The National Alliance on Mental Illness has released a new 14-page brochure on post-traumatic stress disorder, treatment and recovery. It is available online at www.nami.org/PTSD and is intended to help individuals experiencing symptoms or diagnosed with the illness, along with their families and caregivers.
The sad reality of our nation’s current military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan is that an increasing number of troops returning from those conflicts experience some level of PTSD. Symptoms can include poor concentration, sleeplessness, nightmares, flashbacks, heightened fear, anxiety and disassociation – feeling “unreal” or cut off from emotions.
“PTSD affects individuals and families,” said NAMI medical director Ken Duckworth, M.D. “Traumatic events produce biological responses that affect the mind, brain, and body. Those changes involve everyone.”
“Over a lifetime, approximately five percent of men and 10 percent of women in the general population are diagnosed with PTSD,” Duckworth said. “Risk factors include the type of trauma, degree of exposure and any prior history of trauma. In most cases, there is a direct physical impact. Proximity in witnessing violent, life-threatening events also makes a difference.”
PTSD sufferers are not limited to military veterans. The disorder was acutely evident, especially in children after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the gulf coast. In that case, affected children displayed the same symptoms as soldiers returning from armed conflict.
In her advocacy work on behalf of Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, Connie Walker, Capt., USN (Ret.) and the president of NAMI Southern Maryland, has observed the devastation unresolved PTSD can bring to returning Veterans and families of Veterans. In a recent interview, she described PTSD as “an invisible wound that is often misunderstood by family members, and by Veterans themselves.”
Walker went on to state that Veterans often pull within themselves when they suffer from the disorder. “Telling them to get a grip or shake it off only makes the situation worse,” said Walker.
She went on to explain that family members find the situation difficult to understand when they discover their loved ones are different after returning from armed conflict.
“Many times, active duty service members and Veterans who have served in combat experience feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, or depression. Between serving in a military culture where historically there is a stigma that surrounds mental health issues in our society even now – these men and women are reluctant or refuse to seek help. They think there is nowhere to turn. Some begin to self-medicate by abusing alcohol or painkillers that have been prescribed for other medical conditions — and the downward spiral continues,” said Walker.
NAMI’s new brochure on PTSD addresses these areas: Psychological Trauma & PTSD , Risk Factors for Developing PTSD, The Neurobiology of PTSD, What is PTSD?, PTSD & Co-occurring Disorders, Combat Veterans & Trauma, Children & Trauma, Trauma & the Mental Health System, Family Impact of PTSD, Recovery and Coping, Treatment for PTSD, Medications, and Resources — including NAMI’s Family-to-Family Education Program and NAMI Connection Recovery Support Groups.
It notes that treatment for PTSD for returning service member
