Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Information and Resources
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder developed by some after living through or witnessing an event that caused, or threatened to cause, serious harm or death.
PTSD typically begins within three months of the traumatic event, though sometimes symptoms do not manifest until years later. PTSD symptoms are generally grouped into three types: intrusive memories, avoidance and numbing, and increased anxiety.
Intrusive Memory symptoms may include:
-Flashbacks, or reliving the traumatic event for minutes to days at a time
- Disturbing dreams about the traumatic event
Avoidance and Emotional Numbing symptoms may include:
- Avoidance of thinking or talking about the event
- Feeling emotionally numb
- Avoiding activities once enjoyed
- Hopelessness about the future
- Memory problems
- Difficulty concentrating
- Struggle to maintain close relationships
Anxiety and Emotional Arousal symptoms may include:
- Irritability or anger
- Consuming guilt or shame
- Self-destructive behavior, such as substance abuse
- Difficulty sleeping
- Easily startled or frightened
- Hallucinating things that aren’t there
PTSD affects about 7.7 million American adults in a given year, according to the 2005 National Comorbidity Survey-Replication Study.
In 2010 a study funded by the U.S. Army found that 8-14% of infantry soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan return seriously disabled by mental health problems; between 23-31% return with some impairment. Roughly half the soldiers with PTSD or depression misused alcohol or had issues with aggressive behavior.
Fewer than 10% of U.S. veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who were diagnosed with PTSD between 2002 and 2008 received the recommended course of care at Veterans’ Associations health facilities, according to a study at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.
According to research by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, 10-18% of soldiers returning from Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) are likely to have PTSD. OEF/OIF veterans are at risk for other mental health problems, including rates of depression estimated at between 3-25%.
In the first six months of 2006 the number of suicides amongst American troops at home and abroad nearly equaled the number that had been killed in combat in Afghanistan during the same period, according to an Army study released in June 2010. This indicated that the rate of U.S. Army suicides had doubled since 2004.
In 2008 the Rand Corporation released through a study that roughly 20%, or 300,000, of military service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan reported symptoms of PTSD and/or major depression.
PTSD was once considered a psychological condition of combat veterans. This trauma has gone by many names, including “cowardice” during the American Civil War, “shell shock” during World War I and “battle fatigue” during World War II, amongst other names.
The American Psychiatric Association removed the diagnosis “gross stress reaction” from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1968. There was no definitive way to diagnose PTSD for 12 years. In 1980, PTSD was finally added to the DSM.
In the first 5 years after discharge, Vietnam veterans were 1.7 times more likely to commit suicide than the non-Vietnam veteran population, according to Dr. Houk at the Hearing Before the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, United States Senate, 1988.
Approximately 150,000 veterans returned from Vietnam with psychological disabilities.
Resources:
Post Traumatic Stress Center, New Haven 203-624-2146
United States Department of Veterans Affairs 1-800-827-1000
VA Healthcare West Haven/Newington 203-932-5711
Healthcare for Homeless Veterans 203-479-8043
VA Homeless Program 203-931-4036
Homes for the Brave, Bridgeport 203-338-0669
Federal Veteran Readjustment Centers
Hartford Vet Center 860-563-8800
Norwich Vet Center 860-887-1755
West Haven Vet Center 203-932-9899
Transitional Assistance Advisor 860-524-4908
Connecticut Family Assistance Center 800-858-2677
Connecticut Military Family Assistance Program 860-524-4960
Substance and Abuse Services
Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services 800-662-4357
Focus on Recovery Helpline 800-374-2800
National Coalition for Homelessness 800-838-4357
Connecticut Department of Insurance/Consumer Affairs 860-297-3900
Connecticut Department of Social Services/Veterans Programs 860-424-5024
Counseling Needs
Connecticut Military Support Program 866-251-2913
National Crisis Hotline 800-784-2433
National Suicide Support 888-784-2433
Brain Injury Association of Connecticut 860-721-8111
Connecticut Department of Labor Veterans Programs 860-263-6514