Stress disorder likely to trouble some soldiers - CP article

[Armymedic]

Substance abuse, is not a disorder, it is a form of self medication.  Depression one of the effects of PTSD,

Substance abuse is a disorder(medical condition) in that it can be treated.

Depression is itself a diagnosis, not necessarily a symptom, nor an effect of PTSD. I know of several cases of depression with no other dx. Person can have one, and not the other.

We see anxiety manifest itself in many ways. In most cases it comes down to the mind's ability to handle stress.

(OCD, for some reason, is common amongst soldiers. But not due to combat.)

 

[the 48th regulator]

Substance abuse is a disorder(medical condition) in that it can be treated.

Depression is itself a diagnosis, not necessarily a symptom, nor an effect of PTSD. I know of several cases of depression with no other dx. Person can have one, and not the other.

We see anxiety manifest itself in many ways. In most cases it comes down to the mind's ability to handle stress.

(OCD, for some reason, is common amongst soldiers. But not due to combat.)

So a sudden occurrence of either condition, is not a reason to suspect some form of PTSD or other form of OSI, especially after a tour?

dileas

tess

 

[medicineman]

Substance abuse, is not a disorder, it is a form of self medication.  Depression one of the effects of PTSD, sorry in my haze I do not know what ASD is.

As I asked, what are the other mental disorders, as opposed to PTSD that cam occur and be misinterpreted as PTSD with soldiers?

dileas

tess

I think SMMT beat me to it - I was in bed not long after my previous post.  By the DSM-IV-TR definition of a mental disorder and within it's classifications, substance abuse is in fact a mental disorder.  It can lead to other disorders, both mental and physical depending on the substance(s) in question.  Depression is a diagnosis in and of itself as well and is a mood disorder.  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder are classified as anxiety disorders by the DSM.  ASD is differentiated from PTSD by a number of variables - the main one being time.  Problems with various types of panic disorders are not all that infrequent and like the above, sometimes can be traced back to duty related incidents.  Somatiform disorders can also seen in duty (or just plain stress) related psychological issues - symptoms that present as physical symptoms even though the problem is psychological.  Some of these can be read into as PTSD, however, there are some pretty specific criteria layed out in the DSM that need to be met to have a diagnosis of that.  And not only do those criteria have to be met, there is some weeding out that is supposed to go on to ensure that someone isn't trying to pull the wool over another's eyes (it does happen) or there isn't an underlying or comorbid (one that comes along) condition .

MM

 

[Armymedic]

So a sudden occurrence of either condition, is not a reason to suspect some form of PTSD or other form of OSI, especially after a tour?

Not nessarily a traumatic stress cause. There are so many stressors just from being on tour.

It is in the history that the diagnosis is made. If you were to sit in front of me and tell me since this, this and this happend to you, but before all that, you saw your buddy killed, then I may say PTSD.

But if it is because this and this happend to you, and your boss sucked and your kids will not talk to you anymore, and you never left the FOB...Its probably not PTSD.

 

[the 48th regulator]

Please realize that I am not being facetious, as these answers are helping me.

At what point would you then recommend OSI or OSISS representatives to step in?  What criteria would be used in recognizing that a stress injury is present? 

dileas

tess

 

[GAP]

This kinda fits this thread....ran across it doing the Sandbox update.

No Court-Martial for Soldier With PTSD
Saturday July 7, 2007 1:16 PM By BEN DOBBIN Associated Press Writer
Article Link

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - An Iraq war veteran will not be court-martialed for leaving his post without permission for 15 months to undergo treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, the Army said.

Instead of facing a bad conduct discharge - a felony punishable by up to a year in military prison - Spc. Eugene Cherry admitted he was absent without leave and was granted a general discharge, rather than an honorable discharge, the Army said Friday.

``It really wasn't about proving I went AWOL - that's a given,'' Cherry, who was to be tried by court-martial Monday, said in a telephone interview from Fort Drum in northern New York.

Cherry, 24, encountered horrific battle experiences during 13 months as a combat medic in Iraq. Five months after his return in June 2005, he says he went home to Chicago to find mental health treatment after the Army failed to provide him with adequate help.

When he came back to Fort Drum in March to resolve his Army status, Cherry was restricted to his post and later told he would be court-martialed.

``He was receiving medical care'' at Fort Drum, Army spokesman Ben Abel said. ``He may not have felt that it was adequate ... but it's not an excuse for leaving a unit for that length of time.''

In Chicago, Cherry was treated by Dr. Hannah Frisch, a clinical psychologist who diagnosed him with PTSD and major depression. In a report prepared for his commanders, she said he needed intensive, individualized psychotherapy, not just drugs, to treat his condition.
More on link

 

[3rd Herd]

In Chicago, Cherry was treated by Dr. Hannah Frisch, a clinical psychologist who diagnosed him with PTSD and major depression. In a report prepared for his commanders, she said he needed intensive, individualized psychotherapy, not just drugs, to treat his condition.

Just say NO!

 

[Wookilar]

The treatment-by-drugs solution is widely used by the US (it is, officially, the norm for treatment for a range of "stress" disorders) and has been coming under increasing fire, but many of the critics of this stance also seem to be individuals most able to benefit most (financially and professional recognition wise) from a change in policy.

It seems that there has been some movement in official circles to come up with more treatment options (http://www.wramc.amedd.army.mil/070620_Behavioral_Health_Fact_Sheet.pdf ). This is the brand new raison d'etre of the WRAMC Beahvioral Health Services. I wish I had a copy of the old vision statement. Let's just say that it's a wee tad different from this one. 


I've got a copy of the report coming to me through our library here, hopefully in pdf format. I'll post when I get my grubby hands on it.

Wook

 

[medicineman]

Well, just finnished a preliminary scan of the article.  The top 3 disorders they identified were major depressive disorder, alcohol abuse and social phobia, in that order.  They also decided that peacekeeping ops in and of themselves don't seem to lend to higher than normal rates of mental disorders.  They did identify some crossover with combat and witnessing atrocities, which do sometimes occur on "peackeeping" ops and the survey was conducted between May and Dec 2002, so you can guess at which ops were likely involved.  I'm still going through it.

Tess - if you PM me your snail mail address, I can send you a photocopy of the article if you're so inclined.  As for your last question, I get mental health services involved with people as I identify problems, be they OSI or otherwise.  Of course, I also get an MO in on the act as well, do to the lack of magical letters before and after my name.
Cheers for now.

MM