The American Psychiatric Association, (the publishers and owner of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) define Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. With regard to the military and Veterans they associate the diagnosis with “Shell Shock” in World War I, “Battle fatigue” in World War II and “Vietnam Syndrome”, replacing the terms with PTSD. However, this may also have been Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) since they were fighting from trenches and the bombs and cannon shells were landing in those trenches making the explosive waves extra strong.
With the Vietnam War the troops were fighting against an enemy in civilian clothes and at close range. Many of them suffered from Moral Injury, not PTSD. This is even more true with the Iraq and Afghanistan War where the enemy was not only dressed in civilian clothes, but included women and children. In addition they used more land mines, car bombs and bombs wrapped around the bodies of women and children who walked into the camps. These troops suffered more from TBI and Moral Injury than PTSD.
Traumatic brain injury is a concussion. Brain injuries are usually caused by direct brain damage, like damage to the skull. Because TBI affects the brain, it often leads to severe and negative symptoms. Many U.S. Veterans suffer from TBIs that result in persistent or chronic issues for years. Some TBIs and their effects only last for a few weeks or months, while others can result in permanent neurological damage or personality changes. Unfortunately many of the symptoms can be vary similar to those of PTSD.
Most of the Veterans living at home or roaming the streets diagnosed with PTSD are afraid to get medical help for fear because they don’t want to be labeled with a permanent mental disorder. I have met with a number of these veterans with PTSD and found that the stigma of the “D” is very strong. Diagnosis of a mental disorder can, cause the loss of jobs or eliminate chances of getting one. This is the particular case for police, school teachers, civil service bus drivers and many other jobs
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