War can be hard on relationships of military couples

Her findings about deployment run counter to a 2003 military study taken to assess the mental health of soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan. “That study found soldiers were reporting very low stress related to their deployment,” she said.

War can be hard on relationships of military couples
Posted by admin as Psychology / Psychiatry
October 22, 2007

Serving in combat can affect the relationship satisfaction of military couples, according to preliminary results of a study by a Kansas State University professor.

Briana Nelson Goff, associate professor of marriage and family therapy in K-State’s School of Family Studies and Human Services, has conducted surveys and interviews during the last year with 47 military couples from Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth. The majority of the participating couples are married, while the others have been dating for at least a year. In each case, the male member of the couple has served in the war in Iraq or in Afghanistan.

Nelson Goff said her research is the first comprehensive study to compare the similarities between couples who are dealing with the aftereffects of war and those who deal with other similar types of traumatic experiences. Her survey was designed to find and gauge the level of individual trauma symptoms related to the war experience and if they are affecting the couples’ relationship.

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More proof early treatment of PTSD is vital

Predictors of posttraumatic distress 1 year after exposure to ...
In this longitudinal study of 333 primarily male, Hispanic survivors of community violence, the authors investigated the effects of 4 categories of risk factors on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity:

PTSD becomes a For Dummies book

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder For Dummies
By Mark Goulston
ISBN: 978-0-470-04922-8
Format: PaperPages: 384 PagesPub. Date: October 22, 2007
A plain-English resource for people suffering from the aftereffects of a traumatic experienceAn estimated five percent of Americans-over 13 million people-suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at any given time, and approximately eight percent will develop it at some time in their lives. Written for PTSD sufferers and their loved ones, this practical guide gives people the lowdown on symptoms, details today's various treatment options, offers practical coping strategies for day-to-day life, and even shows how to help children with PTSD. For the 12 to 20 percent of returning combat veterans who suffer from PTSD, the book offers real-world strategies for dealing with flashbacks, nightmares, and disruptive thoughts.
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Dealing with this for over half my life, it does not surprise me one bit this became a FOR DUMMIES book. I think it's great that a book has come out in plain, simple terms because this wound is very complicated. It's been very hard for the general public to understand.

I think back to when I was trying to explain this to my family and friends. Most of the time their eyes would glaze over and the subject was changed. Just when I thought they understood it, they would say something totally off the mark. These are smart people we're talking about and not "dummies" unable to understand the science of it.

While veterans are a reflection of the general population, having all sorts of characters among them, they are far from the general population. Combat is not part of normal daily life. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors, religious beliefs and yes, even attitudes. There are some alcoholics serving today, just as there are some alcoholic veterans. There are some drug addicts. There are some criminals, abusers and rapists among them. There should be no doubt that they are just as human as the rest of us. What sets them apart is their service to this country and the fact they are expected to be willing to lay down their lives for the sake of this nation.

When we read news reports about a combat veteran on trail, some point to that as evidence only criminals use PTSD as an excuse for what they did. When we read reports about homeless veterans, we tend to think they want to be that way. As if being homeless is a choice.

Although I do know of one case of a veteran with PTSD who decided to live in his car, even that was not really a choice when you look deeper into what was behind his choice. He felt as if he didn't deserve to live in a home with his family. PTSD made that choice for him. Imagine feeling unworthy of living with your family, unworthy of having a roof over your head, and then maybe you can understand how even this was not really a choice.

The vast majority of combat veterans are not criminals, not drug addicts, not alcoholics, abusers, or even violent. The vast majority of veterans with PTSD are drained emotionally along with the host of other issues they have to deal with. They just want to be what they were before they went into combat. The earlier the wound is treated, the better the chances are of restoring them to the lives they had before the trauma hit them, just as surely as a bullet hits others. It can be done with early intervention. Why wouldn't this be a top priority for all nations involved in combat?

Think of the aftermath of this. Taking care of them now will save money in the long run, which realistically has to be a motivation for the governments. It will save their own financial futures as they are restored to being capable of working or returning to their duty in the military. It saves marriages and it saves the relationships with children. It can, will and already does save them from turning to self-medications like alcohol and drugs, which usually adds in drunk driving and illegal drug activity. This will also reduce the veterans being incarcerated for related crimes which include domestic abuse. All this can be accomplished with a war attitude of defeating PTSD before it claims more of their lives.

As for the older generations of PTSD combat veterans, they need to seek treatment even after all these years of suffering in silence. My husband came home from Vietnam in 1971, was not diagnosed until 1990, not treated by the VA until 1993 and his claim was not approved until 1999. Even after all those years lost, when treatment began he stopped getting worse. It was too late to restore his life to where he was before and he is chronic, but he is living a life again and we have adapted to what is "normal" for us in this marriage that has lasted 23 years. It is never too late to seek treatment but the sooner the better the recovery.

For this new generation there is a great deal of hope because of the attention paid to this finally. There will be a refocus on treatments and studies. There is also greater understanding toward PTSD that never happened before. Sadly there is still a lot of bad attitudes directed toward those who have PTSD even though we already know PTSD strikes humans of all walks of life.

There are many web sites still dismissing PTSD as if there is something to be ashamed of. They deny the release of data and figures of those coming back with PTSD and even go so far as to suggest that it is not as bad as reported. The problem is, it is in fact a lot worse than is reported. We need only to look back at the Vietnam veterans to see this is only the beginning of their wounded minds. 148,000 Vietnam veterans recently sought treatment for PTSD from the VA. The biggest barrier preventing them from seeking treatment before was the lack of knowledge, not the lack of suffering. Many of the new wounded will not acknowledge their wounds are getting worse until much later on in life. The lack of knowledge also allows the stigma to prevent them from seeking treatment. It allows the stigma to live in the minds of society. There is a saying that knowledge is power. In this case, knowledge is healing a life.

For some, PTSD effects will be mild. For others it will be sent into overdrive when a "secondary" stressor strikes. For others they show signs early enough that the changes are obvious and cannot be overlooked. It cannot be stressed enough that the re-deployments of the men and women in the military increases the risk of developing PTSD by 50% and this is based on an Army study that vanished from the media's reporting on PTSD.

PTSD can be defeated but only after the dummies get out of the way.

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

UK veterans waited 18 months or longer for help

Fast-track NHS treatment for injured armed forces veterans
Published Date: 22 October 2007
Location: Yorkshire
By Mike Waites Health Correspondent
SICK and injured military veterans are being fast-tracked to the front of NHS waiting lists in an initiative by health chiefs in Yorkshire recognising the service they have given their country.


NHS bosses in Hull have ordered the move which will mean doctors in the city who suspect patients are suffering from illness or injury linked to their military service can help them to beat NHS queues.

Veterans' groups today welcomed the decision and are calling on health secretary Alan Johnson, who is an MP in Hull, to approve it nationwide amid complaints ex-service personnel are not being offered the standards of care they deserve, with waits of 18 months or longer.

Only war pensioners are currently eligible for fast-track care.

It is expected younger veterans who have served since the first Gulf conflict are most likely to benefit – particularly those suffering from conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder which can appear sometimes years after they have left the services. Hull is a nationally-recognised centre for treatment of the condition.

Shaun Rusling, of the Hull-based National Gulf War Veterans and Families' Association, which had lobbied for the move, said he hoped ex-service personnel would get quicker diagnoses and speedier access to specialist treatment.

Former service people often had complex problems but the Government did little to help, he said.

"We hope this can be accepted nationally. If it can be done in Hull, then why can't it happen in Leeds or Manchester or London and everywhere where veterans are ill?" he said.
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Wounded vets getting run a round and it isn't rosy

Editorial in the Washington Post
'Frustratingly Slow'
Wounded veterans still are getting the runaround from their government.
Sunday, October 21, 2007; Page B06
ALL IT took was an article on The Post's front page for the family of a damaged veteran of the Iraqi war to get some desperately needed help. Federal officials, embarrassed by yet another story detailing the nation's callous treatment of its wounded, cut through the red tape. Troy and Michelle Turner of West Virginia are glad for the help, but we join them in wondering, "What about the others?" Thousands of men and women are losing out on needed care and benefits; that cries out for urgent action in overhauling the military's outdated system of treating its injured.
Days after The Post's Anne Hull and Dana Priest detailed the struggles of the former Army scout disabled by post-traumatic stress disorder, there were calls and visits from Washington, D.C. Mr. Turner's disability rating is being upped to 100 percent, care closer to home will be found and help is available to guide them through the labyrinth of regulations. Sadly, the Turners are not unique in the shabby way the country treats its military casualties. It's been eight months since The Post's investigation of Walter Reed Army Medical Center focused attention on the crisis in care facing those returning with physical and mental wounds from Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/20/AR2007102000981.html

It is really worse than this. There are now less service reps in the VA than there were in 2003.

Veterans groups maintain that the backlog amounts to official negligence. Since the launch of the Iraq war more than four years ago, the number of people charged with reviewing and approving veterans' disability claims has actually dropped. According to the American Federation of Government Employees, the VA employed 1,392 Veterans Service Representatives in June 2007 compared to 1,516 in January 2003.

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39731

They also didn't plan on these veterans understanding what has been wrong with them for 30 years is because of PTSD and the fact they were wounded in service to this country.

148,000 Vietnam Vets sought help in last 18 months
In the past 18 months, 148,000 Vietnam veterans have gone to VA centers reporting symptoms of PTSD "30 years after the war," said Brig. Gen. Michael S. Tucker, deputy commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He recently visited El Paso.

I always hear a lot about how outreach work is so imporatant to our veterans. I always hear about how much the veterans of this country are supposed to mean to the people of this country. What I don't hear any of the elected ever say is that it's time for an emergency supplemental spending bill that will actually take care of all our wounded veterans. I never hear Bush say that all the mistakes he made in the past have been like an additional wound to our men and women serving this nation. I never heard any of the GOP who claim to be so much superior morally ask for forgiveness for the deplorable treatment our veterans received when they were in charge. I never once heard Larry Craig apologize for the way he acted toward them or how embarrassed he was over what he tried to do to them and almost got away with. I never once hear the Democrats apologize for not getting up in front of a microphone, starting an email chain about how the GOP betrayed the trust of our veterans when the GOP were in charge.

We heard a lot of talk from all of them over the words they used but we never hear them talk about what they have failed to do. You would think the wounded coming back and feeling as if they were not lucky to come back alive would matter more than words they are upset over.

Kathie Costos

Namguardianangel@aol.com

www.Namguardianangel.org

www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com

www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

Donald Schmidt Combat Wounded by PTSD, Discharged and Denied

Veterans are denied mental health help
By Philip Dine
POST-DISPATCH WASHINGTON BUREAU
10/21/2007

WASHINGTON — After two combat tours in Iraq on a "quick reaction team" that picked up body parts after suicide bombings, Donald Schmidt began suffering from nightmares and paranoia. Then he had a nervous breakdown.

The military discharged Schmidt last Oct. 31 for problems they said resulted not from post-traumatic stress disorder but rather from a personality disorder that pre-dated his military service.

Schmidt's mother, Patrice Semtner-Myers, says her son was told that if he agreed to leave the Army he'd get full benefits. Earlier this month, however, they got a bill in the mail from a collection agency working for the government, demanding that he repay his re-enlistment bonus, plus interest — $14,597.72.

Schmidt, 23, who lives near Peoria, Ill., is one of more than 22,000 service members the military has discharged in recent years for "pre-existing personality disorders" it says were missed when they signed up.

"They used these guys up, and now they're done with them and they're throwing them away," Semtner-Myers said.

Her frustration extends to Capitol Hill, where the stage is being set for a confrontation between Congress and the Pentagon.

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, calls the treatment of these troops "disgraceful."

"If they have personality disorders, how did they get in the military in the first place?" Filner asks. "You either have taken a kid below the standards, in which case you've got obligations after you send him to war, or you're putting these kids' futures in danger with false diagnoses. Either way it's criminal."
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This is not supporting the troops and is not taking care of the wounded. It is treating them as if they would have been better off not joining at all. If they get hurt on the job with private companies, they get workman's comp. If they get hurt in service to this country, they get treated like this! It is disgraceful and should be criminal considering private companies cannot get away with this.

Army Spec. Troy Turner wins with VA after Washington Post Report

VA Doubles Disability Aid for Iraq War Veteran
Department Responds to Appeals of PTSD Patient
By Anne Hull and Dana PriestWashington Post Staff Writers Saturday, October 20, 2007; Page A03
The Department of Veterans Affairs this week doubled the disability benefits of a West Virginia soldier who has been fighting for more compensation since he returned from Iraq in 2004, and assured him that he will receive immediate access to more mental health services to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder.

VA's swift action to help Army Spec. Troy Turner followed an article in The Washington Post on Sunday that detailed the financial hardship faced by Turner after his PTSD worsened and he was unable to hold a job. Reliant upon a monthly disability check from VA, the Turner family slid into poverty, a grim reality for many returning veterans with invisible injuries such as PTSD and traumatic brain injury.

In addition to granting Turner a coveted spot in a residential treatment program at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center, the department is increasing his disability rating from 70 percent to 100 percent, according to a VA spokeswoman, raising his monthly check from $1,352 to $2,781. The new rating also means that Turner's wife, Michelle, and his two children are eligible for medical insurance and educational benefits.
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VA Service Reps less now than in 2003?

Between 600,000 and 800,000 claims (depending on who you believe) are trapped in a huge backlog of cases and there are less Service Reps now than before the invasion of Iraq?
Four years after the invasion of Iraq and they have less to deal with the wounded they claim are so important to them?
Six years after the invasion of Afghanistan and that occupation now producing more wounded along with more dead, and they didn't increase service reps?
Suicide rates on the rise every year and they have less service reps?
Families falling apart and they have less service reps?
Veterans come back from combat wounded, unable to work, ending up homeless and they have less service reps?
WTF are they out of their minds?

Veterans groups maintain that the backlog amounts to official negligence. Since the launch of the Iraq war more than four years ago, the number of people charged with reviewing and approving veterans' disability claims has actually dropped. According to the American Federation of Government Employees, the VA employed 1,392 Veterans Service Representatives in June 2007 compared to 1,516 in January 2003.

Read this story and then remind yourself of what is really going on. Why are they being allowed to torture our wounded veterans?

POLITICS-US: Homeless Vets Play the Waiting Game
By Aaron Glantz
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 19 (IPS) - U.S. Army Specialist James Eggemeyer injured himself before he even set foot in Iraq, jumping out of a C-130 gunship during training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

"I jumped out and the jumpmaster who was holding that line that was wrapped around my arm had to cut the line because I was pretty much being dragged behind the airplane," the 25-year-old Florida native told IPS as he drove a donated truck through the streets of his hometown of Port Saint Lucie, a two-hour drive north of Miami, Florida.

"I hit the side of the plane with my Kevlar," he added. "My parachute was twisted up like a cigarette roll and I hit real hard and my ankle and my knee and my back and my shoulder (got hurt). I tore my rotator cuff. I feel like a 50-year-old man."

After the incident, military doctors prescribed Eggemeyer painkillers: the opiate Vocodin, the anti-depressant Percoset, and the steroid hydrocortisone.

Then, in April 2003, they sent him to Iraq. For the next year, he drove a Humvee, running supply convoys to U.S. soldiers stationed all around the country.

His experience in Iraq was rough. His convoys were attacked twice. His worst day occurred early on, when the military truck in front of his Humvee hit a civilian vehicle. Eggemeyer says he slammed on the brakes to avoid adding his vehicle to the pile-up. Then he got out and loaded an entire family of dead Iraqis onto a U.S. helicopter, including a little girl.

After that, Eggemeyer says his condition worsened. The longer he stayed in Iraq, the worse his body felt. He also started to take more of the opiates and the steroids the military had given him. The more he took them, the more he needed to dull the pain.

But violence wasn't the only thing Eggemeyer had to deal with while deployed overseas. While Eggemeyer was in Iraq, he filed for divorce. His mother had called to tell him his wife was cheating on him with a man in a local hotel. Then Eggemeyer checked his bank account and found 7,000 dollars was missing.

So for the duration of Eggemeyer's time in Iraq, James's parents took custody of his son, Justin, who had been born just two months before his deployment.

Returning to Fort Bragg in April 2004, James was quickly discharged from the military. His experience in Iraq had changed his disposition. He started fighting with his captain, and was given "dishonourable discharge under honourable conditions", which allowed him to use services from Veterans Administration but denied him access to college tuition assistance or vocational training.
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http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39731

PTSD and journlists

Online clinic to help journalists tackle post traumatic stress
March 12, 2007
A new self-assessment website has been launched to provide journalists and those who work them with a confidential tool to help them determine if they are suffering the effects of post traumatic stress. This unique web-based clinic and research facility has been designed by Dr Anthony Feinstein, the world’s foremost authority on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in journalists, and is backed by CNN.

The online clinic at http://www.conflict-study.com/ is entirely independent, completely confidential and available to all media organizations and journalists around the world. The website provides a self-help resource for all news media professionals, even those who do not have access to a company-supported PTSD resource. One of the innovative aspects to this service is that journalists can use it while on assignment in zones of conflict.
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At least 118 journalists have been killed in Iraq while on duty, including nearly 100 Iraqis, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/
idUSN1430858520071015?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Yes, even journalists because they risk their lives to deliver the information about what is going on in the world. They travel to some of the most dangerous parts of the world. They travel with the men and women who fight the combat missions. They risk their lives to find out what the people are really thinking so that no one can get away with just putting spin on whatever fits their own agenda.

PTSD has different names when you look back at generations. What remains the same is that after trauma, there is stress and often illness. It doesn't matter if the report came from the ancient world or from the world today. From Egypt to India to Israel, from the US to the UK, to Canada and Australia, all humans suffer after trauma.

Symptoms
For a diagnosis of acute stress disorder, symptoms must persist for a minimum of two days to up to four weeks within a month of the trauma.

A person may be described as having acute stress disorder if other mental disorders or medical conditions do not provide a better explanation for the person's symptoms. If symptoms persist after a month, the diagnosis becomes post-traumatic stress disorder.

Symptoms include:
Lack of emotional responsiveness, a sense of numbing or detachment
A reduced sense of surroundings
A sense of not being real
Depersonalization or a sense of being dissociated from self
An inability to remember parts of the trauma, "dissociative amnesia"
Increased state of anxiety and arousal such as a difficulty staying awake or falling asleep
Trouble experiencing pleasure
Repeatedly re-experiencing the event through recurring images and/or thoughts, dreams, illusions, flashbacks
Purposeful avoidance of exposure to thoughts, emotions, conversations, places or people that remind them of the trauma
Feelings of stress interfering with functioning; social and occupational skills are impaired affecting the patient's ability to function, pursue required tasks and seek treatment

Cognitive behavioral therapy is the treatment that has met with the most success in combating ASD. It has two main components: First, it aims to change cognitions, patterns of thought surrounding the traumatic incident. Second, it tries to alter behaviors in anxiety-provoking situations.

Cognitive behavioral therapy not only ameliorates the symptoms of ASD, but also it seems to prevent people from developing post-traumatic stress disorder. The chance that a person diagnosed with acute stress disorder will develop PSTD is about 80 percent; the chance that they will develop PTSD after cognitive-behavioral therapy is only about 20 percent.

Psychological debriefing and anxiety management groups are two other types of therapy that have been examined for the treatment of ASD. Psychological debriefing involves an intense therapeutic invention immediately after the trauma, so that traumatized individuals can "talk it all out." In anxiety management groups, people share coping strategies and learn to combat stress together. However, both types of therapy have proven to be largely ineffectual for the treatment of ASD.
http://psychologytoday.com/conditions/acutestress.html

This is why early intervention works best. The longer they go without treatment, the deeper it cuts into them. Get them help as soon as possible but keep in mind, it is never too late to stop PTSD from getting worse.

UK serve 6 months deployed out of three years but still have PTSD problems

Longer Military Deployment Increases Risk of MH Problems
Aaron Levin
British troops start to show the psychological burdens of overseas deployments as time away from their home bases increases.

Americans often hear about the psychological demands on U.S. soldiers, whose tours of duty in Iraq have been extended from 12 to 15 months. They are not alone. New research shows that longer tours of duty appear to take their toll on troops from other countries too, according to an ongoing study of British forces by the King's Centre for Military Health Research at King's College London.

Operational tempo—the number and frequency of deployments—is a normal part of a military career, but rising demands for military operations may also increase stress on troops and their families. Commanders try to balance deployment with periods at home to allow troops to recover from the stresses of war and maintain family ties, with mixed success. The U.S. Senate in September rejected legislation requiring the Pentagon to allow troops a period at their home bases equal to time on deployments.

Military authorities in the United Kingdom have set "harmony guidelines" for how often and how long army troops can be deployed on operations—a six months' tour of duty followed by 24 months at home during any 36-month stretch. Thus a unit might be deployed for a maximum of 12 months out of three years.
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http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/42/20/16