PTSD in the News: Weekly Roundup

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When you look at the global news maelstrom in the past week it’s hard to believe PTSD only affects up to 20% of the traumatized population…

Interesting factoids  for us all to ponder -

RAND has released the following figures:

• In the military the cost for PTSD and major depression is projected to = $4-6.2billion over the next 2 years.
• PTSD now affects between 300,000 – 600,000 U.S. vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

More civilian and combat PTSD news below.

PTSD News for Everyone

Dispelling the Myths About PTSD - 7 PTSD myths debunked!

How To Understand and Work Through PTSD - In order to recover from PTSD, the traumatized person must resolve the initial trauma which involves finding a way to think and feel about the trauma that makes it bearable, and to find a way to get it into perspective in order to make sense of what happened.

Backing Up Your Brain - Researchers at McGill University have discovered a series of molecular mechanisms that regulate how our brains call up, restore and even change old memories. This process, called memory reconsolidation, radically alters our understanding of how memory works.

Scott and Stradling: Counseling for PTSD - (Book Review) This book is important reading, as it competently deals with the treatment of a major health issue which is both prevalent and chronic, with strong co-morbidity.

Post-traumatic Stress Common in Migraine Sufferers – Adults who suffer migraine headaches are more apt to have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than the general population, a new study suggests. And having PTSD and migraine may lead to greater headache-related disability.

Grief, PTSD & EMDR – EMDR will not take your grief away; as Dr. Alan Wolfelt says, grief a necessity and is your privilege, the result of giving and receiving love. EMDR will relieve the distressing and disabling symptoms of PTSD and allow you to grieve and mourn normally, and remember your loved one with peace.

Def Leoppard & PTSD - Rick Allen and his wife Lauren Monroe founded the Raven Drum Foundation in 2001. It is a charity organization that reaches out to others who have suffered similar injuries to Rick’s. The couple has used the foundation as a way to help everyone from veterans dealing with similar injuries to anyone suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Parents of Kids With Cancer Suffer PTSD - A study of the parents of children undergoing treatment for cancer finds that in most of the families, at least one of the parents has symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

Combat PTSD

PTSD Measure Included in Defense Bill - U.S. Sen. Max Baucus says this year’s defense authorization bill includes a measure that would provide mental health assessments to returning combat troops to help identify and treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

PTSD for Soldiers Often Includes Psychotherapy, Medication - Exposure to combat and the atrocities of war can impair the strongest and toughest of Soldiers. Research shows that exposure to combat, violence and atrocities increases the risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Soldiers suffering from PTSD have problems shutting down the responses conditioned by the traumatic events of their deployments.

Callison: “For the People” - Mark O’Connor is sleeping better at night. He estimates that his stress level has dropped by 90 percent, and no longer when he drives does his car unexpectedly and disconcertingly turn into a helicopter. Almost 40 years since O’Connor last served as an infantryman with an assault helicopter company in Vietnam, he has found healing.

Horses That Heal Soldiers - Most of the soldiers at Ft. Meade have the signature injury of the current wars, traumatic brain injury. Others have serious physical injuries and almost all suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. At a riding arena in Crownsville, Maryland, in a program called Horses for Heroes, about 50 of those injured soldiers from Ft. Meade will saddle up.

RAND Study Supports Evidence-Based Subconscious Restructuring Process for PTSD - A Rand study from the Center for Military Health Policy Research titled “Invisible Wounds of War” supports an evidence-based plan for intervention and prevention of PTSD and Suicide in the military. Subconscious Restructuring or SR has 25 years of research, development and documented results with the primary symptom of PTSD and suicide.

Winning the Soldier’s Heart – Abraham Lincoln, for one, suffered from depression, signaling, rather than weakness, that what’s now called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) shows one’s specialness.

Healing Solution for Women Veterans - Creative Healing Connections, which uses the arts, discussion and nature to promote healing and growth, will host its first retreat for female veterans Aug. 10-12 at the Wiawaka Holiday House. It will focus on providing servicewomen a safe place to share their experiences to help them readjust to civilian society, learn from others and enhance their quality of life.

VA Domicilliary Offers Aid to Troubled Vets - When the veteran is ready for help there are VA programs in place to assist. The domiciliary at the Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Center has several residential treatment programs to help the veteran who is trying to find his or her footing in a world turned upside down.

 

(Photo: just.luc)

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