessness and dejection. Lacks self-esteem and suffers from great insecurity. Feels undeserving of good feelings. Seems unable to handle it hwen things are gong well. ANGER Quiet, masked rage which is frightening to the veteran and to those around them. Unable to handle or identify frustrations. Unexplainable, inappropriate anger. SUABSTANCE ABUSE Used primarily to numb the painful memories of past experiences. Heavy use of alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and other drugs. GUILT/SUICIDAN THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS Self-destructive behavior. Hopeless physical fights, single car accidents, compulsive blood donors. Self-inflicted injuries to feel pain -- many accidents with power toold. High suicide rate. As soon as things are well off, doing something to lose it all, or walking away from it. Survivor's Guilt when others have died around them. ANXIETY OR NERVOUSNESS Uncomfortable when people walk close behind them or sit behind them. Conditioned suspicion, he trusts no one. Startled responses. EMOTIONAL CONSTRICTION Unresponsive to self, therefore unresponsive to others. Unable to express or share feelings, can not talk about personal emotions. Unable to achieve intimacy with family, partner or friends. DENIAL Unable to admit that he has any of the above symptoms or that he may have PTSD. May deny that his military experience could have anything to do with his attitude. In extreme cases, will deny that he was even in the military. Unwilling to seek help. Trusts no one.
In chooseing a treatment method, it is important to keep in mind each veteran's family history, cultural and social backgrounds. What works for one veteran may not work for another veteran. The treatment plan needs to be tailored to the individuals needs. Remember the fact that each veteran suffering from Combat-related PTSD experiences each symptom differently and to a different extent. There are many different treatment approaches for veterans suffering from PTSD. Many involve cognitive-behavior therapy, group therapy, psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Cognitive-behavior therapy can imvolve exposure therapy and anxiety management training to reduce fear. Group therapy can be used to provide the veteran with a support system. The veteran often finds that he is not alone in what he is experiencing. Psychopharmacology uses drugs to reduce many of the PTSD symptoms. however, remember that there are many side effects to many medications, and drugs are not always the answer. Combat-related PTSD is a very debilitating condition. It affects the very core of a veteran and attaches itself to the marriage and family as well. It has the potential to take all that is happy in a person and turn it into anger and fear. Without warning it can produce misery and make people abandon all hope; it can make the lust for revenge the center of people's lives, at the expense of the ability to rebuild. It is a leech-like condition that adheres. We must regard the victims of Combat-related PTSD with respect and not pity. It is not our sympathy they want; it is our understanding. We must keep in mind that Veterans often fought not because they believed in the cause, but because they believed in their country. We must have understanding.
Midi Playing = "Ballad of the Green Berets" |
When Gerald R. Ford was President, he asked the American public to put
Viet Nam behind them and forget it. And America did. It is important
and vital to put the bitterness and dissension of the wWar years behind
us. But to forget the Viet Nam War, its veterans and their families
is unforgivable.
Combat veterans experience hyperarousal symptoms. This can take the
form of irritability, sleeplessness, hyperalerness or even startle
response. An example of this can be seen in a veteran who jumps into
the ditch because he hears a car backfire. Veterans who suffer from
Combat-related PTSD must see or hear a person enter their area of space (a
room). If not, the veteran is extremely startles. They become jumpy,
on edge and perhaps overcautious. Veterans may become hypervigilant
and have to sit with their back to walls every time they go to a
restaurant, movie theatre or concert. It is truly amazing to see what
the veteran with Combat-related PTSD lives with each day.
A tamed wolf always longs for the wilderness. PTSD Veterans are like the
wolf, feeling forced to be tamed by society. But they don't fit in.
They long for the pack, where they once belonged. They long for the
hunt and the comradeship of the pack. They got cut off from the group
and were forced to become a lonely wolf, looking back on a war that
never leaves their minds. The chained wolf, wanting to break free,
wanting a place where they feel they belong.