CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
There has been an increasing amount of media attention on the medical and psychological services rendered to the current veterans returning from the Global War on Terrorism. With increased public interest, the term post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is becoming a part of the general public's vocabulary.
Unfortunately, with an increase in the number of Airmen in the Air Force who are in harm's way, it is safe to expect an increase in the number of psychological casualties.
So what is PTSD? In earlier wars, PTSD was known as soldier's heart, shell shock or nostalgia. PTSD is an anxiety disorder comprised of a cluster of physical, emotional and cognitive symptoms associated with exposure to disaster or life-threatening situations. It is important to say here that the great majority of people exposed to psychological trauma do not develop PTSD. Currently, research suggests that 20 to 30 percent of people exposed to traumatic events develop PTSD.
The symptoms of PTSD can be grouped into three categories: Re-experiencing the traumatic incident, avoidance and hyper-arousal or hypervigilance. Re-experiencing the traumatic event means the sufferer has disturbing thoughts he can't get rid of (e.g. intrusive images, nightmares or flashbacks, which is like dreaming while you are awake).
Avoidance simply means staying away from things that upset you and is common to many of the anxiety disorders.
Avoidance makes good sense if you think about it. If you are fearful of snakes you will likely give the reptile house a wide berth when you visit the zoo with your kids. For PTSD, this means that people avoid things that remind them of the original incident. For instance, many of the combat-PTSD patients I have worked with avoid going to war movies or may avoid sights or smells associated with the combat situation. Mentally, some people may even forget important details or may block out an experience altogether.
Hyper-arousal is when people's bodies are at a constantly heightened state of alert, which manifests itself in increased muscle tension, trouble sleeping or increased irritability. Hyper-vigilance also sometimes occurs, and in the case of combat veterans, this might mean scanning otherwise safe situations for potential threats (e.g. roadside bombs, insurgents, snipers etc.).
Traumatic experiences are, by their nature, out of the ordinary and many people will have some or all of the symptoms mentioned above as a result. The key to whether or not a person has the disorder is time and impact. In other words, if the symptoms you have don't go away over the course of a few days, and the symptoms are disrupting the way you live your life, then you need to get help. The avoidance behavior central to PTSD only serves to make the symptoms worse and more difficult to treat as people are uncomfortable with confronting their fears in addition to feeling like, "only crazy people go to mental health."
People should know that seeking help is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. The easy thing to do is to run away from emotional problems; the difficult thing is to face fears directly and overcome them. Unfortunately, those who choose to run may face greater unwanted obstacles in their lives including depression, decreased performance on the job, marital difficulties or trouble with other relationships, substance abuse or difficulties managing anger, just to name a few. In a worst-case scenario, several of the difficulties mentioned above combine and compound the primary symptoms of PTSD.
Members of the military in wartime need attend to themselves and their Wingmen during and following intense situations. If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms as mentioned above, seek help immediately. There are methods and services available to help people cope with the symptoms of PTSD. The longer you wait to treat the symptoms the more impact the disorder can have on your life. The Air Force Instruction on traumatic stress allows you to obtain four sessions of counseling at the Life Skills Support Center with no records kept following a traumatic incident. In addition, chaplains have complete confidentiality and have training and knowledge in coping with trauma. Following a traumatic event, members of leadership can access care by activating the Traumatic Stress Response team calling the base command post.
For more information or to seek help, call the LSSC at 963-6852.