“I can’t say that I can’t go because we don’t do that, I also can’t go because I’m putting people in danger if I do,” he said of his first brush with suicidal thoughts, which came while he was awaiting his second deployment.
In the end, Anderson was not deployed but it sparked a two-year effort to get help for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), one of thousands of soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan facing a battle to re-enter everyday life.
While much of the attention has been on physical wounds like traumatic brain injuries, as well as squalid living conditions for recovering soldiers, doctors, families and lawmakers are expressing growing concerns that veterans are not be getting the right mental health help.
Those worries come as President George W. Bush has ordered almost 30,000 more troops to Iraq. Already 1.5 million soldiers have been deployed in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, with one-third serving at least two combat tours, which increases the chances of PTSD.
Despite finally receiving treatment, Anderson finds himself in the middle of a divorce and still constantly on edge — jumpy at loud noises and always eyeing the exits of rooms.
“I have triggers every day, but I’m learning how to deal with them,” he said.
The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates 12 percent to 20 percent of those who served in Iraq suffer from PTSD. A 2004 Army study found 16.6 percent of those returning from combat tested positive for the disorder.
Individuals suffer from PTSD if they relive the trauma, experience emotional numbness, isolation, depression, substance abuse, and memory problems. These often lead to job instability and marital troubles.
‘Help should be made available’
“I see a range of people coming in from a level of having PTSD but not being severely handicapped and dysfunctional, then I see other people who are really, really handicapped and dysfunctional,” said Dr. Wayne Gregory, a psychologist at the Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System.
Two studies in the last month have shown more than 30 percent of soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan met the criteria for a mental disorder, with the American Psychological Association (APA) finding at best that 40 percent sought help.
“Now people are getting out of the service and they’re beginning to seek help,” said Dr. Paul Hicks, professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Texas A&M’s Health Science Center College of Medicine.
“We don’t know when or if that will level off. It’s got to level off at some point, but we haven’t reached that point,” he said.
A study published by the Archives of Internal Medicine found 13 percent of almost 104,000 veterans evaluated suffered from PTSD. Mental illness “threatens to bring the war back home as a costly personal and public health burden,” it said.
Congress has ordered the Pentagon to establish a mental-health task force, though its findings won’t be presented until May.
“We have put them in very stressful situations and often times people need help and that help should be made available,” said Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat.
Defense Department reaching out
The Pentagon is already on the defensive about medical treatment for soldiers after an investigation found shoddy living conditions for troops recovering from physical injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress last month that the number of troops who tested positive for a mental health condition after being deployed was lower, 22 percent.
A Defense Department (DOD) spokeswoman defended its practices, noting mental health teams were in the field and they had begun a new program this year to also screen troops three to six months after they return home.
“DOD has been aggressively reaching out to support our military personnel before, during and after their deployments and their family members, this is unprecedented,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith.
PTSD can be complicated by the fact that it frequently occurs in conjunction with related disorders such as depression, substance abuse, problems of memory and cognition and other physical and mental health disorders. The condition is also associated with impairment of a person's ability to function in social or family life, including occupational instability, marital problems and divorce, family discord and difficulties in parenting.
An estimated 7.8 percent of Americans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives, with women (10.4 percent) twice as likely as men (5 percent) to develop PTSD. About 3.6 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 to 54 (5.2 million people) have PTSD during the course of a given year. This represents a small portion of those who have experienced at least one traumatic event; 60.7 percent of men and 51.2 percent of women reported at least one traumatic event in their life.
The traumatic events most often associated with PTSD for men are rape, combat exposure, childhood neglect and childhood physical abuse. The most traumatic events for women are rape, sexual molestation, physical attack, being threatened with a weapon and childhood physical abuse.
About 30 percent of the men and women who have spent time in war zones experience PTSD. An additional 20 to 25 percent have had partial PTSD at some point in their lives.
PTSD can develop at any age, including in childhood. Symptoms typically begin within 3 months of a traumatic event, although occasionally they do not begin until years later. Once PTSD occurs, the severity and duration of the illness varies. Some people recover within 6 months, while others suffer much longer.
Symptoms to watch for:
Recurring thoughts or nightmares about the event.
Having trouble sleeping or changes in appetite.
Experiencing anxiety and fear, especially when exposed to events or situations reminiscent of the trauma.
Being on edge, being easily startled or becoming overly alert.
Feeling depressed, sad and having low energy.
Experiencing memory problems including difficulty in remembering aspects of the trauma.
Feeling "scattered" and unable to focus on work or daily activities.
Having difficulty making decisions.
Feeling irritable, easily agitated, or angry and resentful.
Feeling emotionally "numb," withdrawn, disconnected or different from others.
Spontaneously crying, feeling a sense of despair and hopelessness.
Feeling extremely protective of, or fearful for, the safety of loved ones.
Not being able to face certain aspects of the trauma, and avoiding activities, places or even people that remind you of the event.
Children with PTSD may also show the following symptoms:
Worrying about dying at an early age.
Losing interest in activities. Exhibiting physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach aches.
Showing more sudden and extreme emotional reactions.
Having problems falling or staying asleep.
Showing irritability or angry outbursts.
Having problems concentrating, acting younger than their age (for example, clingy or whiny behavior, and thumbsucking).
Showing increased alertness to the environment.
Repeating behavior that reminds them of the trauma.
Research has found cognitive-behavioral therapy to be effective in treating PTSD. Group therapy and exposure therapy, in which the patient gradually and repeatedly relives the frightening experience under controlled conditions to help him or her work through the trauma, have also been shown to be effective.
Studies have also shown that medications help ease associated symptoms of depression and anxiety and help promote sleep. Scientists are attempting to determine which treatments work best for which type of trauma.
Some studies show that giving people an opportunity to talk about their experiences very soon after a catastrophic event may reduce some of the symptoms of PTSD.
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Good Night Sleep
Lack of sleep can result in stress, lack of concentration, moodiness, memory loss, lower motivation and fatigue. It is important to get a good night sleep otherwise it may lead to different sleep disorders. More than eighty percent of people suffering from depression are suffering with sleep problems.
At present, one of the most common problems is Sleep deprivation. In fact the Better Sleep Council surveyed a thousand adult respondents and discovered that more than 30% of them confessed to not getting enough sleep each night.
Sleep disorders are the disorders in sleep pattern. Sleep is a complex neurological state. Its primary function is rest and restoring the body's energy levels. Repeated interruption of sleep by breathing abnormalities such as cessation of breathing (apnea) or heavy snoring, leads to fragmented sleep and abnormal oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood, all these things lead to sleep disorders.
Sleep consists of a rhythmic combination of changes in physiological, biochemical, neurophysiological and psychological processes. When the circadian rhythm is disturbed or the individual processes are abnormal during sleep, a variety of sleep disorders may result.
Two types of sleep occur with distinct physiological patterns, rapid eye movement sleep (REM), and non-rapid-eye-movement sleep (NREM) or deep sleep. In normal sleep, REM occurs about 90 minutes after a person falls asleep.
The REM and NREM recur in cycles of about 90 minutes each, with four non-REM stages (light to deep slumber) at the beginning and REM towards the end. The amount of sleep needed by each person is usually constant although there is a wide variation among some individuals.
Some sleep disturbances are simply temporary inconveniences while others are potentially more serious. Sleep apnea is the most common sleep disorder. Other serious sleep disorders are narcolepsy and clinical insomnia.
"Jet lag syndrome," caused by rapid shifts in the biological sleep-wake cycle, is also an example of a temporary sleep disorder. So do the sleep disorders experienced by shift workers.
101 Ways to get Good Night Sleep...
http://www.sleepdisordersguide.com/blog/sleepdisorders/101-sure-fire-ways-to-get-a-good-night-sleep/
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