PTSD may provide answers to deadly Thruway crash
WNYT News
Posted at: 02/24/2013
By: Dan Bazile
While state police continue to look into why 43 year old Julian With got on the Thruway the wrong way early Friday morning causing a deadly crash, his friends are speaking out. They say the Iraq war veteran had a lot on his mind.
“He was one of them easy go guy. He had his problems. But it was probably from the war, you know,” says neighbor David Stafford.
Aside from the war, Stafford says there were issues at home. With recently wrote on his facebook page that his wife had left him. Just hours before the crash, he was arrested by Bethlehem police for violating an order of protection in a domestic dispute. Add to that a post on his facebook page that said his mother had three months to live.
read more here
Sunday, February 24, 2013
PTSD in Drone Pilots shows how non-deployed are at risk too
The drone pilots getting hit by PTSD without having to set foot in combat can help with understanding how non-deployed troops can suffer from it as well.
Women are more likely to suffer from PTSD as pointed out by the Mayo Clinic. Here is the list of causes. Notice right at the top is combat exposure.
There have been few studies on non-deployed forces and the psychiatric illness. NON-BATTLE INJURY & NON-BATTLE PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS IN DEPLOYED AIR FORCE MEMBERS by Melinda Eaton in 2010.
As training for ground forces has evolved, so too has the training for pilots when they sit in a building thousands of miles away from combat, watching, waiting and witnessing what is happening to the ground forces as well as civilians topped off with armed drones able to participate in the action.
This is a good look at what we're talking about.
Women are more likely to suffer from PTSD as pointed out by the Mayo Clinic. Here is the list of causes. Notice right at the top is combat exposure.
Kinds of traumatic eventsSo how can they get it without risking their lives? Seeing it happen in front of their own eyes.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is especially common among those who have served in combat. It's sometimes called "shell shock," "battle fatigue" or "combat stress."
The most common events leading to the development of PTSD include:
Combat exposure
Rape
Childhood neglect and physical abuse
Sexual molestation
Physical attack
Being threatened with a weapon
But many other traumatic events also can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, including fire, natural disaster, mugging, robbery, assault, civil conflict, car accident, plane crash, torture, kidnapping, life-threatening medical diagnosis, terrorist attack and other extreme or life-threatening events.
There have been few studies on non-deployed forces and the psychiatric illness. NON-BATTLE INJURY & NON-BATTLE PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS IN DEPLOYED AIR FORCE MEMBERS by Melinda Eaton in 2010.
The overall incidence of non-battle non-drug psychiatric illness in deployed Air Force members was 7.76 non-battle non-drug psychiatric illnesses per 1,000 person-years deployed. The incidence of non-battle non-drug psychiatric illness increased as the operations progressed with the invasion phase and both stabilization phases having a higher incidence rate than the buildup phase. Higher incidence rates were also seen in females, junior officers, and the Reserve members. Results from this study are intended to facilitate the development of proper training and prevention programs to maximize operational efficiency as well as to reduce non-battle injuries and non-battle psychiatric illnesses in a deployed environment.There have been even less studies on how many develop PTSD after training even though the method of training has changed over the years to reflect the way wars are fought. Gone are the days when members of a nation wore uniforms and respected the rules of war.
As training for ground forces has evolved, so too has the training for pilots when they sit in a building thousands of miles away from combat, watching, waiting and witnessing what is happening to the ground forces as well as civilians topped off with armed drones able to participate in the action.
This is a good look at what we're talking about.
Drone Pilots Are Found to Get Stress Disorders Much as Those in Combat Do
New York Times
By JAMES DAO
Published: February 22, 2013
In the first study of its kind, researchers with the Defense Department have found that pilots of drone aircraft experience mental health problems like depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress at the same rate as pilots of manned aircraft who are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.
The study affirms a growing body of research finding health hazards even for those piloting machines from bases far from actual combat zones.
“Though it might be thousands of miles from the battlefield, this work still involves tough stressors and has tough consequences for those crews,” said Peter W. Singer, a scholar at the Brookings Institution who has written extensively about drones. He was not involved in the new research.
That study, by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, which analyzes health trends among military personnel, did not try to explain the sources of mental health problems among drone pilots.
But Air Force officials and independent experts have suggested several potential causes, among them witnessing combat violence on live video feeds, working in isolation or under inflexible shift hours, juggling the simultaneous demands of home life with combat operations and dealing with intense stress because of crew shortages.
read more here
Tattoo reminds Marine to read the Bible, have faith
Tattoo reminds Marine to read the Bible, have faith
Billings Gazette
By Mary Pickett
Joshua Grisak, 28, estimates that half or more of the U.S. Marines he served with had tattoos.
Grisak was among them.
Before he was deployed to Iraq in 2008, the Polson native got a tattoo of a cross with the word “Jesus” on his right calf.
Stationed at Camp Pendleton, he and several other Marines had tattoos done at the same time in nearby Carlsbad, Calif.
One of group had his son’s name tattooed along his side.
Grisak said his own tattoo is an expression of his faith and a reminder for him to read the Bible and not get caught up in stupid things. Although it represents his own religious beliefs, it also means not force it on others, he said.
When he returned from Iraq, Grisak had a Charlie Russell-style buffalo skull tattooed on his upper right arm, inspired by Marines who had tattooed symbols of their home states, including Texas lone stars, an outline of Alaska and state flags.
Grisak also had an outline of a large cross and comedy and tragedy drama masks tattooed on his back with the phrase “Life is pain” written across the top.
read more here
Billings Gazette
By Mary Pickett
Joshua Grisak, 28, estimates that half or more of the U.S. Marines he served with had tattoos.
Grisak was among them.
Before he was deployed to Iraq in 2008, the Polson native got a tattoo of a cross with the word “Jesus” on his right calf.
Stationed at Camp Pendleton, he and several other Marines had tattoos done at the same time in nearby Carlsbad, Calif.
One of group had his son’s name tattooed along his side.
Grisak said his own tattoo is an expression of his faith and a reminder for him to read the Bible and not get caught up in stupid things. Although it represents his own religious beliefs, it also means not force it on others, he said.
When he returned from Iraq, Grisak had a Charlie Russell-style buffalo skull tattooed on his upper right arm, inspired by Marines who had tattooed symbols of their home states, including Texas lone stars, an outline of Alaska and state flags.
Grisak also had an outline of a large cross and comedy and tragedy drama masks tattooed on his back with the phrase “Life is pain” written across the top.
read more here
Guns and mental health still as wrong as in 2007
Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act was signed into law by President Bush because the Congress had to act as if they understood the issues veterans were dealing with. I was just as wrong. In 2007 I was thinking Coburn was wrong "Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention bill blocked by Coburn" simply because the number one means of committing suicides was at the wrong end of a gun.
My husband's nephew used heroin.
I did a check to see what percentage of suicides are committed by guns and other means. There were 3,850,000 results to "top ten ways people commit suicide" search.
Google also provided this
After talking to a lot of veterans after 2007, it was pointed out to me that my thoughts were way too limited. The bill ended up putting fear into veterans that if they sought help from the VA, they would have to surrender their guns. It kept them from going to the VA. The bill to supposedly save lives was in fact preventing them from going for help.
We now have a better idea of how many veterans are committing suicide. At least 22 a day are ending their own lives. Most do use guns. Medal of Honor hero Dakota Meyer tried to commit suicide with his handgun but it didn't fire. It is not as if they suddenly decide they don't want to be here anymore. The hope of better days takes time to be eroded.
Still when you look at the numbers, the whole view of them, you'll understand that the good intentions of this bill ended badly.
Military Suicides went up.
Veterans Suicides went up.
This is from the GAO
When you look at those numbers understand what you're seeing. That many veterans went to the VA and we have at least 22 of them taking their own lives everyday. While that is sickening beyond reason to many, the vast majority of them are not a threat to themselves and even less are a threat to anyone else.
This morning I was reading irresponsible reports saying that the gun and mental health issues are new. That is what caused this post. The search for responsible answers on guns has focused on mental health but the reality is, much different than they expected it would be back in 2007 when congress wanted show they were doing something so they were willing to just do anything.
Suicide Prevention bills have not worked because Congress didn't understand it.
The means by which they commit suicide is important but not as important as why they do it.
My husband's nephew used heroin.
I did a check to see what percentage of suicides are committed by guns and other means. There were 3,850,000 results to "top ten ways people commit suicide" search.
Google also provided this
Searches related to top ten ways people commit suicideThis was the top answer from Harvard when I used "mental health" in the search.
suicide garage
easy ways to kill self
suicide methods
quick ways to kill yourself
painless suicide methods
how to hang yourself painlessly
how to kill yourself quickly
what is the most effective way to kill yourself
Suicide, Guns, and Public Health
Most efforts to prevent suicide focus on why people take their lives. But as we understand more about who attempts suicide and when and where and why, it becomes increasingly clear that how a person attempts–the means they use–plays a key role in whether they live or die.
“Means reduction” (reducing a suicidal person’s access to highly lethal means) is an important part of a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention. It is based on the following understandings
Many suicide attempts occur with little planning during a short-term crisis.
Intent isn’t all that determines whether an attempter lives or dies; means also matter.
90% of attempters who survive do NOT go on to die by suicide later.
Access to firearms is a risk factor for suicide.
Firearms used in youth suicide usually belong to a parent.
Reducing access to lethal means saves lives.
After talking to a lot of veterans after 2007, it was pointed out to me that my thoughts were way too limited. The bill ended up putting fear into veterans that if they sought help from the VA, they would have to surrender their guns. It kept them from going to the VA. The bill to supposedly save lives was in fact preventing them from going for help.
We now have a better idea of how many veterans are committing suicide. At least 22 a day are ending their own lives. Most do use guns. Medal of Honor hero Dakota Meyer tried to commit suicide with his handgun but it didn't fire. It is not as if they suddenly decide they don't want to be here anymore. The hope of better days takes time to be eroded.
Still when you look at the numbers, the whole view of them, you'll understand that the good intentions of this bill ended badly.
Military Suicides went up.
Veterans Suicides went up.
This is from the GAO
Number of Veterans Receiving Care, Barriers Faced, and Efforts to Increase Access from 2011.The GAO should have added in fear of losing gun permit.
In fiscal year 2010, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provided health care to about 5.2 million veterans. Recent legislation has increased many Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans' priority for accessing VA's health care, and concerns have been raised about the extent to which VA is providing mental health care to eligible veterans of all eras. There also are concerns that barriers may hinder some veterans from accessing needed mental health care. GAO was asked to provide information on veterans who receive mental health care from VA.
In this report, GAO provides information on
(1) how many veterans received mental health care from VA from fiscal years 2006 through 2010,The number of veterans represents a unique count of veterans; veterans were counted only once, even if they received care multiple times during a fiscal year or across the 5-year period. GAO also reviewed literature published from 2006 to 2011, reviewed VA documents, and interviewed officials from VA and veterans service organizations (VSO).
(2) key barriers that may hinder veterans from accessing mental health care from VA, and
(3) VA efforts to increase veterans' access to VA mental health care. GAO obtained data from VA's Northeast Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC) on the number of veterans who received mental health care from VA.
Over the 5-year period from fiscal years 2006 through 2010, about 2.1 million unique veterans received mental health care from VA. Each year the number of veterans receiving mental health care increased, from about 900,000 in fiscal year 2006 to about 1.2 million in fiscal year 2010. OEF/OIF veterans accounted for an increasing proportion of veterans receiving care during this period. The key barriers identified from the literature that may hinder veterans from accessing mental health care from VA, which were corroborated through interviews, are stigma, lack of understanding or awareness of mental health care, logistical challenges to accessing mental health care, and concerns about VA's care, such as concerns that VA's services are primarily for older veterans. Many of these barriers are not necessarily unique to veterans accessing mental health care from VA, but may affect anyone accessing mental health care from any provider. Veterans may be affected by barriers differently based on demographic factors, such as age and gender. For example, younger OEF/OIF veterans and female veterans may perceive that VA's services are primarily for someone else, such as older veterans or male veterans. VA has implemented several efforts to increase veterans' access to mental health care, including integrating mental health care into primary care. VA also has implemented efforts to educate veterans, their families, health care providers, and other community stakeholders about mental health conditions and VA's mental health care. According to VA officials, these efforts help get veterans into care by reducing, and in some cases eliminating, the barriers that may hinder them from accessing care. GAO provided a draft of this report to VA for comment. In its response, VA provided technical comments, which were incorporated as appropriate.
When you look at those numbers understand what you're seeing. That many veterans went to the VA and we have at least 22 of them taking their own lives everyday. While that is sickening beyond reason to many, the vast majority of them are not a threat to themselves and even less are a threat to anyone else.
This morning I was reading irresponsible reports saying that the gun and mental health issues are new. That is what caused this post. The search for responsible answers on guns has focused on mental health but the reality is, much different than they expected it would be back in 2007 when congress wanted show they were doing something so they were willing to just do anything.
Suicide Prevention bills have not worked because Congress didn't understand it.
The means by which they commit suicide is important but not as important as why they do it.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Vietnam veterans retirement brings out PTSD symptoms
This is very true and important, not just for Vietnam veterans but for this generation of veterans. When they do not heal what may be mild PTSD now, it gets worse later when they do not have other things to push in front of the pain. It hits them like a sledgehammer!
For retiring Vietnam veterans, a resurgence of PTSD symptoms
Filed by KOSU News in Public Insight Network.
February 23, 2013
Our reporting on veterans’ issues has focused almost exclusively on Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. It is not to minimize the ongoing struggles of Vietnam veterans. In fact, we often look to the research on Vietnam veterans for some understanding of what might lie ahead for the younger veterans we’re meeting.
So my interest was piqued when I stumbled across a story, now several months old, about Vietnam veterans experiencing a recurrence of PTSD symptoms … in retirement.
In “Retirement might unleash PTSD symptoms in Vietnam veterans,” an article published by Stars and Stripes in June 2012, Leo Shane III talks to veteran Sam Luna, who retired in 2004.
From the article:
“‘I didn’t realize anything was wrong,’ the combat-wounded Vietnam veteran said. ‘I thought I had adjusted well after I came back. I had a job, I had a family, everything looked great from the outside.’
“But shortly after he retired in 2004, his anxiety attacks and stress levels increased. A trip to his local Veterans Affairs hospital triggered war memories. The former soldier started to notice the hair-trigger temper his wife had complained about for years.
“He found himself thinking more often about the war — and the friends he lost.”
read more here
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