Soldiers and PTSD

[whitehall]

Wrong. PTSD is a very real and nasty condition. After a few years of not being able to sleep more than an hour or two at a time I suspect you might agree. And it is not a condition restricted to veterans.

So insomniacs are all suffering from PTSD, should have their guns grabbed?
It bullshit gun grabbers propaganda, that's all.

Bullshit. I was a combat medic in Vietnam and have worked in military and VA hospitals all over this country and in a few others. I am probably more conservative and a bigger gun nut than either of you or Whitehall. Nobody, BUT NOBODY, is more pro-vet than I and certainly not a couple of idiots who are so conceited as to think that just because they don't understand something it must not exist. You guys are right on the same level with those assholes who jeer at people missing arms and legs. Sit down. Shut up. And, if you make an effort, maybe even you might be able to learn something.

A former combat medic should have more intelligence than try to compare the criticism of PTSD to "jeering at people missing arms and legs" It's a cheap shot and an ignorant and insulting thing to say but sadly typical of the people who defend PTSD these days. If PTSD patients are so severely mentally disturbed that they are awarded a disability pension it is the duty of the government to make sure they do not have access to firearms. I don't call that "gun grabbing" it call it logical public safety.

 

[freedombecki]

I grew up in a family in which my Dad suffered from PTSD. He had shrapnel in his body that set off detectors in airports before his death in 1992. When he got older, he couldn't turn around and had a hard time twisting his head to look for oncoming traffic. His head injuries made him schizophrenic at times, and he had difficulty relating to other people in every avenue of his life. Even so, he was an exemplary father and expected good behavior from the minors in the family at all times. He also endured 18 months of what killed many American soldiers--a starvation-style Japanese Prisoner of War camp which he never discussed in front of children.

Other people get PTSD also, and many women suffer it who have been physically or sexually abused, and so do others, such as children who endure too much screaming at home and too much loud noise, such as living in a house exposed to too much airplane landing and takeoff roaring noises.

A very good source for understanding what PTSD really is and who gets it is at the Wake Foundation website: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Violence | wavetrust.org

If you or a member of your family have any symptoms as described on the page, please get them help. Thanks.

 

[Sunshine]

Yes, I am an adult survivor with PTSD, which I'm sure plays a part in why my heart goes out to this soldier.

I went looking for soldier support groups - maybe be a pen pal. I don't know. Whatever. Anybody have any recommendations?

There is an effort to have a VA clinic within 30 minutes of every veteran in the US. Find out where the nearest one to you is. Some of them keep food and clothing banks, they also have volunteers to help with various things. It would be hard to get the name of one due to HIPAA laws, but they are always having 'stand downs' for homeless veterans. I was never able to work them, but I donated many items to these efforts. I think there may be a way to get names of active duty soldiers to write to, but I'm not sure. Just check around on the web.

 

[Sunshine]

Labeling soldiers has a better effect than spitting on them.
It's more of the same liberal hate.

Many times those labels are turned into psycho-esque pop culture themes which Hollywood exploits and perpetuates terrible misinformation to the public. Rambo comes to mind.

There is a video which your library may have called Haunted Heroes. It is about Vietnam veterans who left society to live alone in the wilderness. One of them claims to be the person that Rambo was based on. The woods in KY and TN are full of them. They just don't do well in society. I have never seen so many lonely old men in my life. Most have been married multiple times, and lost multiple jobs due to their PTSD. Most don't really have enough to live on because they were never able to work long enough to draw SS. About all they have are their veteran's benefits.

 

[Sunshine]

Apparently under today's standards a member of the Military doesn't even have to be in combat to qualify for PTSD treatment. All they have to do is imagine they were in combat and have nightmares about it. Under those standards every kid who has reached the age of 15 and has seen an average of 10,000 killings on TV or the movies or video games is qualified for PTSD treatment.

That is not true. Combat is not a requirement, but a traumatic event is. And there are many instances during training when there would be an even traumatic enough to cause PTSD.

"Imagining" you were in combat when you were not is not PTSD, that is psychosis. A different problem altogether.

 

[Sunshine]

So insomniacs are all suffering from PTSD, should have their guns grabbed?
It bullshit gun grabbers propaganda, that's all.

Bullshit. I was a combat medic in Vietnam and have worked in military and VA hospitals all over this country and in a few others. I am probably more conservative and a bigger gun nut than either of you or Whitehall. Nobody, BUT NOBODY, is more pro-vet than I and certainly not a couple of idiots who are so conceited as to think that just because they don't understand something it must not exist. You guys are right on the same level with those assholes who jeer at people missing arms and legs. Sit down. Shut up. And, if you make an effort, maybe even you might be able to learn something.

A former combat medic should have more intelligence than try to compare the criticism of PTSD to "jeering at people missing arms and legs" It's a cheap shot and an ignorant and insulting thing to say but sadly typical of the people who defend PTSD these days. If PTSD patients are so severely mentally disturbed that they are awarded a disability pension it is the duty of the government to make sure they do not have access to firearms. I don't call that "gun grabbing" it call it logical public safety.

A lot of people share your thinking. The problem with it is that many people who NEED help won't get it because they seen their right to own guns hanging in the balance. Here in KY, many people would not have enough food if they did not hunt the woodlands. I have been treating PTSD for the better part of 25 years. I have never had anyone shoot another person, and now I think about it, I've never had a patient shoot him/herself. It is simply a fallacy that they are not safe to own guns. A person with PTSD would be far more dangerous in a car during a flashback because they are ducking for cover, not retaliating.

 

[Sunshine]

I grew up in a family in which my Dad suffered from PTSD. He had shrapnel in his body that set off detectors in airports before his death in 1992. When he got older, he couldn't turn around and had a hard time twisting his head to look for oncoming traffic. His head injuries made him schizophrenic at times, and he had difficulty relating to other people in every avenue of his life. Even so, he was an exemplary father and expected good behavior from the minors in the family at all times. He also endured 18 months of what killed many American soldiers--a starvation-style Japanese Prisoner of War camp which he never discussed in front of children.

Other people get PTSD also, and many women suffer it who have been physically or sexually abused, and so do others, such as children who endure too much screaming at home and too much loud noise, such as living in a house exposed to too much airplane landing and takeoff roaring noises.

A very good source for understanding what PTSD really is and who gets it is at the Wake Foundation website: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Violence | wavetrust.org

If you or a member of your family have any symptoms as described on the page, please get them help. Thanks.

Good information. The Misinformation on this thread is so thick you can cut it with a knife.

 

[Connery]

Labeling soldiers has a better effect than spitting on them.
It's more of the same liberal hate.

Many times those labels are turned into psycho-esque pop culture themes which Hollywood exploits and perpetuates terrible misinformation to the public. Rambo comes to mind.

There is a video which your library may have called Haunted Heroes. It is about Vietnam veterans who left society to live alone in the wilderness. One of them claims to be the person that Rambo was based on. The woods in KY and TN are full of them. They just don't do well in society. I have never seen so many lonely old men in my life. Most have been married multiple times, and lost multiple jobs due to their PTSD. Most don't really have enough to live on because they were never able to work long enough to draw SS. About all they have are their veteran's benefits.

I am woefully aware of this. I was talking about Hollywood's perspective many times when portraying what a person who has PTSD is like.

 

[Connery]

Apparently under today's standards a member of the Military doesn't even have to be in combat to qualify for PTSD treatment. All they have to do is imagine they were in combat and have nightmares about it. Under those standards every kid who has reached the age of 15 and has seen an average of 10,000 killings on TV or the movies or video games is qualified for PTSD treatment.

It is not only the events in combat that can cause PTSD. "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that can occur after someone goes through a traumatic event like war, assault, or disaster".

 

[9thIDdoc]

So insomniacs are all suffering from PTSD, should have their guns grabbed?
It bullshit gun grabbers propaganda, that's all.

Bullshit. I was a combat medic in Vietnam and have worked in military and VA hospitals all over this country and in a few others. I am probably more conservative and a bigger gun nut than either of you or Whitehall. Nobody, BUT NOBODY, is more pro-vet than I and certainly not a couple of idiots who are so conceited as to think that just because they don't understand something it must not exist. You guys are right on the same level with those assholes who jeer at people missing arms and legs. Sit down. Shut up. And, if you make an effort, maybe even you might be able to learn something.

A former combat medic should have more intelligence than try to compare the criticism of PTSD to "jeering at people missing arms and legs" It's a cheap shot and an ignorant and insulting thing to say but sadly typical of the people who defend PTSD these days. If PTSD patients are so severely mentally disturbed that they are awarded a disability pension it is the duty of the government to make sure they do not have access to firearms. I don't call that "gun grabbing" it call it logical public safety.

Again, bullshit. The cheap shot is coming from you aimed at people injured in the line of duty exactly the same as any other injury. Your ignorance doesn't excuse your insult and you should be ashamed of yourself.

 

[Pauli007001]

Wrong. PTSD is a very real and nasty condition. After a few years of not being able to sleep more than an hour or two at a time I suspect you might agree. And it is not a condition restricted to veterans.

So insomniacs are all suffering from PTSD, should have their guns grabbed?
It bullshit gun grabbers propaganda, that's all.

Bullshit. I was a combat medic in Vietnam and have worked in military and VA hospitals all over this country and in a few others. I am probably more conservative and a bigger gun nut than either of you or Whitehall. Nobody, BUT NOBODY, is more pro-vet than I and certainly not a couple of idiots who are so conceited as to think that just because they don't understand something it must not exist. You guys are right on the same level with those assholes who jeer at people missing arms and legs. Sit down. Shut up. And, if you make an effort, maybe even you might be able to learn something.

I have nothing to learn from the likes of you.
PTSD has no diagnostic tool, am I correct?
There are no key symptoms.
It is called a mental illness.
So a veteran can be declared mentally ill with no full diagnostic method being employed.
Once it's on record, it cannot be taken off.
It's a gun grab.
I was not a combat medic.
I was a combat infantryman with a 16 year career, the first 4 in an elite unit.
I have seen service in every shithole that my country deployed troops to between the years 1987 and 2003.
I could teach you a thing or two, doc.

 

[Pauli007001]

Bullshit. I was a combat medic in Vietnam and have worked in military and VA hospitals all over this country and in a few others. I am probably more conservative and a bigger gun nut than either of you or Whitehall. Nobody, BUT NOBODY, is more pro-vet than I and certainly not a couple of idiots who are so conceited as to think that just because they don't understand something it must not exist. You guys are right on the same level with those assholes who jeer at people missing arms and legs. Sit down. Shut up. And, if you make an effort, maybe even you might be able to learn something.

A former combat medic should have more intelligence than try to compare the criticism of PTSD to "jeering at people missing arms and legs" It's a cheap shot and an ignorant and insulting thing to say but sadly typical of the people who defend PTSD these days. If PTSD patients are so severely mentally disturbed that they are awarded a disability pension it is the duty of the government to make sure they do not have access to firearms. I don't call that "gun grabbing" it call it logical public safety.

Again, bullshit. The cheap shot is coming from you aimed at people injured in the line of duty exactly the same as any other injury. Your ignorance doesn't excuse your insult and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Wow!!
Your such a tough guy!!
You following your employers direction on this?

 

[Camp]

A former combat medic should have more intelligence than try to compare the criticism of PTSD to "jeering at people missing arms and legs" It's a cheap shot and an ignorant and insulting thing to say but sadly typical of the people who defend PTSD these days. If PTSD patients are so severely mentally disturbed that they are awarded a disability pension it is the duty of the government to make sure they do not have access to firearms. I don't call that "gun grabbing" it call it logical public safety.

Again, bullshit. The cheap shot is coming from you aimed at people injured in the line of duty exactly the same as any other injury. Your ignorance doesn't excuse your insult and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Wow!!
Your such a tough guy!!
You following your employers direction on this?

Combat Medics are the bravest and toughest soldiers on the battlefield, but they never admit it. PTSD comes with the job. Pretty much impossible to escape it.

 

[Sunshine]

Again, bullshit. The cheap shot is coming from you aimed at people injured in the line of duty exactly the same as any other injury. Your ignorance doesn't excuse your insult and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Wow!!
Your such a tough guy!!
You following your employers direction on this?

Combat Medics are the bravest and toughest soldiers on the battlefield, but they never admit it. PTSD comes with the job. Pretty much impossible to escape it.

People who work with veterans and hear in detail the things they have seen get what is known as Secondary PTSD.

Vicarious traumatization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I only prescribed meds, and did not do therapy. I well could have, but my case load as an NP never allowed that kind of time for any one patient, and we had very skilled therapists in the VA.

 

[Pauli007001]

Again, bullshit. The cheap shot is coming from you aimed at people injured in the line of duty exactly the same as any other injury. Your ignorance doesn't excuse your insult and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Wow!!
Your such a tough guy!!
You following your employers direction on this?

Combat Medics are the bravest and toughest soldiers on the battlefield, but they never admit it. PTSD comes with the job. Pretty much impossible to escape it.

So every combat veteran has PTSD?
Watch for the gun grab of veterans guns!!
All veterans are crazy after all.

 

[Camp]

Wow!!
Your such a tough guy!!
You following your employers direction on this?

Combat Medics are the bravest and toughest soldiers on the battlefield, but they never admit it. PTSD comes with the job. Pretty much impossible to escape it.

So every combat veteran has PTSD?
Watch for the gun grab of veterans guns!!
All veterans are crazy after all.

That is not what I said. You changed what I said about combat medics to include all combat veterans. You added the gun grab and vets are crazy stuff. I didn't say anything like that. I don't have a problem with veterans with some levels of PTSD having guns. Their are levels of PTSD. PTSD does does not automaticly make a person crazy. If you think PTSD means crazy vet you should try to learn about it because you are very poorly informed.

 

[Michelle420]

My Uncle had it, sometimes out of nowhere he would have a violent outburst, you never knew when it was going to happen.

 

[9thIDdoc]

"I have nothing to learn from the likes of you.
Really? I am constantly being amazed at just how little most loud mouth know-it-alls actually do know."
PTSD has no diagnostic tool, am I correct?
No.
"There are no key symptoms."
I don't know of any one symptom that always indicates PTSD. Or that is present in every case. Nor does it follow that PTSD is the only problem a person has. But once you have some experience with the disorder it is rarely hard to recognize
It is called a mental illness.
Is it? It is named a "disorder". Post Traumatic Stress DISORDER.
So a veteran can be declared mentally ill with no full diagnostic method being employed.
That is untrue anywhere I know about personally. "Mental illness" is an opinion. "Incompetent" or "insane" are legal rulings that require a judge.
"Once it's on record, it cannot be taken off."[/I]
What record? Medical records are to be kept private and by law cannot be shared except in certain cases. The same is true of legal records." I have nothing to learn from the likes of you".
Of course not. Silly me. I had forgotten that most Grunts were also seriously interested in psychology and studied psychiatry whenever they got a break from filling sandbags.
It's a gun grab.
You are correct that there are some that would love to have a gun grab just as you describe and are trying to get one going through changes in state and local law that would allow just that. It remains to be seen whether such laws would prove to be Constitutional. The majority of Americas are just not that stupid and I see zero chance of that happening anywhere near where I live.
"I could teach you a thing or two, doc."
Don't try to teach an old dog to suck eggs, son. I have the highest respect for Combat Infantry (right alongside Combat Medics of course) but I was probably walking the walk about the time you were born.

 

[Pauli007001]

"I have nothing to learn from the likes of you.
Really? I am constantly being amazed at just how little most loud mouth know-it-alls actually do know."
PTSD has no diagnostic tool, am I correct?
No.
"There are no key symptoms."
I don't know of any one symptom that always indicates PTSD. Or that is present in every case. Nor does it follow that PTSD is the only problem a person has. But once you have some experience with the disorder it is rarely hard to recognize
It is called a mental illness.
Is it? It is named a "disorder". Post Traumatic Stress DISORDER.
So a veteran can be declared mentally ill with no full diagnostic method being employed.
That is untrue anywhere I know about personally. "Mental illness" is an opinion. "Incompetent" or "insane" are legal rulings that require a judge.
"Once it's on record, it cannot be taken off."[/I]
What record? Medical records are to be kept private and by law cannot be shared except in certain cases. The same is true of legal records." I have nothing to learn from the likes of you".
Of course not. Silly me. I had forgotten that most Grunts were also seriously interested in psychology and studied psychiatry whenever they got a break from filling sandbags.
It's a gun grab.
You are correct that there are some that would love to have a gun grab just as you describe and are trying to get one going through changes in state and local law that would allow just that. It remains to be seen whether such laws would prove to be Constitutional. The majority of Americas are just not that stupid and I see zero chance of that happening anywhere near where I live.
"I could teach you a thing or two, doc."
Don't try to teach an old dog to suck eggs, son. I have the highest respect for Combat Infantry (right alongside Combat Medics of course) but I was probably walking the walk about the time you were born.

I just walked a longer and harder walk.
You claim to respect combat infanteers yet a paragraph or two you insult them?
Concurrent to my service as a professional combat infanteer I also studied and qualified as a Registered Mental Nurse.
I worked on Bank( per diem ) at a secure forensic psychiatric unit in the British NHS.
For schizophrenia the Ericsson tool is preferred for assisting in diagnostics.
Which diagnostic tool is used to diagnose PTSD?
What are the symptoms of PTSD, can it ever be diagnosed organically?

You are full of shit.
You were never a medic, never served.
You are probably an obese 50 year old who still lives in his parents home and insists the paperboy calls him Doctor.
I'm no gambling man.
I would put money on that though !!

 

[Pauli007001]

Combat Medics are the bravest and toughest soldiers on the battlefield, but they never admit it. PTSD comes with the job. Pretty much impossible to escape it.

So every combat veteran has PTSD?
Watch for the gun grab of veterans guns!!
All veterans are crazy after all.

That is not what I said. You changed what I said about combat medics to include all combat veterans. You added the gun grab and vets are crazy stuff. I didn't say anything like that. I don't have a problem with veterans with some levels of PTSD having guns. Their are levels of PTSD. PTSD does does not automaticly make a person crazy. If you think PTSD means crazy vet you should try to learn about it because you are very poorly informed.

List the levels of PTSD and the differing symptoms then?