PTSD
When people think of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they often think of soldiers returning home from battle. “Shell shock” was the term that was given to it many years ago before it received its name. PTSD affects more than just soldiers. It affects anyone who has experienced a traumatic event. People affected by PTSD often have flashbacks of the event (Garrett, 2011). A person who has been abused may find themselves constantly thinking about or playing the abuse through their head over and over, or even be jumpy around anyone who touches them.
The hippocampi volume in people affected by PTSD is smaller, but this isn’t a result of stress (Garrett, 2011). It’s actually a predisposing factor. People affected by PTSD experience changes to the hippocampus. The hippocampus works in conjunction with the prefrontal cortex to regulate our emotional responses to stress and fear (Garrett, 2011). The part of the brain that plays a role in fear acquisition, the amygdala, also plays a role. The issues with those affected by PTSD, they have impairments in one or both of those regions (Garrett, 2011).
The soldiers in the video displayed everything from constant stress to suicidal and homicidal ideations. In one of the stories, Jeff took to alcohol abuse. Even while he was in treatment, he wanted to leave so he could just numb himself again. Another soldier felt the same way. The soldiers were also avoidant of others, often staying off to themselves. Hyper vigilance was also another symptom a couple of them exhibited. The symptoms lasted as long as they were not getting treated for it. The symptoms of PTSD are resistant to traditional psychotherapy and drug treatments. So the symptoms may never really go away. However, exposure therapy is a start for people affected by PTSD. Lately, researchers have experimented with fear erasure.
The military is “treating” people by placing them in a 10-week class to help them deal with their PTSD. From what I understand about military policy, medications aren’t allowed for personnel in the field because oftentimes, they will not have access to medications. This is also the policy for anyone wanting to join the military. They must be off of any medication before joining. If you’re on medication or have a mental illness, you are considered to be flawed. I do not feel that the military is doing enough to help the veterans affected by mental illnesses. A 10-week group session doesn’t “cure” someone of a mental illness. To send them back to the front lines to keep fighting doesn’t make the situation any better. It only will make their illness worse. A mental illness just doesn’t go away. Much like one person mentioned in the video, a woman who has been raped just doesn’t forget that she has been raped. A veteran suffering from PTSD will not return to war and forget the things he experienced there.