PTSD: Another Perspective

SGT Ben Keen — Thu, 12 May 2016 09:58:55 -0400

As most of you know, in my limited spare time, I work as an advocate for Veterans trying to bridge the gap between civilians and Veterans. It is no secret that this gap exists and, in some areas, is very hard to cross. One of the topics that come up a lot is that of PTSD, or PTS if you prefer. As a Veteran who deals with the daily struggles of this issue, I feel that it is important for civilians to see us for who we really are and not these crazy, overly sensitive people who will snap at any second.

Earlier today, I was talking with a friend of mine and we started to discuss the subject of PTSD. During this conversation, this friend of mine, Casey, shared with me her personal view on what could be a leading cause for the development of PTSD in some people. She said the following:

"It's my personal opinion that the prevalence of PTSD is in part due to a lack of problem solving skills in every day life and a lack of proper coping mechanisms. People don't deal with true 'hardships' in life anymore. The idea of a horrible day is when you get a flat tire or something. People used to lose some of their children and people died from things like pneumonia all the time."

After seeing this, I stopped and went through it again. And I found what she said to be pretty fair and thought provoking. Have we, as country, lost touch with "real problems"? You see #FirstWorldProblems used to describe issues that people are facing, normally as a joke. Does this make us mentally weaker and make it harder to deal with some of the world's true hardships? While death is an everyday occurrence, the way in which it is seen in combat is unlike anything most people will ever see. War is truly humanity at its worse. Hunger, disease, poverty, are seen everyday but for the majority of us, we rarely have to deal with it directly. It is a 30 second commercial on TV or one person standing on the side of the road with a cardboard sign. Then, we are thrown into combat where we are forced to face such things. We are asked to not just deal it, but to thrive in it.

Then following our 12, 16, 18 months in combat, we are returned to our normal, boring lives where these issues are once again seen from our couch or in passing. We are left to process everything we saw, smelled, and heard and make sense out of all the craziness in our once "normal" but now abnormal world. People are talking about #FirstWorldProblems while never having seen the things we have. Never dealt with what we had to deal with. Never forced to thrive in ways we had to thrive. For some, the closest they have been to seeing a disease take a family member is during a game of Oregon Trail. We, as veterans, find ourselves unable to make sense of this all.

PTSD is one of those things the medical community finds hard to explain. Why is it that two people can go through the same event but both come out of it differently. Is it from a lack of exposure to real world problems? How can we best live and raise the next generation to better understand the world outside of their well manicured lawns and big TVs and iPads?

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made May 12 at 2016 10:19 AM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 12 May 2016 10:19:00 -0400

Veterans that live with Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) every day of their lives, are experiencing a very normal reaction to very abnormal experiences. It is about bridging the gap to find ways to manage, adjust, and improve on the lives of those living with PTS. This way they can not just survive, but thrive and start living again.

Response by SSgt Terry P. made May 12 at 2016 10:34 AM

SSgt Terry P. — Thu, 12 May 2016 10:34:05 -0400

SGT Ben Keen Most people do not see "violent death" or dismembered bodies and their "everyday " problems are priorities,as they should be.But combat soldiers see more than violent death,they see people trying to exist in areas where their lives and livelihood is threatened daily.Also we see people starving ,living in real poverty,without clean water,electricity,etc.all the things we take for granted here.Gives us a different perspective of what is important and causes mental anguish when someone is whining about their steak being too tough.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made May 12 at 2016 10:42 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 12 May 2016 10:42:06 -0400

I think we all have our thoughts about what 'PTSD' really is, and how best to manage it...but we fear stating it openly as everyone's experience is different, and the guy who did a year baby-sitting ANA doesn't want to tell the Marine who deployed four times to Iraq to just "shake it off".

That said-yes; I think you're on to something.

The training we all go through would be considered "abuse" by our civilian counterparts. Some of that training can kill you. That's all before spending long periods away from family, in places where clean water is a rare as reliable "connectivity" with the possibility of death lingering overhead on occasion. "They" try to "get it"...but they can't, so the civilian world defaults to a "syndrome" approach, and starts looking for ways to medicate and placate instead of inculcate.

Then, there's the inverse situation where after all of that training and preparation...one is confronted with the fact that they were on a FOB, and didn't see anything more than a stray mortar. You come back home and get "lumped" into the same group of guys who fought house to house or got pinned down in some wadi somewhere by people who understand neither situation well enough to make distinctions. Still, your fellow vets know, and you know.

I think that's why some people decide to fight that battle on their own terms.

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made May 12 at 2016 11:17 AM

SGM Erik Marquez — Thu, 12 May 2016 11:17:27 -0400

I don't discount the concept you bring up as i feel it is a contributing factor for some..
However
PTSD is not a new phenomenon, it has existed under other names since war began.
If you except that "Shell Shock" or "Combat exhaustion" terms used previously to "name" what we now are calling PTSD are real and like condition to what we are seeing now.. then the premise of ""It's my personal opinion that the prevalence of PTSD is in part due to a lack of problem solving skills in everyday life and a lack of proper coping mechanisms. People don't deal with true 'hardships' in life anymore"
falls on its face.. because "Shell Shock" or "Combat exhaustion" were commonplace at a time in history that "People used to lose some of their children and people died from things like pneumonia all the time."

Response by SFC Dr. Fred Lockard made May 12 at 2016 12:02 PM

SFC Dr. Fred Lockard — Thu, 12 May 2016 12:02:08 -0400

All of you that want to drop the "S" from PTSD need to stop and think about it for a moment. Yes, all people that go to combat experience some of the symptoms of PTSD at some point. Only about 15-25%, however, exhibit enough of the symptoms to warrant a clinical diagnoses of PTS"D". It becomes a disorder once it crosses the threshold and starts to impact most areas of life negatively. If it is not a disorder, it is not a VA compensable problem. If it is not a disorder, it does not need treatment. Lastly, a large team of psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, etc decided that it needs to stay PTSD for the DSM-V and I think we should trust professional clinical wisdom on this. Just my 2 cents.

Response by Maj John Bell made May 12 at 2016 12:26 PM

Maj John Bell — Thu, 12 May 2016 12:26:46 -0400

I have never been in combat. But I saw my son get hit and killed by a car. Everybody was concerned about me being depressed or having PTSD. I was certainly much more quiet and tended to isolate from everyone but my wife and daughter. I did not keep up with my normal household duties except bringing in a paycheck. I slept a lot. I stared off into space a lot and didn't realize the passage of time. I wasn't mean or abusive. But I wasn't a happy person, and I clearly would not remain anywhere people were happy. This went on for about a month and a half. I finally agreed to go to grievance counseling provided by the county.

The first thing out of the social workers mouth was "You and your wife have less than a 15% chance of being married two years from now". That pissed me off. I was not going to allow another casualty in my life. I stood up, took my wife's hand and said "this fool has nothing to offer us". We left. And everybody put up with the change in my personality. It became the new norm. In retrospect if something had not changed the counselor was probably right.

Then my wife's Maternal Grandfather and her Dad visited. Grandpa Spence was a man I greatly admired and loved to spend time with. He was a WWII vet and served in Patton's 3rd Army. He sat down opposite me, knee to knee and told me to look him in the eyes. Grandpa Spence was a man who never swore, never frowned, never got angry. This to the best of my memory is what happened:

He slapped me hard. "Do I have your f_____g attention you sorry sack of s__t?! You better knock this crap off or I will thrash you to an inch of your life. You have a wife that needs you. You have a daughter that needs you. If you are not going to BE a man, ACT like one." Then stood up and he slapped me again, so hard I almost fell out of the chair. I was stunned. "I'll be back to take Kim and Jennilynn home with me the first time someone tells me you've crawled back into this shell".

I know the Patton approach is not in favor and probably dangerous. Grandpa Spence knew me, he may have been much more circumspect with someone he did not know. But in my case it worked. I won't say I was all better. But I faked it until I made it. I wasn't even willing to fake it before he demanded it.

My Dad was in the Navy and a combat pilot for WWII, Korea and in theater for Viet Nam. He held that it was much harder for Korea Vets and Viet Nam vets to integrate back into society than WWII vets because they were denied victory in a war they felt they were winning. Is it possible that rotating people out of the combat zone, bringing them home before victory is achieved, we cause even more confusion in their soul. Is it possible that trying to bring home to them in theater we do not allow them to be in a dissociative state from which recovery is easier? I'm not stating this as fact. I'm not trying to bring down the wrath of PTSD advocates. I'm just trying to understand why this problem seems so much worse than what were told about in history.

It seems that what we are doing now does not work. Are the statistics actually better or worse than other conflicts in our history, If so why? No mass solution will catch everyone that is falling. But is it time to re-evaluate and redirect?

Response by CPT Joseph K Murdock made May 12 at 2016 1:09 PM

CPT Joseph K Murdock — Thu, 12 May 2016 13:09:14 -0400

It is true some folks will have a predilection to getting PTSD due to emotional, physical, and emotional abuse or problems. However, this does not the "healthy" group that gets PTSD after seeing combat.

Response by SPC David S. made May 12 at 2016 2:20 PM

SPC David S. — Thu, 12 May 2016 14:20:55 -0400

As you stated 'war is humanity at its worse' - I agree 'war is poison for the soul' and I think to some degree PTSD is a natural adverse reaction to the exposure of the violence and stress experienced in war. The abnormal stress levels experienced in war that trigger PTSD could be a viewed as a form of a psychological 'inoculation' that is designed to weed out such 'bad' behavior and acts as a protective mechanism for us. While mentally we can override our fears and still wage war there may be a much deeper unseen biological affects on the body that may help to explain why soldier A is not affected the same as soldier B. Natural selection and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) may be the culprit. I know the eyes just starting to glaze over but bare with me. Telomeres are involved in maintaining genomic stability and regulating cellular proliferation - more or less they help protect our DNA when our cells split. Stress has been shown to shorten the telomer length and in this case size does matter. The longer your telomeres you are more likely to be a healthier individual. A good deal of research has proven a correlation between telomere length and health and these little DNA end caps may even contribute to having a pessimistic outlook. So our individual biology may be just one of many determinants that seal our fate and likelihood of being effected by PTSD.

As to the civilian world understanding the human conditions of combat I don't this bridge will ever fully be crossed. Kind of like explaining the smell of the color 9. Not sure if the hipster bitching about Starbucks not having gluten free muffins is ever going to have any desire to make the trip over that bridge - if so they will more than likely be part of the 1% that signed up.

http://www.omicsgroup.org/journals/transgenerational-effects-of-ptsd-or-traumatic-stress-do-telomeres-reach-across-the-generations-2167- [login to see] .php?aid=30791

Response by PO3 Chris Amidon made May 12 at 2016 2:44 PM

PO3 Chris Amidon — Thu, 12 May 2016 14:44:21 -0400

Something I wrote for work a while back... https://www.hillandponton.com/why-some-vets-develop-ptsd-others-dont/

Why Some Vets Develop PTSD, and Others Don’t - Hill & Ponton, P.A.

So, what makes some veterans suffer from severe PTSD from seemingly less traumatic incidents, while others are seemingly unaffected by the horrors of war? The answer is still unclear, but modern research has provided us with some answers.

Response by SPC Rory J. Mattheisen made May 12 at 2016 9:09 PM

SPC Rory J. Mattheisen — Thu, 12 May 2016 21:09:10 -0400

With my group, I have moved from calling it PTSD to a TSI (Traumatic Stress Injury) as I feel it more accurately reflects what occurred. I have gone completely out of the box and adopted different methods for describing what we are going through and different ways of realizing the big picture.

A lot of SMs do not have the TSI symptoms/troubles until after they discharge, because until they take the uniform off the last time the do not begin to reconnect with the world emotionally and the morality of warfare has not set in yet.

The only people in my personal experience, that come through war unscathed display sociopathic tendencies.

Response by Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM made May 20 at 2016 5:37 PM

Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM — Fri, 20 May 2016 17:37:19 -0400

Great Post! PTS is real it is an normal reaction to an abnormal situation. Since our brains can not register repetitive trauma, we shut down and move in the manner in which we were taught to survive. It is during this traumatic experience we use our fight or flight response. This leads to a cascade of events within the amaglia, releasing adrenaline etc. The neuro-synaptic-fibers if you will become over stimulated and are unable to shut down leading to a multitude of symptoms. I have many vets that say they remain in a state of numbness and lack adrenaline. I could go on and on but I hope you do understand that some of us in the medical profession really do understand. The reason perhaps that some appear to "come out differently". Is the fact that the mask has not yet come off, they need to deal with life, however they can to survive. Look at any war, years later we hear of soldiers heart. shell shock etc. We know that we are changed it is how we manage our new normal that counts. Sometime we need to just stop and breatheee

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2016 5:40 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 05:40:33 -0400

For a civilian to really understand combat in it's entirety I think would be essentially impossible. I have been dealing with PTSD for 11 years. There is a real life altering condition that you can find yourself trapped in with PTSD. It has hurt my military career, it has hurt my civilian career, relationships and everyday home life. I don't think the lack of being able to handle "real life" is what brings it on. I think it's more of a live or die situation that gives you this issue.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 10 at 2016 4:52 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 16:52:59 -0400

When I was finishing my BA in Psychology, one of my final papers was on PTSD. Although I do have it on my record, it is more anxiety than anything else. The thing I have found most interesting in its rapid occurrence is the broad spectrum of individuals affected. For instance, the memories that haunted me for the longest times eventually faded and I dealt with them. However, I have friends who went through the same exact events and have not recovered. I do think that my past experiences before the military helped me to deal with a lot of the stress and crazy situations that I faced while serving. I think the problem lies in coping mechanisms. If you do not have a healthy way to deal with the issues, then they will only get worse and eventually consume you. With that said, I have also met some very strong men who have been devastated by this "agent orange" of our generation. The severity of the experience, as well as the own individuals resilience have a lot to do with the recovery process. I find PTSD strangely fascinating and I hope in the future to be able to help our servicemen and woman fight this.

Response by SSG Jeremy Sharp made Jul 5 at 2016 1:46 PM

SSG Jeremy Sharp — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 13:46:45 -0400

There are far more people in this country dealing with aspects of PTSD than just military veterans. For instance, most first responders; Police, Fire and EMS that have been on the job for any significant period of time have been subjected to horrible scenarios that humanity has thrown at their feet. The family members and victims who have suffered violent crimes perpetrated against them or their loved ones just to name a few. I agree with the author's friend who stated that coping mechanisms are what give some the ability to be less affected by an experience and I feel that this concept is the key to treating those that are suffering today. By fostering supportive peer networks, strengthening the injured to stability so that on-going counseling can help establish effective coping mechanisms in individuals that will allow them to return to some level of normalcy without struggling through their anxiety alone we could help others overcome the demons that dwell in thse dark memories and experiences.

Response by Sgt Martin Querin made Sep 12 at 2017 5:37 PM

Sgt Martin Querin — Tue, 12 Sep 2017 17:37:48 -0400

Solid thoughts. I think there is definitely some merit to this line of reasoning. When 911 happened I heard so many news people and others say, "this is unprecedented". Yeah in the US maybe, but tell that to the Somalians, Kenyans, Irish, Philippinos, Lebanese, Isrealis, and the list could go on. We have been blessed to not experience war on our soil for over 150 years; and to some extent as a culture we glorify it. I personally glorify the commitment of those that have served, but make no mistake, there is nothing glorious about war. So we as a people are generally unprepared for the ravages of human suffering and atrocities against humanity that are concomitant with war and once engaged they become a necessary part of any combatants survival.

Simply put, don't judge a someone that is doing everything they can to make sure they, and those with them, survive another day of mortal combat. I would say that few in this country understand the true meaning of that word "mortal" when they think about war, few have lived in constant purposeful mortal danger...not a bad neighborhood, but a place where there are people that are strategizing every minute of every day on ways to kill you. We say war is hell, well we haven't really been there yet, but the edge of conflict in war is probably as close as it gets here on earth. And it's not a surprise that it's hard to come back and "be normal" when you've been as close to the edge of hell as you can get in this life and then you come back to a place that thinks normal is losing it because you lost your cellular connection, or someone took your parking place.

Response by AN Eric Braun made Sep 12 at 2017 5:44 PM

AN Eric Braun — Tue, 12 Sep 2017 17:44:03 -0400

Unfortunately it is seen as a weakness, yes, and civilians attempt to play on it because it seems as if it's amusing to them, to see someone suffering from this affliction of PTSD as pushing their buttons so as to activate Bruce Banner's "Incredible Hulk." These people are truly the sick ones, the civilians that provoke someone troubled with this affliction, because they want to see the capabilities of violence and rage within the individual suffering from PTSD. Yes, I believe if they made military service mandatory for at least 3 years, or if these civilians seen 1/3rd of what we have witnessed overseas, then it would be treated differently. Now War is a video game, and "cool" to these newer generations. They would be the ones shell-shocked if they seen firsthand what WAR truly is.

Response by SFC William Stephens A. Jr., 3 MSM, JSCM made Sep 13 at 2017 9:04 AM

SFC William Stephens A. Jr., 3 MSM, JSCM — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 09:04:29 -0400

I think we all live with some case of PTSD just waiting to come out at some time. AS soon to be Author of THE MIRROR I wrote this passage.
THE NEVER ENDING BATTLE OF PTSD ON THE BATTLEFIELD AND BEYOND
You want to be vigilant, you want to react to strange noises, you want to sleep lightly and wake easily, you want to have flashbacks that remind you of the danger, and you want to be, by turns, anxious and depressed. Anxiety keeps you ready to fight, and depression keeps you from being too active and putting yourself at greater risk.
This is a universal human adaptation to danger that is common to other mammals as well. It may be unpleasant, but it’s preferable to getting eaten. (Because PTSD is so adaptive, many have begun leaving the word “disorder” out of the term to avoid stigmatizing a basically healthy reaction.)
Because PTSD is a natural response to danger, it’s almost unavoidable in the short term and mostly self-correcting in the long term. Only about 20 percent of people exposed to trauma react with long-term (chronic) PTSD. Rape is one of the most psychologically devastating things that can happen to a person, for example far more traumatizing than most military deployments and according to a 1992 study published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, 94 percent of rape survivors exhibit signs of extreme trauma immediately afterward. And yet, nine months later 47 percent of rape survivors have recovered enough to resume living normal lives.
PTSD was once called shell shock or battle fatigue syndrome. It is a serious condition that can develop after a person has experienced or witnessed a traumatic or terrifying event in which serious physical harm occurred or was threatened. PTSD is a lasting consequence of traumatic ordeals that cause intense fear, helplessness, or horror, such as a sexual or physical assault, the unexpected death of a loved one, an accident, war, or natural disaster.
I, myself, have experienced mild symptoms of PTSD during and after Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm from depleted uranium poisoning. The Iraqi Republican Guard was quite smart. They moved their burning tanks near US operations as close as they could and the burning paint and smoke would obstruct the view of the soldiers. The soldiers inhaled this toxic chemical into their digestive system and it was later called “Desert Storm Syndrome” or cases of PTSD today. After Operations in Iraq, we are dealing with several cases of soldiers with severe cases of PTSD including soldiers who did not deploy as well. I think once you fire a weapon down range at a target, you learn what you are capable of doing with a weapons system. In combat, when you are fired at from the enemy and hear, see or feel bullets hitting you or going by you, you get this feeling inside your body that you will never every forget again. It is just like me learning the skill of firing artillery projectiles in training. We always love to hear them go out of the cannon tube and fly down range, but during combat operations or full engagements with a T-72 Tank, it is a much different sound when it comes into your area. When you are that close to the battle lines and you hear this distinctive sound, you will never forget it. When you return from deployments, sudden bangs or loud crashes set you off or make you hide or go inside causing people to look at you and wonder what is wrong with that guy or gal. PTSD is different for everyone. Some people can get over it, while there are people who cannot live this down. They live on the battlefield daily and a war is going on it their mind constantly. It is a never ending battle between them and their mind telling them the war is still going on and these people sometimes need special attention or hospitalization.
When I went to deployments, I always had a thought with me. Dorothy said it best, “THERE”S NO PLACE LIKE HOME” because live or die I knew I was always going home alive or in box. So far, I have been following the yellow brick road and I have not been to the magic kingdom yet or met the Wizard, but someday we will all meet him. Dealing with my PTSD, I have to deal with other issues as well, for now I’ll list two:

Bio-polar: Bipolar disorder—the larger condition that includes bipolar depression—is a lifelong, or chronic, illness. It’s a condition that affects the brain in a way that can cause extreme mood swings that vary in length. People with bipolar disorder can go from mania (the “highs”)—feeling euphoric or revved up and irritable—to depression (the “lows”)—feeling down or hopeless. These highs and lows are called “episodes.”

Anxiety: Anxiety is an emotion characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil, often accompanied by nervous behavior, such as pacing back and forth, somatic complaints, and rumination. It is the subjectively unpleasant feelings of dread over anticipated events, such as the feeling of imminent death. Anxiety is not the same as fear, which is a response to a real or perceived immediate threat, whereas anxiety is the expectation of future threat. Anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness and worry, usually generalized and unfocused as an overreaction to a situation that is only subjectively seen as menacing. It is often accompanied by muscular tension, restlessness, fatigue and problems in concentration. Anxiety can be appropriate, but when experienced regularly the individual may suffer from an anxiety disorder.

I’ve been to outpatient treatment and almost lost everything. I had to prove that I was capable of keeping my security clearance because I had this dreaded disease. We as warriors or just normal people with an everyday job can get this from just about anything. Every day and every night I have to take a set number of prescribed pills and I hope that I am a better person. There are times when the medications seem to make it worse because I think it has to do with the mood and type of situation and environment you are in. The other day I was at the VA and I was in one of the PTSD moods where I just wanted to see my counselor and be heading home because I had run out of a certain prescription over the week. You have some veterans who just will not leave you alone and will talk to you until you talk back to them. There was a guy who would not leave me alone. I felt very sorry for the guy because I was just sitting looking at my phone and listening to him having a conversation with himself. It’s sad that we leave people alone like this and ignore the situation because lots of these veterans have nothing to go home to. This guy was in a full conversation with himself; he stopped, and began talking to me. I was wondering who he was talking to. Then I realized he was speaking to me. I really didn’t know what to say except hello and ask if he was speaking to me because I did not know his situation. I use this guy as an example because this person could have been me. It’s as if people don’t care about these veterans or they forget our veterans. People don’t care if they served or not because PTSD is a hidden disorder. I would like to stress that though veterans may be home, they are suffering the after effects of battle fatigue and sickness. Please help someone with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
SAM007

Response by HA Amanda Nunes made Oct 5 at 2017 2:47 AM

HA Amanda Nunes — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 02:47:32 -0400

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Response by SP5 Dennis Loberger made Feb 26 at 2022 9:59 PM

SP5 Dennis Loberger — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 21:59:59 -0500

I have developed a very unsophisticated statement that does actually help my simple mind. When I am feeling the oncoming stress I remind myself.....If it's not going to be on my tombstone, it isn't important enough for me to get upset over