Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW ON VETERANS WITH PTSD
Literature Review on Veterans with PTSD
Alex Bonilla
2018GF2-MAMP-507-A
Dr. Bart Buechner
27 November 2018
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LITERATURE REVIEW ON VETERANS WITH PTSD
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Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) refers to medical condition that happens after a
deep threatening or scary event. Even though you may not be involved in the traumatizing
scenario, the shock of the real-life experience may make your life compromised by a huge
margin. PTSD victims are characterized by insomnia, chronic pain, low self-esteem and
unpleasant emotions among others. War veterans and other military personnel are at high risk of
post-traumatic stress disorder since they are exposed to war environments. Curing PTSD is a
complex process that requires integration of therapeutic interventions cemented by
administration of relevant drugs.
Key words: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), veterans, health effects and therapeutic
interventions.
Introduction
Based on scholarly research, quite several veterans who return from the military service
usually display the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and hence have a hard time
getting back to their normal living life. This disorder basically occurs in circumstances when an
individual has gone through a life-threatening event as it is a common thing for the mind to be in
shock and this eventually develops a PTSD when the nervous system stays in this condition for
long. There are two common ways that the nervous system will react which is mobilization and
immobilization. Mobilization is whereby the veteran will try to defend themselves for the
purpose of defending own body as a survival mechanism and be able to combat the situation.
After the circumstance, the system will calm the body and hence lowering the blood pressure
among other things necessary to get back to normal. On the other hand, immobilization is the
LITERATURE REVIEW ON VETERANS WITH PTSD
situation where a veteran experience a lot of stress during and after a traumatic experience. The
research seeks to address the veterans, how they are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder
and how therapy helps in alleviating the suffering.
PTSD As a Common Occurrence to Veterans
After a traumatizing event, veterans usually get scared, experience confusion and mood
changes which could get them angry. Sometimes these feelings might go away, but when they
don’t, it might worsen the case and hence end up disrupting their life and could affect their
normal performance of daily activities. All those that have gone through a traumatic event to a
degree of fearing for their lives and even feel helpless usually have PTSD. Even though they
might all go through such symptoms, only some of them will get to develop PTSD. The
likelihood of one getting a PTSD usually is dependent on a few factors such as the intensity of
the trauma, the closeness that the veteran was to getting hurt, immediacy of the experienced
event and how much the victim had felt to have control over the situation as well as the support
that they got during the period.
According to Weber (2018), people who suffer from this condition have difficulty in
finding and maintaining employment. Research has shown that military veterans who receive
therapy to treat PTSD see an increase in quality of life. There is basically less attention that is
given to veterans in a bid to help them overcome the stress and traumatic experiences and hence
end up having social exclusion when in comparison with the other individuals suffering from
closely related mental health issues. A suggested reason for this situation is basically that the
veterans usually take a long time for them to seek or get help and this with time might be
consequential to erosion of resources before them beginning any treatment.
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According to Murphy & Turgoose (2018) there are quite several symptoms of PTSD that
have been well elaborated in the article. The first symptom is re-experiencing symptoms
whereby one relieves the traumatic event. In this case, the veteran might experience same fear
that he felt during the event and this might as well be accompanied by nightmares. This is
usually accompanied by distressing thoughts as well as flashbacks. In such cases, a veteran might
go through experiences of extreme emotions as well as physical reactions hence having
occasional panic attacks.
Another symptom is avoidance of any event or experience that might remind a veteran of
the experience or event. The other symptom is basically a lot of negative transformations in
thoughts as well as moods such as negative beliefs that sometimes don’t make sense. Final
symptom would be prevalence of being highly emotional jumpy or reactive. This is usually
accompanied by getting easily angry and having reckless behavior.
According to Koven (2018), both the visible as well as invisible scars with the veterans
usually present severe consequences not only for the veterans but also the families, close friends
and community at large. According to the study presented in this article, it is not just the
monetary payments received by the veterans that are costs associated with PTSD but there are
other costs that include aspects such as marital problems, getting to raise children as well as
marital complications among others. The conclusion of the study portray that these veterans
usually perceive the post-traumatic stress as being a heavy gift hence consider themselves
stronger to handle the symptoms.
Military Factors
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Friedman& McDonagh-Coyle, (1994) ascertains that, since the veterans exposed to high
war zones are highly likely to develop the disorder as compared to those exposed to moderate or
low stress conditions, the blacks as well as Hispanic were more likely to have a high exposure.
The veterans with PTSD usually experience quite a number of functional impairments mostly
when their cause for the disorder is quite chronic. Further, these victims with PTSD were found
to be less likely to get married and those that did ended up in divorces if not marital problems as
compared to those that did not. Further, a higher exposure to war zone will in a great way
increase one’s chance of getting PTSD.
The male veterans exposed to high war zone have been found to be seven times more
likely to develop PTSD as compared to those that are not. On the other hand, female veterans
that have been exposed to high war zones are found to have four times chances of developing
PTSD as compared to the less exposed veterans. A significant post military factor in this case is
basically a post-traumatic environment whereby those veterans with poor social support might
have a higher risk prevalence of PTSD. Another close factor is the coping skills of a veteran
which might also vary based on the war stressors as well as everyday stressors.
Post traumatic disorder is a common psychological and mental problem among military
veterans. This is caused by the fact that they are exposed to an environment that creates
conducive conditions for development for chronic PTSD. Study conducted by Raskind et al.,
2018 shows that prazosin (adrenoreceptor) is not one of the best interventions of reducing
nightmares linked to post traumatic stress disorder among military veterans. While making this
comprehensive and justifiable conclusion, the study relied on randomized trials where more than
13 Departments of Veterans Affairs medical centers were selected. In this study, 304 participants
were exposed to the treatment and after a period of ten weeks, there was no any significant
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difference between the prazosin group and the other placebo group (each of the groups was
represented by 102 participants (Raskind et al., 2018).
Indeed, chronic PTSD has caused untold suffering among military veterans hence it is
important for embracing best interventions in order to help war veterans address their
psychological and mental needs on timely basis (Raskind et al., 2018). For example, resorting to
therapeutic interventions such a counseling session is such a noble course of handling
psychological complications among war veterans. It is substantive thought that fighting spiritual
void has never been a walk in the park among military veterans. Chronic post-traumatic stress
disorder is a moral at the same time spiritual issue among war veterans. Therefore, the ideology
of protecting psychological and health needs of war veterans has an implication that you are
always protecting your own health. Generally, therapy combined with effective administration of
drugs is very useful in addressing psychological needs as opposed to traditional approaches of
handling PTSD (Raskind et al., 2018). During the process of administering these drugs, it is it
essential to consider other needs of military veterans such as their financial, political and
economic needs. Handling post-traumatic stress disorder among war veterans should be a
communal thing as opposed to individual aspect.
According to Mithoefer et al., (2018), post-traumatic stress disorder is highly prevalent
among military people in various parts of the world. These individuals do not even respond to
available treatments options hence it is necessary to integrate urgent means of helping them
regain normalcy in life. Rationale for them to ignore medical interventions is grounded on the
fact that they believe to be strong to handle the stress. Having conducted a double-blind
randomized experiment; key finding indicates that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy sessions are
very essential in addressing psychological needs of war veterans. Therefore, it is such a
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justifiable thought that addressing post-traumatic stress disorder among war veterans is a
complex issue that requires embracing the best skills (Mithoefer et al., 2018).
Post-traumatic stress disorder is linked to health problems that forces war veterans to
engage in awful acts. For example, scholarly studies have justified the fact that development of
suicidal behavior, co morbidity and disability are some of the problems that are associated with
post traumatic disorder among military personnel especially war veterans. The ability of war
veterans to adjust this behavior is made possible by addressing their mental disorders such as
depression caused by chronic stress disorder. Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder is high
among war veterans and is linked to physical health complications such as chronic pain
conditions cancer, physical health problems and respiratory diseases. War veterans whose
psychological needs are not fully addressed end up living poor life and even succumbing to
suicidal thoughts and other problems. Mithoefer et al., (2018) emphasizes on the necessity to
embrace the best therapeutic interventions to help war veterans lead a normal life.
Study conducted by Shea et al., (2010) states that there is positive correlation of posttraumatic stress disorder and other functional complications among war veterans. Having relied
on one hundred and twenty-four participants who survived war in Iraq, key finding indicates that
severity and subjective distress are some of the problems that are linked post-traumatic stress
disorder among war veterans. Indeed, effects of post traumatic disorder are not felt among other
people. Post-traumatic stress disorder is the foundation of compromised mental individual health
by creating disconnect between the victim’s reality of life and expectations. Post-traumatic stress
disorder has created distrust of the available natural laws and above all lead to increased anxiety
and depression among war veterans. It is clear from the study that PTSD is evident in the event
that a victim has undergone a traumatic event in life. Integration of these nauseating events
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makes human mind to function in an improper manner. For example, hyper-arousal makes an
individual to function in a defective way.
Conclusion
Post-traumatic stress disorder is complex problem among war veterans not only in the
United States but other regions of the world. Understanding implications of post-traumatic stress
disorder among victims of war is such as indomitable and noble course to enable them lead a
normal life. The above scholarly articles do indicate that post-traumatic stress disorder is highly
prevalent among war veterans and military personnel and the effects associated with it are
devastating. More than ninety percent of these articles do show that therapeutic interventions
assisted by administration of various drugs is necessary in addressing negative health effects
associated with exposure to traumatic events. It is also justifiable that cases of post-traumatic
stress disorder have been ignored for long time hence necessity to come up with best
interventions of addressing these problems. Cognitive processing and prolonged exposure
therapy are common types of interventions used to address problems caused by PTSD. Notably,
eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, stress inoculation training and medications are
common interventions of addressing post-traumatic stress disorder among military personnel.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is more prevalent in male as opposed to female military
war veterans. Due to male chauvinism, they do believe that they are strong enough to handle
stress as opposed to female war veterans who embrace the importance of seeking for medical and
therapeutic interventions. It is candid thought for healthcare systems and other stakeholders to
come up with the best strategies of reducing pain improving self-esteem and creating a favorable
environment for war veterans. The federal government of the United States and other
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governments of the world should give priority to health needs of military veterans.
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References
Friedman, M. J., Schnurr, P. P., & McDonagh-Coyle, A. (1994). Post-traumatic stress disorder in
the military veteran. Psychiatric Clinics, 17(2), 265-277.
Koven, S. (2018, August). Veteran Treatments: PTSD Interventions. In Healthcare (Vol. 6, No.
3, p. 94). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.
Mithoefer, et al., (2018). 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted
psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans, firefighters, and
police officers: a randomized, double-blind, dose-response, phase 2 clinical trial. The
Lancet Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30135-4.
Murphy, D., Busuttil, W., & Turgoose, D. (2018, August). Understanding the Needs of Veterans
with PTSD. In Healthcare (Vol. 6, No. 3, p. 100). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing
Institute.
Raskind, M.A.; Peskind, E.R.; Chow, B.; Harris, C.; Pharm, D. et al., (2018). Trial of Prazosin
for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Military Veterans. N Engl J Med 2018; 378:507517 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1507598.
Shea, M.T.; Vujanovic, A.A.; Mansfield, A.K.; Seven, E.; Liu, F. (2010). Posttraumatic stress
disorder symptoms and functional impairment among OEF and OIF National Guard and
reserve veterans. Journal of Traumatic Stress. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20497
Weber, D. (2018). A Qualitative Examination of Veteran Participation and Experiences in
MilSim and Effects on Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Ann Arbor:
ProQuest LLC.
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