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PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

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When a person enters the military, becomes a police officer, or takes on the altruistic role of a firefighter, the reasons for them taking on such a difficult role oftentimes boils down to vocation, calling and an inner desire to serve for the common good.  Along with the desire to serve in often perilous situations is the constant beating that their human psyche takes over time and exposure to traumatic situations.   This psychological beating can manifest in PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

This lens will explore PTSD primarily among veterans.

A Brief History of PTSD 

During the early 1800's military doctors began diagnosing soldiers with "exhaustion" following the stress of battle. This "exhaustion" was characterized by mental shutdown due to individual or group trauma. The only treatment for this "exhaustion" was to bring the afflicted soldiers to the rear for a while then send them back into battle. Through extreme and often repeated stress, the soldiers became fatigued as a part of their body's natural shock reaction.

During that time, in England, there was a syndrome know as "railway spine" or "railway hysteria" that bore a remarkable resemblance to what we call PTSD today, exhibited by people who had been in the catastrophic railway accidents of the period. In 1876 DR. Mendez DaCosta published a paper diagnosing Civil War combat veterans with "Soldiers Heart": The symptoms included startle responses, hyper-vigilance, and heart arrhythmia's.

During WWI overwhelming mental fatigue was diagnosed as "soldier's heart" and "the effort syndrome". An article published on a now restricted Internet web site maintained by Med. Access entitled "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" states that "...some 60,000 of the British forces were diagnosed with the problem and 44,000 of these were retired from the military because they could no longer function in combat". (www.medaccess.com/cfs/cfs_02.htm (this page is no longer accessible without a password))

The term "shell shock" emerged during WWI followed in WWII by the term "combat fatigue." These terms were used to describe those veterans who exhibited stress and anxiety as the result of combat trauma. The official designation of "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" did not come about until 1980 when the Third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was published.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). This "bible", published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) provides the "official" definition of all mental illnesses. When first published in 1952 what we now know as PTSD was called "stress response syndrome" and was caused by "gross stress reaction".

In the DSM-II (1968), trauma-related disorders were lumped together in an area called "situational disorders".

New Wikipedia 

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to one or more terrifying events in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.National Institute of Mental Health, US National Institutes of Health It is a severe and ongoing emotional reaction to an extreme psychological trauma. This stressor may involve someone's actual death or a threat to the patient's or someone else's life, serious physical injury, or threat to physical and/or psychological integrity, to a degree that usual psychological defenses are incapable of coping. In some cases it can also be from profound psychological and emotional trauma, apart from any actual physical harm. Often, however, the two are combined.

PTSD is a condition distinct from traumatic stress, which is of less intensity and duration, and combat stress reaction, which is transitory. PTSD has also been recognized in the past as shell shock, traumatic war neurosis, or post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS).

PTSD Resources on Amazon 

The list below focuses mainly on the Clinical Practitioner.

Am I missing some valuable resources? Please add them below.

Military Veterans PTSD Reference Manual by I. S. Parrish

Military Veterans PTSD Reference Manual by I. S. Parrish

This is a reference manual for military veterans a more...0 points

PTSD on YouTube 

Soldiers with PTSD

Soldiers with PTSD 0 points

Brain Lecture 6 Limbic System: Hallucinations, PTSD,

Brain Lecture 6 Limb... 0 points

PTSD and Veterans: Beyond the Yellow Ribbons

PTSD and Veterans: B... 0 points

Living With PTSD - Richard Hoffman

Living With PTSD - R... 0 points

another ptsd/dissociative day

another ptsd/dissoci... 0 points

End The Silence of PTSD

End The Silence of P... 0 points

Is This How The Army Treats PTSD?

Is This How The Army... 0 points

Katie Couric's Notebook: PTSD (CBS News)

Katie Couric's Noteb... 0 points

Sgt. Patrick Campbell @ Briefing on PTSD

Sgt. Patrick Campbel... 0 points

THE OTHER PTSD - SEXUAL ABUSE OF WOMEN IN THE MILITARY

THE OTHER PTSD - SEX... 0 points

Living With PTSD - Emille Tracy

Living With PTSD - E... 0 points

Coping With Spousal PTSD?

Coping With Spousal... 0 points

PTSD: Mental Health in the Wake of Disaster

PTSD: Mental Health... 0 points

(Comfort for PTSD) YOU SERVED YOUR COUNTRY WELL!

(Comfort for PTSD) Y... 0 points

U.S. War Veterans and PTSD Awareness

U.S. War Veterans an... 0 points

PTSD Links 

Please add PTSD links that could be helpful. Thank you!

Psychology Lesson Plans

Psychology is a science that studies behavior, bot more...1 point

National Center for PTSD

The National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD) aims to adva more...0 points

NIMH: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiet more...0 points

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Causes, Symptoms, Treatment ...

Read about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) s more...0 points

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Symptoms, Types and Treatment

Learn about the symptoms, types and treatment of P more...0 points

Military Veterans (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) PTSD Reference ...

Online manual for veterans which outlines informat more...0 points

PTSD Facts for Health

A reliable and unbiased public service site about more...0 points

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder -- familydoctor.org

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of more...0 points

Psych Central: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilit more...0 points

Welcome To Vietnam Veterans of America

VVA%u2019s Guide on PTSD. PURPOSE. The purpose of more...0 points

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Gateway

Gateway to four nonprofit sites that offer PTSD in more...0 points

What is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? - (National Center ...

Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) more...0 points

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Sanctuary - books, information ...

Post traumatic stress disorder information, ask th more...0 points

NIMH: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, A Real Illness

PTSD is a real illness that needs to be treated. W more...0 points

MedlinePlus: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

If so, you might have post-traumatic stress disord more...0 points

PTSD Support

PTSD Support Services offers information, mainly t more...0 points

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Overview - Military Benefits ...

People who suffer from PTSD often suffer from nigh more...0 points

Post-traumatic stress disorder - PTSD Treatment

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an extrem more...0 points

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - Symptoms - mentalhealthchannel

People with PTSD commonly avoid stimuli and situat more...0 points