PTSD and its profound impact on Veterans, Papers of Psychology

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PTSD in Veterans Topic: The effect PTSD has on retired veteran soldiers

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a. The health topic is: PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) - Post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. ... Getting effective treatment after PTSD symptoms develop can be critical to reduce symptoms and improve function. i. According to the National Vietnam Veteran Readjustment Study conducted in the 1980s, about 15% of Vietnam veterans have been affected by PTSD, 40 to 60% of high combat Vietnam veterans report symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (National Center for PTSD, 2018) b. PTSD is a problem because it has such a negative impact on the population of veterans and former soldiers. It is a fairly common issue that soldiers are faced with at one point in their lives, especially those who have dealt with something extremely traumatic. i. Veterans with PTSD deal with issues regarding social isolation, suicide attempt, lack of expression, loss of identity, expressive violence, guilt, and family issues, more so than one without PTSD. (Carroll, Rueger, Foy, & Donahoe, 1985; Jordan et al., 1992; Kulka et. al 1990, Solmon et al.,

ii. Therapy is used to help reduce the effects of fear and anxiety of PTSD, and has shown to be fairly effective (Solomon, S. D. & Johnson, D. M., 2002).

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ii. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) assists veterans in dealing with thoughts about their traumatic experiences and helps them gain an understanding of them (Folette & Ruzek, 2006; Tarrier, 2010).

5. Conclusion a. We hypothesized that the studies made in order to determine the severity of a veteran’s PTSD would be useful, effective, and necessary for the sake of mental health. b. Statements i. Combat veterans who suffer from PTSD report a high level of social anxiety and depression. ii. Combat experiences play a huge factor in the severity of a soldier’s PTSD and guilt. Depending on how severe it is tends to effect the occurrences of violent acts committed. iii. There are levels of therapy that help reduce the effects of PTSD, which have shown to be effective. c. Given that it is inevitable that soldiers face the risk of attaining PTSD during war, instruments such as CBT and exposure therapy should be used both before and after a catastrophic event occurs to a soldier. If used before, the soldier may learn the inevitability of these events and maybe learn to potentially prevent PTSD. Bibliography

National Center for PTSD. (2018, July 24). https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/common/common_veterans.asp. Jakupcak, M., Cook, J., Imel, Z., Fontana, A., Rosenheck, R., & Mcfall, M. (2009). Posttraumatic stress disorder as a risk factor for suicidal ideation in Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans. Journal of Traumatic Stress , 22 (4), 303–306. Folette, V.M. & Rusek, J. I. (Eds.) (2006). Cognitive-behavioral therapies for trauma. New York, NY: The Guilford Press Foa, E., Dancu, C., Hembree, E., Jaycox, L., Meadows, E., & Street, G. (1999). A comparison of exposure therapy, stress inoculation training, and their combination for reducing posttraumatic stress disorder in female assault victims. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67 , 194–2000. Foa, E. (2000). Psychosocial treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 61 (Suppl. 5), 43–51. Hofmann, S. G., Litz, B. T., & Weathers, F. W. (2003). Social anxiety, depression, and PTSD in Vietnam veterans. Journal of Anxiety Disorders , 17 (5), 573–582. Riggs, D. S., Byrne, C. A., Weathers, F. W., & Litz, B. T. (1998). The quality of the intimate relationships of male Vietnam veterans: Problems associated with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress , 11 (1), 87–101. Glenn, D. M., Beckham, J. C., Feldman, M. E., Kirby, A. C., Hertzberg, M. A., & Moore, S. D.