PTSD in the News: Weekly Update

Tweet

Lots of good stuff happening this week, including a fabulous forum of some military wives and I talking about life with a Combat PTSD vet, and how to survive it. To listen to the interview click here and scroll down to the NotAlone.com link under the title ‘Michele on the Air’.

Also, a terrific opportunity (whether your military or civlian) to weigh in on what you see as the barriers vets face on returning to the workforce. Research is being done. Contribute your thoughts here!

Topics for Everyone, Civilian & Military

Psychology Today’s Blog by Dr. Brian Trappler – Great resource for trauma resolution of all kinds.

How Meditation Positively Impacts Stress – Meditation is no longer just for the groovy folk. A just published study in the American Journal of Hypertension suggests the practice may bring cardiovascular and mental-health benefits.

New Yorkers, PTSD, 9/11 and the upcoming trial -  As many as 7 percent of New Yorkers have some form of post-traumatic stress disorder because of the September 11 attacks, said Yuval Neria, director of the Trauma and PTSD Program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University.

Why Exercise Makes You Less Anxious -  Researchers at Princeton University recently made a remarkable discovery about the brains of rats that exercise. Some of their neurons respond differently to stress than the neurons of slothful rats.

Cancer, Stress, PTSD & forgiveness  - Those who blamed their own stress as the cause of their cancer were also more likely to suffer continuing stress, and also report symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Topics for Combat PTSD

Homeless Vets May Soon Get More Assistance – According to the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients, about 23 percent of the nation’s homeless are veterans, 47 percent from the Vietnam era.

U.S. Army’s New Weapon = Positive Thinking – The Pentagon has turned to the founder of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, to train its troops in how to lead happier lives.

Can Anyone Really Predict PTSD? The Army is trying!

Military Psychiatrists Face Stress – What’s wrong with this picture? According to official Army figures, 308 military psychiatrists serve 1.4 million active-duty members. On average, 200 behavioral-health personnel – including psychiatrists and other mental-health counselors – are deployed in Iraq and about 30 in Afghanistan.

Harvard Study: Vets Die More From Lack of Healthcare than Combat -  A report from Agence France Presse indicates that the number of American veterans who died in 2008 because they didn’t have healthcare, is 14 times higher than the military death toll in Afghanistan, for the entire year.

New Bill Includes Language to Help Study Effects of Stress on Female Vets – Last June, the VA reported almost 20,000 female military veterans from both wars have been diagnosed with mental disorders, including nearly 8,500 women diagnosed specifically with PTSD.

Veterans Find Help & Hope -  An estimated 75,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from varying degrees of brain injury, but many are misdiagnosed with PTSD and return home with little or no follow-up treatment. Between 5,000 and 6,000 of them have brain injuries that are classified as moderate to severe.

(Photo acknowledgement on Flickr.)

Tags: 9/11, anxious, cancer, exercise, female vets, meditation, military, New York, Notalone.com, PTSD in the News, stress, trial, veterans, workplace