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By Charlene Rubush, March 16, 2010 11:41 pm

While thousands upon thousands of returning combat vets take advantage of legislation that helps pay for their education, they face new challenges in the classroom.

Dumeetha Luthra, of the BBC in New York, reports that going to college is a process of adaptation. That process is intensified when arriving straight from the battlefield, into the classroom. From the camaraderie and intensity of combat, the rigid discipline of being part of a team, plus having a clearly defined role, you must attend class and hand in homework.

John McClelland, who served four years in the U.S. Army as a medic, both in Iraq and Afghanistan, says “I feel bad sometimes that I’m here while everyone else is still over there. I’m here worrying about term papers, I’m here worrying about quizzes, making sure my grammar is correct.”

John’s story is becoming a common one. With the latest GI Bill, many returning combat vets can now afford to go to college, and are taking advantage of the program. In recent months, 425,000 students have enrolled, and it is estimated that over the next year, there will be a 25% increase in the number of veterans enrolling as students. Continue reading 'Many Returning Combat Vets Have New Challenge- Returning to the Classroom'»

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By Charlene Rubush, March 15, 2010 11:54 pm

From an article by Jim Steinberg, of the San Bernadino County Sun, we learn that with the huge influx of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of patients diagnosed with PTSD has increased 114% from 2005.

Not all of the increase is from the war on terror. Many are veterans of Vietnam, who are entering retirement age, and are haunted by images of the current conflicts.

Lois Krawczyk, a supervisory psychologist at the hospital, said many didn’t seek help earlier because of the stigma attached to those who face mental illness. Fear that co-workers and superiors would wonder if they could do their jobs left them to face their PTSD alone.

Awareness in the military and the VA is far different for vets coming out of the current conflicts than for Vietnam. Military services are doing health assessments as people leave the war theater, and then the VA follows up 90 days later. Continue reading 'PTSD Cases Soaring at Loma Linda Veterans Medical Center'»

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By Charlene Rubush, March 14, 2010 10:41 pm

In an article from The Times Free Press, it’s stated that the Veterans Administration reports that about 1,000 veterans a month try to commit suicide and that acts of rage and violence are common in the group. Many victimized by that rage and violence are the wives, children and friends of those veterans.

The rising and frightening number of suicides and suicide attempts by U.S. combat veterans is a shameful legacy of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. For too long, the military has been reluctant to admit the existence of the problem, but recent events have finally forced the Pentagon to confront it. To its credit, the military seems to have done an about face on the issue.

While the newfound understanding is welcome, it’s painfully overdue, and much more needs to be done to provide mental health assistance to veterans and active-duty troops. Many veterans and active-duty personnel refuse to seek assistance when confronted by mental health issues. That unfortunate attitude is a legacy of past military practices.

For decades , the military encouraged an independence and self-sufficiency among its members that suggested that an injury to the body was a sacrifice for one’s country, but that an injury to the mind is somehow cowardly or a figment of an over-active imagination. The latter caused many members of  the armed forces to avoid treatment. Continue reading 'The Ongoing Battle to End Military Stigma of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder'»

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By Charlene Rubush, March 13, 2010 11:31 pm

An article by Sgt. Lindsey Bradford, titled “Holistic Healing Gaining Ground in Military” states that since the Army introduced the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program, in 2009, there has been a focus on a holistic approach to physical, emotional, social, spiritual and family well-being. (Bradford works in the U.S. Forces-Iraq Public Affairs Office).

According to Lt. Col. Erica Clarkson, a U.S. Forces-Iraq physical therapist, holistic healing is an approach that uses natural methods to improve health, without using drugs or surgery to correct problems. Clarkson has been practicing holistic healing for 17 years, and has continued to treat service members in Iraq, at the Courage Clinic, in the Al Faw Palace on Camp Victory.

Some of Charkson’s modalities include acupuncture, manual therapy, relaxation techniques and prescribed exercises specific to each patient’s physical ailment. “There are no significant adverse side effects like there are with using drugs to treat problems. Different medicines have been linked to ulcers and other gastrointestinal irritations, even death,” she said. Continue reading 'Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program Focuses on Holistic Healing'»

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By Charlene Rubush, March 12, 2010 11:19 pm

From an article by Chris Roberts (The Elpaso Times) we learn that in El Paso, Texas, a group of veterans, many who have had their own battles with PTSD, have been brainstorming on how to help fellow veterans who are now returning from war zones.

They have come up with the idea of holding public workshops on PTSD. Carlos Rivera, a Vietnam-era veteran, and president of the Veterans Business Association, is organizing the events. He says “we are holding these workshops to find ways to expand the capacity of the health-care providers.”

Rivera notes that Fort Bliss is expanding and more and more combat veterans are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The mental health systems at BeaumontArmy Medical Center and El Paso Dept. of Veterans Affairs are becoming overloaded. While the post and VA officials say they are preparing for the increase, these older veterans state it already is looking like the same old story. Continue reading 'Veterans with PTSD Plan Series of Public Workshops to Help Returning Iraq and Afghanistan Combat Vets'»

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By Charlene Rubush, March 11, 2010 10:08 pm

While there is excitement at the fairly recent finding that our brains continue to make new connections throughout the lifespan, there is a downside.

When someone is exposed to a traumatic event (thus often developing PTSD) then new neural connections have been created that bring on
a major stress reaction. According to psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge, author of  The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science , if someone continually paves the path of automatic negative interpretations in life, those neural connections continue to get strengthened and become more difficult to unwind or reshape.

Dr. Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who recently attended a conference where Doidge spoke. He notes, “We have this exciting news that we can actually change the neural pathways in our brains based on the actions we take in life. Millions and millions of evolutions of the brain have given us this awe inspiring organ that has more connections than we can comprehend. Continue reading 'PTSD and Neuroplasticity: Our Brains Continue to Grow Connections Throughout Life'»

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By Charlene Rubush, March 10, 2010 6:58 pm

While most of the information on PTSD proclaims it to be an anxiety disorder, there seems to be a divergence of opinions on whether it should actually be called an illness or disease. Here are some definitions from various sources:

• PTSD is a real illness. You can get PTSD after living through or seeing a dangerous event, such as war, a hurricane, or bad accident. PTSD makes you feel stressed and afraid after the danger is over. It affects your life and the people around you. (National Institute of Mental Health, NIMH).

• PTSD is an emotional disorder brought about by unresolved trauma, both physical and emotional. (wiki.answers.).

• PTSD is a common anxiety disorder that develops after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Family members of victims can develop the disorder. (Medicine.net).

• PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or physical or sexual assault in adult or childhood. (Nebraska Dept. of Veterans Affairs).

• PTSD is an anxiety disorder NOT a mental disorder or illness. (Lest We Forget-PTSD Family and Military Support Group).

It seems to me that this is all a matter of semantics. According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, illness is defined as: Continue reading 'Is PTSD a Real Illness or Disease?'»

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By Charlene Rubush, March 9, 2010 9:37 pm

I love it when I find another terrific website for vets. Lest We Forget-PTSD Family and Military Support Group, is a “peer to peer, veteran to veteran, family to family support group with the belief that PTSD is not just your problem nor does it just affect you.” They are based in Charleston, West Virginia, where they offer a safe and private meeting place, complete with free child care.

Even if you are not in the area, you can benefit by visiting the website. They note “PTSD affects everyone around you but most of all the people who love you most, your family and friends. Our belief is that by helping not only the person suffering from PTSD but the family and loved ones, the road to healing will be less difficult by not having to go this alone.”

The site offers excellent articles and resources. But most importantly, it shares real life struggles with combat vets and their families, and how they are navigating their personal PTSD journeys. Two of their statements particularly stood out for me: Continue reading 'Another Great Website for Combat Vets and Their Families'»

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By Charlene Rubush, March 6, 2010 5:46 pm

I just found this organization today. Taryn Davis, just 23 years young, was looking forward to a happy life with her soul mate, Michael. Then on May 1, 2007, her dreams of their future life together, died. Michael had been killed by a series of roadside bombs just an hour and a half after they’d last spoken.

Lost and alone in the new world she was thrust into, Taryn began traveling around the country to hear other women’s stories of love, tragedy, and survival. She hoped to learn more about her new title, that of a “military widow.” Those first steps in adjusting to her new life, have resulted in a non-profit corporation, a 75 minute documentary film, and a growing website. She has embraced her new life with enthusiam and passion.

Her mission statement reads “ The American Widow Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to the new generation of those who have lost the heroes of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, with an emphasis on healing through sharing stories, tears and laughter … Military Widow to Military Widow.” Continue reading 'The American Widow Project Offers Hope, Solace, and Sisterhood'»

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By Charlene Rubush, March 3, 2010 12:04 pm

In an article by Alysa Landry,(The Daily Times) she writes of Roy Harrington, a Marine diagnosed with PTSD nearly twenty years ago, after serving in the Desert Storm conflict.

Harrington is spearheading a conversation he hopes leads to specific changes in the way mental health professionals and the military view stress and trauma.

Of his own PTSD diagnosis, he said, “I didn’t know what the heck was wrong with me. I was crying all the time. It was affecting my job and my relationships. It just didn’t make sense.”

Harrington believes that the current therapy for PTSD could be improved on. He and Charles Stacey, a marriage and family therapist, are soliciting help from combat vets for a study on making therapy more effective. Continue reading 'A New Study Plans on the Role of Therapy in Healing PTSD in Combat Vets'»