Rocky
01-11-06, 17:24
I URGE ALL WHO HAVE SYMPTOMS OF PTSD TO TAKE ACTION AND SEEK HELP. IT TOOK MANY A VIETNAM VETERAN, MYSELF INCLUDED, YEARS TO SEEK HELP FOR PTSD AND THE COST WAS GREAT. BACK IN THE EARLY 60'S, 70'S AND 80'S PTSD WAS NOT KNOWN SO MANY WENT YEARS WITHOUT ANY HELP. TODAY, THE STORY IS DIFFERENT AND HELP IS AVAILABLE. I URGE YOU TO SEEK HELP BEFORE PTSD HAS TIME TO RUIN YOUR LIFE. IT CAN NOT BE CURED BUT YOU CAN LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT'S SYMPTOMS. THERE IS NO STIGMA TO HAVING PTSD, IT IS A WOUND JUST LIKE ANY OTHER, EXCEPT YOU DON'T GET A PURPLE HEART FOR IT. IF YOU THINK YOU MAY SUFFER FROM PTSD DO NOT HESITATE TO SEEK HELP. solthum
Vets try to cope with life after war
Stress disorders a common affliction
By Pam Wight Staff Writer
WHITTIER - After a one-year tour of duty in Iraq, U.S. Army Pfc. Monica Perales is not the same person she was when she left in March 2003, her family says.
Always sweet and patient, the Whittier resident now snaps at them, at her friends and even at strangers at the slightest provocation, said her mother, Terry Perales.
Monica served with the 8th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, unloading aircraft parts from trucks in a military camp called "Key West" in southern Iraq.
"\ was a sweetheart. Now she lashes out at people all the time because she's so short-tempered," Terry Perales said. "She's nothing like she used to be. Now she speaks her mind, not thinking who she's going to hurt.
"And she has no patience with her daughter anymore," she added.
Monica, 23, said she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - a condition that more than 30 percent of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars sought treatment for in the first year they returned home, according to a recent study from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
She said she still has nightmares of people trying to kill her and finds herself constantly looking over her shoulder for danger.
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Helena Young, a psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD, said people who suffer from PTSD often experience nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, sleep problems and anger.
The issue was addressed last week at a UCLA conference that focused, in part, on the medical effects of the war on veterans and their families. Young told conference attendees that soldiers may also experience job instability and marriage and parenting difficulties.
"Often they have school problems, too, because they view everything as a mission and get angry at other students who aren't as serious as they are," Young said.
She said male and female veterans or older and younger veterans tend to experience PTSD differently.
"Some female vets will say things like, `My son was too clingy when I got home,' because they've been forced to `suck it up,"' Young said. "They've developed a shame about family attachments and have found that anger is empowering."
Monica's sister, Melinda Perales, 22, who served a one-year tour in Afghanistan, reports similar changes since returning home, but not to the extent of Monica's, said their mother.
"When I got back, a lot of nights I was scared to fall asleep because I felt ready for an RPG to go off," Melinda said. "At first I couldn't fall asleep or sleep the night through. I got up four or five times a night and had nightmares on and off since I got back."
The Perales sisters each have a young child they had to leave at home with Terry while they were away at war.
In an effort to address the PTSD issue, the military now issues a questionnaire to each returning soldier asking them to check off what symptoms they have experienced, said Dr. Judith Broder, a psychiatrist with The Soldiers Project - an organization that offers mental health services to veterans.
"If they answer yes to any questions, they're immediately referred to further questionnaires or help," Broder said. "Well, all they want to do is see their families after a year away, so most just say no."
But six to nine months later, a large number of veterans report different answers, she said.
"It's not surprising. That's why they call it post-traumatic," Broder said. "It takes a while to set in sometimes. People don't always know there's a name for their problem."
pam.wight@sgvn.com (pam.wight@sgvn.com)
(562) 698-0955, Ext. 3029
sal;
Vets try to cope with life after war
Stress disorders a common affliction
By Pam Wight Staff Writer
WHITTIER - After a one-year tour of duty in Iraq, U.S. Army Pfc. Monica Perales is not the same person she was when she left in March 2003, her family says.
Always sweet and patient, the Whittier resident now snaps at them, at her friends and even at strangers at the slightest provocation, said her mother, Terry Perales.
Monica served with the 8th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, unloading aircraft parts from trucks in a military camp called "Key West" in southern Iraq.
"\ was a sweetheart. Now she lashes out at people all the time because she's so short-tempered," Terry Perales said. "She's nothing like she used to be. Now she speaks her mind, not thinking who she's going to hurt.
"And she has no patience with her daughter anymore," she added.
Monica, 23, said she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - a condition that more than 30 percent of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars sought treatment for in the first year they returned home, according to a recent study from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
She said she still has nightmares of people trying to kill her and finds herself constantly looking over her shoulder for danger.
Advertisement
Helena Young, a psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD, said people who suffer from PTSD often experience nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, sleep problems and anger.
The issue was addressed last week at a UCLA conference that focused, in part, on the medical effects of the war on veterans and their families. Young told conference attendees that soldiers may also experience job instability and marriage and parenting difficulties.
"Often they have school problems, too, because they view everything as a mission and get angry at other students who aren't as serious as they are," Young said.
She said male and female veterans or older and younger veterans tend to experience PTSD differently.
"Some female vets will say things like, `My son was too clingy when I got home,' because they've been forced to `suck it up,"' Young said. "They've developed a shame about family attachments and have found that anger is empowering."
Monica's sister, Melinda Perales, 22, who served a one-year tour in Afghanistan, reports similar changes since returning home, but not to the extent of Monica's, said their mother.
"When I got back, a lot of nights I was scared to fall asleep because I felt ready for an RPG to go off," Melinda said. "At first I couldn't fall asleep or sleep the night through. I got up four or five times a night and had nightmares on and off since I got back."
The Perales sisters each have a young child they had to leave at home with Terry while they were away at war.
In an effort to address the PTSD issue, the military now issues a questionnaire to each returning soldier asking them to check off what symptoms they have experienced, said Dr. Judith Broder, a psychiatrist with The Soldiers Project - an organization that offers mental health services to veterans.
"If they answer yes to any questions, they're immediately referred to further questionnaires or help," Broder said. "Well, all they want to do is see their families after a year away, so most just say no."
But six to nine months later, a large number of veterans report different answers, she said.
"It's not surprising. That's why they call it post-traumatic," Broder said. "It takes a while to set in sometimes. People don't always know there's a name for their problem."
pam.wight@sgvn.com (pam.wight@sgvn.com)
(562) 698-0955, Ext. 3029
sal;