The Struggle Does Not End When the Combat Does: How are PTSD suffering veterans living when they return home?

 Criteria of Traumatic Event: Intensity/Time Injuries/Losses Distance Control Support

 Reliving the event Nightmares Flashbacks  Change in cognitive thinking Negative views and perceptions  Trust issues  Avoidance and isolation Anything that could remind you of the event Withdrawing from social relationships  Hyperarousal Insomnia, guilt, difficulty concentrating, hyper vigilance  Emotional numbing

 Adjusting to life back at home is a process, not a step  Family and friends have to recognize difference in veterans and understand  Trauma prevents people from having the ability to objectively evaluate the reality of life  All symptoms of PTSD are displayed in character, conspicuously affecting the people around them  “Intimacy is the essence of peace with another person, and therefore finds itself on the far end of the spectrum from a war zone” (Dean, 114).

“Dear Dad, I’ve personally blown up five Iraqi tanks in the air sorties I’ve flown over here. Dad, I know there were people inside those tanks, but I can’t afford to think about that right now and still do my job. I know that when I get home I’ll have to face who was inside those tanks. I’m not looking forward to that.” ~U.S. Pilot, Persian Gulf War

 Talking  Writing  Medication  Avoid self-medication  Relaxation  Support groups

 Civil War “Soldier’s heart” 44%  World War I “Shell shock” British Army- 80,000  World War II “Combat fatigue” 37%  Vietnam Revolved around relaxation therapy Prevalence of PTSD: 31% men; 27% women  Iraq and Afghanistan Wars 4-17%

 Anderson, Pamela June B. "Getting Ahead of the Storm: PTSD." ProQuest. Michigan Chronicle, n.d. Web. 10 Apr  Campell, Mindy. "Duty to Soldiers, oneself: Combat veterans seek out behavioral health services to help with PTSD." U.S. Army. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr  Cantrell, Bridget C., and Chuck Dean. Down Range to Iraq and Back. Seattle: Word Smith, Print.  "Civil War PTSD." Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science, n.d. Web. 10 Apr  David, Daniella, et al. "Cognitive Functioning and the Early Development of PTSD." Wiley. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr  "The HONOR Center Hosts Support Group for Depression, Bipolar Disorder." U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, n.d. Web. 10 Apr  Kotz, Deborah. "Recognizing PTSD." Factivia. Globe Newspaper Company, n.d. Web. 10 Apr  Langer, Ron. "Combat Trauma, Memory, and the World War II Veteran." WLA Journal. WLA Journal, n.d. Web. 10 Apr  "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)." X-Plain Patient Education. Patient Education Institute, n.d. Web. 10 Apr  "Shell Shock WWI." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 10 Apr  Sullivan, Edith V., ed. "War-Related PTSD, Blast Injury, and Anosognosia." Ebscohost. Springer Science + Business Media, n.d. Web. 10 Apr  Taylor, John G., and Stanley L. Baker. "Psychosocial and Moral Development of PTSD-Diagnosed Combat Veterans." Wiley. Journal of Counseling and Development, n.d. Web. 10 Apr  "What Is PTSD?" U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, n.d. Web. 10 Apr