I Don't Know You Anymore Part 2

In the previous article on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), I gave you a glimpse into the lives of a military couple and a soldier who were dealing with war related PTSD. You can read the first part here.

Suicide related deaths in the military are on the rise. While there are no solid studies on how many of theses suicides are results of PTSD, it's heavily estimated that more than half are because of PTSD. In November of 2007 CBS news did a state-by-state survey of the number of veteran suicides. This was their findings:

"In 2005, for example, in just those 45 states, there were at least 6,256 suicides among those who served in the armed forces. That’s 120 each and every week, in just one year.

Dr. Steve Rathbun is the acting head of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department at the University of Georgia. CBS News asked him to run a detailed analysis of the raw numbers that we obtained from state authorities for 2004 and 2005.

It found that veterans were more than twice as likely to commit suicide in 2005 than non-vets. (Veterans committed suicide at the rate of between 18.7 to 20.8 per 100,000, compared to other Americans, who did so at the rate of 8.9 per 100,000.)

One age group stood out. Veterans aged 20 through 24, those who have served during the war on terror. They had the highest suicide rate among all veterans, estimated between two and four times higher than civilians the same age. (The suicide rate for non-veterans is 8.3 per 100,000, while the rate for veterans was found to be between 22.9 and 31.9 per 100,000.)"

Those were only for the years of 2004-2005. Imagine what the numbers are now almost four years later.

Granted this is a worse case scenario, not every solider feels death is their only way out of the pain and fear. And sometimes it doesn't always manifest right away. It was stated that when World War II vets watched the movie Saving Private Ryan, the opening sequence sent many of them back to that day on the beaches of Normandy and there was a rise in veterans seeking medical help with latent PTSD.

Throughout history, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has been called many things; shell shock, battle fatigue, combat stress, and exhaustion to name a few. No matter what you call it, the symptoms are still the same.

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs shows the percentage of war related PTSD among soldiers and veterans.

• In about 30% of Vietnam veterans, or about 30 out of 100 Vietnam veterans. A more recent review of data seems to show that about 19%, or 19 out of 100 Vietnam veterans, have had symptoms of PTSD
• In as many as 10% of Gulf War (Desert Storm) veterans, or in 10 veterans out of 100
• In about 6% to 11% of veterans of the Afghanistan war (Enduring Freedom), or in 6 to 11 veterans out of 100
• In about 12% to 20% of veterans of the Iraq war (Iraqi Freedom), or in 12 to 20 veterans out of 100

This is a chart that shows the different types of combat experiences broken down by branch during Iraq and Afghanistan. Other factors that can lead to PTSD include what a soldier did during the war, the politics around it, where it's fought, and the type of enemy they faced.

There is hope for anyone suffering from this. While to many it looks like the military isn't doing enough to help those with PTSD, from one who is on the inside, you can't lay all the blame on the military. It's very difficult to monitor thousands of soldiers, and sometimes people will fake things for attention. When my husband returned from Iraq a new policy had come through the National Guard Bureau to teach all the soldiers and their families how to recognize problems with themselves and their buddies and being proactive about getting help. But here's the Catch 22. You can teach, talk, and force soldiers to do this, but you can't make them go to a doctor or a mental health professional. The ugly truth of ingraining in the man's mind he's a wimp if he can't handle it.

Most treatment relies on drugs, therapy, and counseling. Others have found more homeopathic methods to help treat their PTSD. For Christians I strongly urge them to seek a Christian counselor or mental health professional. Sometimes the methods used by secular practitioners goes against God. There are some Chaplains and Pastors that have helped counseled soldiers.

Lindy Abbott pointed out to me in my last article other ways soldiers have been treated. Here's an excerpt of what she said:

"My personal blog deals a lot with post traumatic problems, healing using brain therapy, and dissociative disorder. Really these soldiers are dissociating and being tripped back into actually being there again...they feel all the physiological, mental and emotions of being there.

A few things can be done to ground a person back to present day. It works with activating the sympathetic nervous system...having them smell peppermint extract, pressing the temples of the head, splashing water in face, holding and rocking motion, walking or running, push ups against the wall, etc. Different things work with different people depending on what trip them. If a solider was running in their terror nightmare it would not be a good idea to run, that would push them deeper into dissociation."

Don't think that soldiers and people who have suffered through a war experience are the only ones to be stricken with PTSD. Rape victims, car accident victims, anyone who has lived through a life threatening storm like a tornado or a hurricane can succumb, sometimes something as a bad hospital stay can trigger PTSD. Anything that has put the mind through a lot of stress can cause a form of PTSD.

There is hope. In everything there is hope. Our hope is in Christ. He is the healer of all maladies. God has provided tools to help his children. Don't forsake them or Him when you're in trouble.

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:1-5 NIV)