The National Alliance on Mental Illness has released a new 14-page brochure on posttraumatic 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 reality of the county’s current military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan show that about 14 percent of the troops returning from those conflicts experience some sort of PTSD because of their experience in combat. Symptoms 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 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 a conversation with Connie Walker, USN (Ret.) and director of NAMI Southern Maryland who has first hand experience with the devastation experienced by returning veterans and families of veterans, “PTSD is the silent disability, often going on unnoticed and certainly misunderstood by family members.”
Walker went on to state that veterans pull within themselves when they suffer from PTSD. “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 feel hopeless and depressed and think they have no where to turn for help,” said Walker.
Indentifying treatment for returning veterans can involve a number of overlapping methods of treatment including a combination of medication and therapy, including group therapy.
NAMI of Southern Maryland exists to help educate for a number of areas, including: 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, Resources, including Family-to-Family Education and NAMI Connection programs.
NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by serious mental illnesses.
For more information about the services provided by NAMI of Southern Maryland, or if you know of a veteran that requires help upon returning to the United States, please feel free to visit www.NAMI.org
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