PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a mental health condition that develops in some people who have experienced shocking or dangerous events. This ailment is a more common condition that primarily impacts military personnel, and amongst the affected are veterans who have endured the torment and trauma of war.
Most veterans with PTSD not only experience shock, but most of them also sustain permanent injuries that leave them traumatized. Just4Veterans coaches are committed to helping our veterans with PTSD by assisting them in applying for VA disability or other grants for disabled veterans with PTSD. Our services can help veterans file a VA claim, which will significantly help the treatment of PTSD in veterans.
PTSD Statistics for Veterans
The estimated frequency of PTSD for veterans varies greatly between wars and historical periods. In a large survey of 60,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, 13.5% of those who had been deployed and those who had not were found to have PTSD.
However, other research indicates that the rate may be as high as 20% to 30%. Approximately 500,000 American service members who participated in these wars over the past 13 years have received a PTSD diagnosis.
Other statistics of PTSD from other wars, such as the Gulf War (approximately 12%) and Vietnam War (about 15%) veterans, show a significant percentage that tested positive for PTSD.
Your loved one may be affected by this large number of affected veterans. It is, therefore, essential to know if they have PTSD. But what are the underlying symptoms of PTSD in veterans?
How do you know if you or your loved one suffers from PTSD?
Veterans with PTSD elicit multiple symptoms, some more evident than others. Here are some common signs to know if you or your loved one suffers from PTSD.
Reliving Past Traumas
This triggers distressing memories and can make the sufferer feel as though they are reliving their most traumatic experience. It can happen either during sleep or waking hours.
Hypervigilance behavior
PTSD in veterans will often show signs of hypervigilance. This behavior puts them on a continuous high alert, frequently feeling uneasy in strange surroundings. For instance, they could sit facing the door in a restaurant, watching for potentially dangerous people or things, or feeling the need to be close to an exit. This may make it difficult to concentrate or take pleasure in everyday activities like having dinner with relatives. Veterans with PTSD may also find it hard to fall asleep or relax, get angry or startled easily, act without thinking, or use drugs or alcohol as a way to deal with their feelings.
Avoiding places or conversations about their trauma
Veterans with PTSD often avoid places that may remind them of their trauma. Most of these places are either too crowded or too loud. This is associated with reliving their past traumas and the constant remembrance of their traumatizing ordeal. Hence, they often avoid talking about incidents that may have affected them.
One of the other symptoms involved in PTSD is persistent negative emotions. Veterans with PTSD will show signs of a depressive state, constant anger, and other negative emotions such as shame, guilt, and remorse. But who can be affected by PTSD?
Risk Factors
Knowing the symptoms is an important step for healing or recovering from PTSD. However, it is also important to note the other factors that may have triggered PTSD.
These factors often include:
Being exposed to another life’s adversity
Before joining the military, other life events can also trigger this psychological issue. Other adversities may affect a victim of PTSD, such as racial minority status, lower socioeconomic status, rank, and lower educational attainment.
Witnessing injuries or death
Seeing these terrible things happen is more than scary, especially for people who have never been through anything like this.
Military ranks and other characteristics
Because each of these factors affects how likely a soldier will participate in actual combat, it has been discovered that military rank and occupation, the branch of service, duration of deployment, and the number of deployments increase the risk of PTSD.
The lack of social support from family, friends, and the community can also increase the risk of PTSD in the veteran population. PTSD (concussion) is also linked to a wide range of physical and mental health problems caused by moderate traumatic brain injuries.
Understanding the symptoms and the risk will help in gauging the proper treatment for veterans with PTSD.
Helping veterans with PTSD
Various activities can help veterans with overcoming their PTSD. However, in the most severe cases, it is always important to consider seeking professional help. Veterans suffering from PTSD may be discouraged from seeking this necessary help, and if you or a loved one is suffering from one, remember that seeking help is never a sign of weakness; it would require overwhelming strength and courage.
Several VA healthcare providers support mental health services. And if you’re a veteran who has never filed a claim, filed a claim but got frustrated with the system, or filed a claim but was turned down, you can still file a claim. Just4Veterans is here to help you through every step. Now that you’ve done your part for our country, it’s our turn to SERVE YOU.
For more VA claim tips, you may contact us at [email protected] or schedule a FREE Strategy Call with one of our veteran coaches if you have any questions about filing a VA claim.