Stress Disorder Seen Soaring Among Returning Troops

by David Goldstein

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0620-02.htm

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The latest report on patient visits to VA medical facilities shows that nearly 5,000 service members were initially diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder during the first three months of this year, on top of nearly 5,000 new diagnoses that the VA had reported for the last three months of 2005...

<snip>

...According to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine , 15-17 percent of soldiers come back from Iraq suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.The VA had predicted that it would see 2,900 new cases in fiscal 2006, which runs from Oct. 1, 2005, to Sept. 30, 2006.

The VA declined to comment Monday.

"The demand for mental health is not going down," said Cathy Wiblemo, the deputy director for mental health services at the American Legion. "It's definitely going up."...

undertaken lightly. NEVER.

:cry:

They will then be mocked as Cowards once the fortunes of the Bush Criminals are securely tucked away in the swiss and off-shore Banks

there be???? which could be very possible, with the high increase of PTSD.

has this. awful what these kids go through.

All for the sake of someone else's stupid $$$$$$WarGame$$$$$$.

...being expended as human currency so that an elite group of already wealthy war profiteers can become wealthier still.

"Stay the course," he says, remaining completely unfazed personally by all the unnecessary deaths, untold pain and suffering, and the utter destruction of Iraq that he has caused. I've seen not so much as a hint of genuine shame, guilt, or remorse in the man, absolutely nothing that would indicate he is even the least bit bothered by any of it. He IS a war criminal.

all immunity on the US, and try these bastards. It is warranted in this case of inhuman treatment of innocent people in a sovereign nation.

...to acknowledge or submit to the authority of the ICC. They should press prosecution of U.S. war criminals and try them in absentia anyway. It would make a statement and I'll bet the international press would be diligent in their coverage of it. It could be a massive PR black eye for BushCo.

While I realize that PTSD and CPTSD are horrifying, it's really disturbing to me that you would feel the need to characterize all military folk who suffer with these conditions as "ruined." Jesus. There's always hope, and even with people who have extremely serious mental health problems should still be encouraged to nurture whatever hope they can find, so they can have a chance at leading a life with at least some happiness in it. You should be more careful.

How about "saddled with unnecessary psychic pain"? I have CPTSD and while the episodes are now blessedly rare, it is always horrible to slam into one. I wouldn't wish that on any one, especially not to line the pockets of the filth that inhabit the White House these days.

They talk a good game about "travel around the world" "scholarships" "Training in your chosen field" but when do they really talk about what they can expect to see if they go on the front line? All they can go by are the movies and video games. They need a few intense hours talking to those who have been there.

battle, they are emotionally scarred for life. I pray that they will be able to get the psychological help they will need to deal with this once they return home.

:mad:

They say these Vets are faking and are cowards

I hate these motherfuckers.

My daughter told me about it when she was stationed in Hawaii. Outcomes ranged from broken marriages, child and spousal abuse, alcohol abuse to murder. The more subtle mental and physical manifestations are similar to those from Vietnam. Depression, insomnia, racing thoughts, flashbacks, nightmares, paranoia, hyper-vigilance etc. She has a fairly mild case of it. She has survivor's guilt as well.

And God knows what going to come out of exposure to chemicals, warfare chemicals and others. In Afghanistan, (Kandahar) where she was stationed, she told me human waste and other waste was pumped into what became a small open lake. It grossed me out. They had a little boat out in it with some smart ass comment, I forget what.

She told me that soldiers are assessed for it, but not a whole lot is done. Limited Counseling is offered.

I place my faith and hope on the Vets who have survived previous wars and PTSD because from what I understand, you can't really understand unless you've been in that situation. I know there are many Vets who are involved and supportive of our returning Vets.

I don't expect this administration to do shit.

arms ambush, and then being randomly mortared during you down time is more than just not fun. The "we're fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here" geo-political catch-phase is not only strategically and tactically wrong (its wrong when for example the them "there" are iraq nationalist baathis insurgents, and them that attacked on 9/11 is "al quada", an ngo that has no ties with the iraqi nationalists), it is empty justification for one of the cruelest, selfish uses of american service people this country has ever engaged in. I envision the stress level of the troops currently deployed to being that of our vietnam vets that had to undertake jungle patrols exponentialized by the greater frequency of, and greater distances covered by, these humvee patrols in more hostile urbanized environments.