a new low, now they are saying to STOP DIAGNOSING PTSD

[LSK]

A recent RAND Corporation study reported that one in five returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan experiences post traumatic stress disorder or major depression. Sufferers of PTSD characteristically have "lived through a traumatic event that caused them to fear for their lives, see horrible things, and feel helpless." PTSD patients are often suicidal, and a misdiagnosis can prevent appropriate care.

On March 20, Norma Perez, team leader and psychologist at the Temple, Texas, Olin E. Teague Veterans' Center, sent an e-mail (below) to medical workers asking them to "refrain" from diagnosing veterans with PTSD. The facility PTSD program coordinator wrote that, due to the increase in "compensation-seeking veterans," social workers and psychologists should consider ruling out PTSD and instead render a diagnosis of the less-serious "adjustment disorder." Perez warned colleagues that "there have been some incidence " where veterans receiving non-PTSD-level compensation and pension appeal their cases "based on our assessment." (According to the Veterans Benefit Administration, PTSD "qualifies as a disability" entitling a veteran to an "improved pension.")

Perez's "suggestion" was offered partly because "we really don't … have time to do the extensive testing that should be done" in order to diagnose PTSD. After her e-mail was forwarded to VoteVets.org and released last week, Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake announced the e-mail was "inappropriate" and declared it "repudiated." Perez, meantime, has been "counseled and is extremely apologetic."

http://www.slate.com/id/2191688/

[Happyhippychick]

1. Obama has gotten involved with this and he is furious at this travesty

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/16/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4103492.shtml

[blondeatlast]

2. "Perez, meantime, has been "counseled and is extremely apologetic.""

Okay, Dr. Perez, how 'bout a a face-toface apology for all the veterans in tortured mental anguish, or do you "not have the time..."?

:mad::mad::mad:

[ColbertWatcher]

4. The shame Perez feels at being caught...

...has caused her great distress, preventing her from returning to her job.

Dr. Perez is now on disability and receiving full benefits.

:sarcasm:

[countryjake]

5. I had the same damn thought...

when I caught the word "counseled" in the article!

[ColbertWatcher]

8. Poor thing, I hope she doesn't have to give up golf. n/t

[countryjake]

3. Key words in that email..."compensation-seeking veterans"

They are not only denying the disability classification to who-knows how many vets, but also denying the adequate pensions that such a disability requires.

Tell me again, how is it that this administration "supports the troops"? Figures that this gal is based in Texas!

Kick and Recommend!

[pacalo]

10. Bingo. How dare they use this begrudging term when they were sent to Iraq needlessly?!

[defendandprotect]

6. Simply another way of avoiding acknowledgment of the total destruction of our

military and the health and lives of our soldiers --- and avoiding accountability for it !!!

[bdamomma]

7. just shows you how this government just does not give a shit

about anyone except themselves, I feel as though we are living in a pressure cooker, which is going to blow soon.

[undergroundpanther]

13. Yep

I have PSTD and I don't think there IS a cure for it,
treatment is long term.It just makes you able to manage life sorta.

The people with power abuse power,and by proxy abuse people.
Ironic, psychopaths can't get PSTD, they don't feel anxiety,fear or remorse.So when a psychopath runs the government, they can deny everything,and tell PSTD sufferers to get over it,because they will never feel the kinds of psychiatric wounds that drive people over the edge.
http://www.unknownnews.org/080511a-Panther.html


Don't Blame the Victim

Instead of questioning motives of veterans who have been forced to endure wars, the vast majority of which are grotesquely illegal upon honest examination, it would behoove psychiatrist Satel and others who think similarly, to condemn the criminality of the political leaders who continually conspire, plan, prepare, initiate, and wage wars of aggression in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances, and the Constitution itself. Blaming the victim, rather than the intellectual and political architects of this supreme international crime, practices the ad nauseum trick of "shadow" projection of fault onto others, perpetuating cultural denial and avoidance of accountability.

http://www.brianwillson.com/awolptsd.html

[KamaAina]

9. Way to support the troops, douchebags

And where's your damn flag pin? :grr: :banghead:

[blondeatlast]

11. Kick. nt

[undergroundpanther]

12. PSTD

forces the public and government to admit two things..
On top of the horrors that war IS..that it can shatter a soul,
There's another side within each soldier,a truth perhaps ,there is a knowledge that the Iraq war is not just,they know deep down somewhere inside that they are killing innocents.This can cause PSTD too.

The government knows ..that this is not personal vengeance on the soldiers part.. it is the work of corrupted greedy people who will never face such horror or be commanded to do such acts issuing impersonal commands and demands to follow orders sent by an impersonal authority chain of command that is fragmented a lie of authority which cannot absolve the soldier of personal responsibility for what they have done.The authority convinces the soldier it can excuse them so they will kill on command but yet after the soldier has time to reflect on what they did they feel like they have been lied to like they are monsters,yet the government denies it is causing the wars that are permitting the crimes they seek to have others commit..And the government denies that they are causing the PSTD by playing head games with the soldiers.
http://www.bigcynic.com/2008/05/tribal-warriors.html

http://www.unknownnews.org/080511a-Panther.html
and that PSTD is caused by being forced into a situation where they "lived through a traumatic event that caused them to fear for their lives, see horrible things, and feel helpless."
http://www.brianwillson.com/awolptsd.html
PSTD changes you forever. It marks you
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&xml=/earth/2008/05/07/sciabuse107.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox


PSTD takes away the notion the world can ever be just,safe or good again.People who are not traumatized sometimes hate having to listen to other people's pain so they demand us to "get over it".And once you run into someone who doesn't want to sully their makes sense to them world with scary truths that defy sanity, firsthand you learn the world hates the bleeding souls of the walking wounded ones.
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v3n2/justworld.html

[undergroundpanther]

14. Extensive testing?

PSTD has some very distinct characteristics..Because it is a psychiatric injury.


...serious stress reaction disorder that, not only will not go away on its own, but may even get worse over time. What are the main characteristics of this disorder? Well,

PTSD is marked by clear biological changes as well as psychological symptoms.

Not only that, several researches done in the past have came to the conclusion that PTSD frequently occurs with related disorders such as depression, substance abuse, problems of memory and cognition, and other problems of physical and mental health

Symptoms of this disorder could be divided into two groups: the primary symptoms and additional symptoms that may but not necessarily accompany this syndrome!
The primary symptoms of PTSD are:
Intrusion

* Recurring and disturbing memories of the event,
* Distressing dreams of the event,
* Feeling of re-experiencing the event itself, such as illusions, hallucinations,
* An intense fear during exposure to events that could resemble the past traumatic event

Avoidance
This is very common mechanism in which, the individual attempts to avoid situations which are associated with the trauma
Hyperarousal – This happens when the individual has problems with feelings of increased arousal or vigilance that were not present before the trauma:

* Difficulty with sleep
* Intense irritability and angry outbursts
* Difficulty with concentration
* Hyper-vigilance
* An over-exaggerated startle response when surprised
* Signs of increased panic and stress response, such as rapid breathing, higher heart rate, sweating etc…

Flashbacks
Person is imagining the most terrifying moments that caused this disorder in first place.
Person simply can’t make these images go away. These are the flashbacks so commonly associated with PTSD and usually are thought of in connection with combat veterans in war.

Other symptoms that could occur months or even years after the original trauma and may include the following:

* amnesia, forgetfulness, inability to concentrate
* panic attacks
* obsession - the experience takes over your life
* feelings of nervousness and anxiety and fear
* depression and avoidance behavior
* excessive shame, embarrassment or guilt
* emotional numbness or detachment
* Lack of motivation
* Poor concentration

Several researches done in the past have proven that children with PTSD may also show the following symptoms:

* losing interest in activities
* having physical symptoms such as headaches and stomachaches
* showing more sudden and extreme emotional reactions
* having problems falling or staying asleep
* acting younger than their age
* showing increased alertness to the environment

http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/Post_Traumatic_Stress_Disorder_a352_f0.html
Traumatic memories have two distinctive characteristics:

1) they can be triggered by stimuli that remind the patient of the traumatic event.

2) they have a "frozen" or wordless quality, consisting of images and sensations rather than verbal descriptions.

How bad is it?
http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/68713

PSTD isn't like other mental illnesses, it is caused by an external situation, like being raped,child abuse,being in a life threatening war or forced helplessness .This is because PSTD is not an"illness" it is a psychiatric injury.