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By charlene, July 28, 2010 3:23 pm

As an ongoing public service, the PTSD Alliance offers free information packets and other resources to the general public and frontline professionals through its resource center, toll-free 1-877-507-PTSD or website http://www.PTSDAlliance.org.

Launched in 2000, the PTSD Alliance is a group of the nation’s leading professional and advocacy organizations representing healthcare issues related to PTSD including trauma-related stress, anxiety disorders and women’s health. Founding members are the American College of  Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), and the Sidran Traumatic Stress Institute.

The PTSD Alliance was founded to increases public awareness and promote a better understanding of PTSD, and serve as a resource for the general public and professionals on diagnosis, treatment and management of PTSD. The PTSD Alliance offers:

• Resource Center–877-507-PTSD, a clearinghouse for PTSD Alliance-published educational booklets, educational resources, and referral and support information available from the four member organizations. Information packets–for consumers and professionals–are available free of charge by calling the automated, toll-free number, 1-877-507-PTSD. The PTSD Alliance Resource Center is not a staffed crisis hotline.
• www.PTSDAlliance.org, an online resource center for the general public, professionals, and the media. The site offers general background on PTSD, trauma-related causes, signs and symptoms, myths, diagnosis, and treatment; as well as links to the member organizations, which offer additional education and training resources, and information on local support groups and referral services; and an online form to order a free information packet.
• Patient Education Booklet and Video: The booklet and video seek to dispel the myths about PTSD that keep many people from recognizing the problem and obtaining help. The booklet reviews causes, risk factors and symptoms for PTSD, and provides information on treatment options and how family and friends can support and help in the recovery process.

PTSD can affect anyone who has experienced extreme trauma; been victimized or has witnessed a violent act; or has been repeatedly exposed to life-threatening situations. This includes combat veterans, survivors of a terrorist attack, rape or sexual assault victims, domestic abuse victims, those with childhood trauma, physical attacks, car accidents, school orworkplace violence, natural disasters, or other unexpected, catastrophic, or psychologically distressing events.

Although PTSD symptoms usually appear within several weeks of the trauma, some people don’t experience symptoms until months, even years, later. Once properly diagnosed, PTSD is treatable with psychotherapy, medication or a combination of both.

However, PTSD sufferers often do not seek professional help because they don’t associate their symptoms with a past traumatic event, or they feel helpless as to where to go for help.

The PTSD Alliance is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer Inc.

Charlene’s Note:

Every day I find more encouraging resources for helping those affected with PTSD. Hopefully, those who need these resources will take full advantage of them.

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By charlene, July 21, 2010 4:01 pm

From Michele Rosenthal, PTSD Overcomer:

http://www.healmyptsd.com

Communication: Talk with people you trust.

I don’t know about you but the last thing I wanted to do is talk about my trauma, my survival, my PTSD or anything else for that matter. What I did want to do is crawl into my shell and never speak again.

After my trauma I felt overwhelmed by emotion, so it was better to shut down than ‘share’ or ‘express.’ I also didn’t have the words to explain my experience or what I was feeling. I couldn’t, wouldn’t and didn’t talk about any of it – for 16 years. And then PTSD brought me to my knees and I found poetry and finally a way to begin putting into words what was literally threatening to kill me. It was because I found words that I eventually found help.

Don’t let that be how PTSD mangles you. It’s true, struggling with symptoms of post-traumatic stress can make language hard to grasp, but it isn’t true that we can’t do it. Putting pain into words can help contain, relieve and lessen it. Be brave.

Communicating is the crux of surviving survival. Start talking! Continue reading 'Got PTSD? Michele Rosenthal Helps “Heal My PTSD”'»

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By charlene, July 19, 2010 3:08 pm

This month, the Department of Veterans Affairs issued a new rule making it easier for veterans of all generations to make service-connected PTSD claims.

With more female troops enlisting and returning home from combat every day, IAVA is raising awareness about the challenges facing our women warriors.

More than 240,000 female service members have been deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but for some female veterans, reintegrating to civilian life, and trying to find employment, has been difficult.

IAVA Executive Director and Founder Paul Rieckhoff recently spoke to National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition about IAVA’s efforts o help our nations women warriors transition home, and how the military and veterans healthcare system can better prepare for the influx of new veterans.

(Info provided by Michelle McCarthy)

Listen to the interview at:

http://www.iava.org/blog/iava-continues-fight-female-veterans

Charlene’s Note:

I continue to be amazed at the difference in attitudes toward today’s military members, as opposed to those of us of the Vietnam generation. IAVA is a phenomenal organization fighting to help all combat veterans make the readjustment to civilian life.

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By charlene, July 16, 2010 9:36 pm

In an article by Gina Orange, we find, “Like so many others his age, David George enlisted in the U.S. Army with a desire to serve his country. “It’s what I always wanted to do, so I went down to the recruiter and signed up.”

After serving in Iraq, David returned home suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Now he is involved in a study on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique on traumatic stress.

According to a recent story in the Washington Post, the RAND Corporation estimates that nearly 20 percent of returning veterans, or 300,000, have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression.

Can practicing the TM technique help?

In previous research published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology in 1985 scientists randomly assigned Vietnam combat veterans to either Transcendental Meditation (TM) or psychotherapy (generic) treatment conditions. After three months, the TM subjects showed significant improvement in PTSD and related symptoms.

The preliminary results of the current study are also quite positive. David and the others participants quickly started to experience a change in their PTSD symptoms.

As David recalls:

“The jitters stopped, the need for alcohol stopped…. The first time I meditated I experienced this relief from the constant anxiety attack my life had become….

You have to give yourself a chance to make your life better. Now that I the control over how I feel, and what I do makes me feel better, I just want to stay as good as I can. Now being someone who has meditated for a year and two months, I’m so happy. I’ll never stop. It just has this compounding effect of getting better and better, and this great feeling lasts longer and longer the more I meditate. Why stop?”

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By charlene, July 12, 2010 12:17 pm

This is a phone line started by Lori Goodwin, Board of Advisors OIF Veteran Community, and a female Iraq Vet.

“Battle Buddy”
1-800 689-1850

This is a line where veterans can call and be guaranteed to be talking to another vet. After the phone call is over it does not end, that is when OIF will take their VA cases and pass them on to our network of resources for solving.

http://www.nickhornerfoundation.org

Charlene’s Note:

Most every day I look for resources for vets. Invariably, I find something I’ve been unaware of, and am happy to pass along.

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By charlene, July 9, 2010 2:37 pm

Friday July 9th, 2010

Senate passes resolution for PTSD Awareness Day

The U.S. Senate has passed a resolution designating June 27th as National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day.

The resolution was authored by North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad.

Conrad says the stress of war might create wounds for soldiers that are far less visible than others but are no less real. PTSD symptoms include anxiety, anger and depression.

Conrad notes more must be done to educate troops, veterans, families and communities about the disorder and the resources and treatments available.

(Info provided from The Daily Dispatch:)

http://www.wahpetondailynews.com

For more information on PTSD, visit:

National Center for PTSD: http://www.ptsd.va.gov

Charlene’s Note:

Those of us who are trying to educate the public on PTSD, have been watching and waiting for this day to come. I am thrilled to see this come to pass. It’s been a long time coming, and hopefully will move this subject into public discourse, where it belongs.

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By charlene, July 5, 2010 2:18 pm

A survey published in the Spring 2010 Combat & Operational Stress Research Quarterly used a sample of 2,543 New Jersey Army National Guard members set to deploy.

Study Type

Pre-deployment self-report survey study

The key findings from the survey are:

•  A standard pre-deployment health assessment of National Guard soldiers set to deploy to  Iraq identified significantly fewer mental health problems in this sample, than did the self-report survey used for this study.
• Additionally, soldiers in this sample who have been previously deployed to combat zones are more than three times as likely to screen positive for PTSD and major depression.
• They are twice as likely to screen positive for alcohol dependence and chronic pain.
• They are more than 90% more likely to score below the general population on physical functioning compared to soldiers with no previous deployments.

Implications

Military readiness may be negatively affected by returning medically impaired soldiers to combat.

Pre-deployment mental health screening measures currently in place may be inadequate for keeping soldiers with mental health problems from being returned to deployment, potentially resulting in a weaker fighting force and higher rates of pathology and injury in troops after subsequent deployments.

(Citations: Effects of repeated deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan on the health of New Jersey ArmyNational Guard troops, American Journal of Public Health).

http://www.med.navy.mil/Spring%202010%Research%20Quart

Charlene’s Note:

Common sense dictates that multiple deployments will take a greater toll on the mental health of combat soldiers.

Are these survey’s going to do anything to stop these multiple deployments? I doubt it.  In my humble opinion, our soldiers and their families are being asked to give too much.

What the answer is, I don’t know. I used to have hope that we could actually find peaceful means to end conflict. But I no longer harbor such youthful illusions. I now understand there are other factors that determine the where and why of wars.

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By charlene, July 2, 2010 5:26 pm

Part Two:

IS THERE A HIDDEN ALCOHOLIC IN YOUR LIFE?

Doug Thorburn, in his excellent, informative book How To Spot Hidden Alcoholics—Using Behavioral Clues to Recognize Addiction in its Early Stages explains why most attempts to conquer problem drinking fail.

He uses numerous examples and case histories to demonstrate how subtle, seemingly innocuous behaviors are often early indicators of alcoholism that occur long before the alcoholic has lost control over his drinking.

 JUST AS CANCER STARTS IN A FEW CELLS AND SPREADS, ALCOHOLISM STARTS SMALL AND PROGRESSES TO A FATAL DISEASE

Some EARLY WARNING SIGNS include:

• Lying or twisted logic
• Belittling others
• Poor conduct
• Assigning inappropriate blame to others
• “Supreme Being” Complex
• Sense of “invincibility

Thorburn notes in the introduction that “One of the surprising things about alcoholism is how little most experts know. The main problem is that the definition they have agreed upon fails to describe the affliction in its early stages.

As a result, the current practice of identifying alcoholism is comparable to ‘waiting until tumors become the size of basketballs before diagnosing cancer.’ Yet, almost every alcoholic shows signs of the disease years or even decades before it progresses into obvious latter-stage alcoholism.”

The premise of Thorburn’s book is that we can, and must- identify early-stage alcohol and other drug addiction if we are to prevent tragedies. These include the breakup of families, domestic violence, highway slaughter, the destruction of financial and emotional health and even murder.

 By identifying alcoholism in its early stages, proactively imposing consequences and intervening, we significantly increase the odds of stopping the inevitable progression of the disease before an all-too-common tragic end.

 Charlene’s Note:

I have been studying alcoholism for years, and find Thorburn’s ideas on the subject to be the most progressive and sound.

The ignorance that prevails in our society on this disease is mind-boggling. It usually “takes a tragedy” to lead people to become educated on this complex disease.

Alcoholism affects every aspect of a person; mind, body and soul. It behooves us all to learn as much as possible on the subject. Social drinking can easily cross over into alcoholism, if one is genetically predisposed.

Doug Thorburn’s work can truly prevent tragedy. Visit his website and learn all you can. Subscribe to his excellent, free newsletter too:

http://www.preventtragedy.com

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By charlene, July 2, 2010 1:25 pm

Part One:

Doug Thorburn is one of today’s most informed, insightful, and pioneering  authorities on alcoholism. I have read and reviewed almost all of his books, and return to them often, for increased understanding of this perplexing disease.

Thorburn offers an excellent, free newsletter, available from his website. I’m going to share some highlights here, from his excellent book, Alcoholism Myths and Realities: Removing the Stigma of Society’s Most Destructive Disease.

In the introduction, Thorburn notes:

•  Alcoholism is the most misunderstood of all diseases. This is rather surprising, since  1 out of 10 people has this disease and we are all directly or indirectly affected.
• The doctors and psychologists whom we trust to treat diseases and mental disorders are almost completely untrained in understanding and diagnosing the affliction. Medical doctors take as few as 24 classroom hours on the subject, virtually all on treating withdrawal and none on diagnosis.
• Psychologists are schooled in the idea that childhood trauma and other negative environmental factors can cause alcoholism, even though the evidence shows that such influences only shape its course.
• Secondary diseases are usually diagnosed long before alcoholism is identified, even though the latter is the root cause  or primary contributing factor to at least 300 other  illnesses and disorders. Emergency room medical personnel treat symptoms of addiction, including accidents.
• Yet in an estimated 50-80% of admissions, they rarely test for alcohol or other drugs  in the system.

Thorburn asserts that the appalling unawareness of the disease results from the stigma, and from the common misperception that alcoholism implies a weakness in an individual.  These faulty perceptions make others reluctant to diagnose or even suggest the  possibility of alcoholism.

From my own experience, the average person has very little understanding of this complex disease. That ignorance only adds to the devastation that is so often wrought by this “baffling, cunning” illness.

Visit Doug Thorburn’s website to become informed and empowered on the subject of alcoholism. The life you save may be that of a loved one, friend, or quite possibly, your own. Knowledge is power, and Thorburn’s newsletter is FREE!

http://www.preventtragedy.com

Charlene’s Note:

I’ll be posting more info on this cruel disease soon. Stay tuned.

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By charlene, June 30, 2010 8:55 pm

Stunning Fact: 46% of American families lives are touched by alcoholism.

Toby Rice Drews is a licensed social worker/counselor who specializes in treating the families of alcoholics. Her series of books, entitled “Getting Them Sober” have helped numerous families of alcoholics to understand that:

“Alcoholism isn’t just about drinking. It’s a family disease. It causes the wife and kids to become as addicted to the alcoholic as the alcoholic is addicted to the booze. While the alcoholic lies passed out, anesthetized, his family goes through the years of his drinking, stark, raving sober. Their world is like no sane family’s worlds. They believe lies, expect miracles, have him locked up, bail him out, wish he were dead, and pray that he gets home safely.” Continue reading 'Getting Them Sober Foundation Helps Families of Alcoholics'»