ptsd
Military bases and the civilian health care system are bracing themselves for a surge in demand for mental health care resources.
Crunch expected as President-elect Barrack Obama is committed to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq within 16 months (Reuters).
According to a report from a Congressional hearing on mental health problems confronting soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, about 20% of the 1.5 million soldiers deployed to those war fronts will return from battle suffering from mental health problems. The reports projects that about 20% or 300,000 (the size of a large city) will return suffering with clinical anxiety, depression, sleeplessness or post-traumatic stress disorder. A more recent survey found that in fact half of the National Guard troops returning from battle report mental health problems.
These illnesses not only affect the returning soldiers but they have a cascading effect on the families including the approximately 700,000 children in the United States with at least one parent returning from battle. The expected hundreds of thousands of cases will overflow from the VA and the Department of Defense into and burden the civilian health care system. Bettina Rasmussen, CEO of BachFlower.com says that Bach Flower has a remedy for that.
The first wave of 15,000 returning soldiers landed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; and military health officials at the Department of Defense are bracing for the surge in mental health cases wondering if there are sufficient resources to handle it. The next large wave is expected to arrive in February. Col. Richard Thomas the Fort Campbell director of health services has roughly doubled his staff of psychologists and behavioral specialists and is searching for more.
A report by the Army's Mental Health Advisory Team released in 2007 found that 28 percent of soldiers who had been in high-intensity combat were experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, or acute stress.
It also found that the percentage of soldiers with severe stress, emotional, alcohol or family problems had risen more than 85 percent since the invasion of Iraq five years ago.
General Peter Chiarelli, vice chief of staff of the Army is monitoring how Fort Campbell handles their case load in order to develop a plan on how other bases around the nation will handle.
Not all is rosy when the soldiers come home. Soldiers are faced with adjustment to new realities, some of them quite unpleasant. Many are greeted by marital problems, financial difficulties, disintegrating relationships, and many consequential symptoms such as sleeplessness, irritability and hopelessness.
According to Fort Campbell military health officials, more than 3,000 of the initial 15,000 troops returning home will experience headaches, sleep disorders, irritability, memory loss, relationship strains or other symptoms linked to stress disorder.
The officials say that about 85 percent of those soldiers with stress disorder symptoms will recover with the help of some treatment or medication. But the other 15 percent will require more intensive help.
According to an Army study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in July of 2007, one in 8 soldiers returning from war suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Symptoms of PTSD include having flashbacks, nightmares, feeling detached or irritable or having trouble concentrating or sleeping.
Veterans suffering from stress are finding their own solution, suicide. Over 120 vets are committing suicide every week, a rate double the general population.
Meanwhile on the war zone, over 2000 active soldiers have taken their own life this year a number that has been increasing steadily; the highest in 25 years. The number in 2002 was 500. In an article published in the U.S. Army.mil News it states that in the early part of 2007 suicide was the third largest cause of death of active soldiers accounting for almost 30%. One age group among active soldiers stands out, the 20 to 24 year olds; their rate of suicide is four times that of the general population. In those cases reported in 2007 about 70% of suicides were related to relationship problems back home. In today’s military 2/3 of the soldiers are married.
Coming home involves letting go of the battlefield adaptation and reintegration to civilian life. Couples and families must reset their expectations and renegotiate their roles. Open communications is very important at this stage. Returning soldiers decompressing from combat stress are often irritable, guarded and want to be alone. Attempts are claiming old roles and hierarchy of authority may result in relationship or marital arguments. The soldier and his family may be move to a new station upon returning from deployment. Back to back deployment can be stressful for the whole family. Some soldiers may turn to alcohol or drugs to numb the emotional pain they experience.
There is mounting evidence that Army is not prepared for the return of soldiers with mental health issues. A National Public Radio investigative report exposed how supervisors at Fort Carson, Colorado were punishing soldiers who returned from war with serious mental health problems. The soldiers were prevented from getting needed attention. NPR spoke with a half-dozen sergeants who expressed contempt for soldiers with PTSD. They said such soldiers were "weak," called them "s—-bags," and said they didn't belong in the Army. The story sparked a Senate investigation.
Early this year, commanders at Fort Carson responded by launching a program requiring every leader, from sergeants up to generals, to attend a training course on how to spot and help soldiers who potentially have post-traumatic stress disorder. More than 2,200 leaders have taken the course so far. To see the impact the PTSD training had had, NPR made a follow up visit to Fort Carson’s base commander Gen. Robert Mixon. Gen. Mixon stated that he would take disciplinary action against leaders who fail to follow the training guidelines. News any disciplinary actions were denied by Gen. Mixon’s right hand man, Command Sgt. Maj. Terrance McWilliams. McWilliams insisted that he will punish soldiers who misbehave with PTSD symptoms even if the Army doctors have diagnosed the soldiers with PTSD disorder. PTSD remains controversial at Fort Carson and perhaps is simply indicative of what our returning soldiers can expect.
The United States Department of Veteran Affairs has setup the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorders. Soldiers and their families are advice to check their website as well as websites from a number of other government and civilian organization dedicated to giving our veterans the help they need.
Prolonged emotional imbalances whether they are those associated with PTSD or a range of others such as fear, panic, jealousy, separation anxiety, clinical anxiety, uncontrollable anger; and so on, depress the immune system and lead to decease or delayed healing.
It is evident that the fundamental philosophy behind keeping a standing army ready full time in full force is incompatible with recognizing that emotional and psychological imbalances can render some soldiers temporarily incapable.
Healthcare professionals, social workers and caring individuals look at the problem from a different perspective. The Bach Flower Remedies practitioners are among those who understand the impact of emotions on our health and quality of life.
Over 75 years ago, Dr. Edward Bach created a series of flower herbal remedies that have been used and recommended around the world for decades. These are known as Bach Flower Remedies. The Bach Flower Remedies treat emotional states which Dr. Bach believed, and volumes of studies supports, greatly impact on our health, healing and quality of life.
Dr Edward Bach studied medicine at the University College Hospital, London, and was a House Surgeon there. Dr. Bach was a bacteriologist and later a pathologist he worked on vaccines and a set of homoeopathic nosodes still known as the seven Bach nosodes.
Despite the success of his work with orthodox medicine he felt dissatisfied with the way doctors were expected to concentrate on diseases and ignore the people who were suffering them. He was inspired by his work with homoeopathy but wanted to find remedies that would be purer and less reliant on the products of disease. So in 1930 he gave up his lucrative Harley Street practice and left London, determined to devote the rest of his life to the new system of medicine that he was sure could be found in nature.
Dr Bach passed away peacefully on the evening of November 27th, 1936. He was only 50 years old, but he had left behind him a system of medicine that is now used all over the world.
There are 38 Bach Flower Remedies and one blend that Dr. Bach called Rescue Remedy.
There are 7 main categories of emotional imbalance in the Bach system. These are fear, uncertainty, insufficient interest, loneliness, oversensitivity to the influence and ideas of others, despondency or despair, and over-care for the welfare of others.
The PTSD syndrome touches upon some of these 7 categories to one extent to another.
A good place to start for PTSD is the Bach Flower Rescue Remedy. It contains five of remedies that reduce stress and allow us to remain calm and rational.
The five remedies in Rescue Remedy are:
· Impatiens: For those who act and think quickly, and have no patience for what they see as the slowness of others. For those who often prefer to work alone. It teaches empathy and understanding and enable us to be patient with others. It is fast-acting in alleviating an impatient attitude and lowering stress.
· Star of Bethlehem: For trauma and shock, whether experienced recently or in the past. Teaches the ability to recover from traumas and to integrate theiradaptation into the present life.
· Cherry Plum: For those who fear losing control of their thoughts and actions and doing things they know are bad for them or which they consider wrong. Teaches trust in one's spontaneous wisdom and the courage to follow one's path.
· Rock Rose: For situations in which one experiences panic or terror.
· Clematis: For those who find their lives unhappy and withdraw into fantasy worlds. They are ungrounded and indifferent to the details of everyday life. Teaches one to establish a bridge between the physical world and the world of ideas; may foster great creativity. Is also used to bring clarity and alertness to the present moment.
These combinations of Bach Flower Remedies are especially beneficial when we find ourselves in traumatic situations, such as, stress, emergencies, after getting bad news, before an exam or job interview and all other kind of situations where we suddenly lose balance mentally. The Remedies quickly get us back in our normal balance so that we calmly can deal with any situation.
Bach Flower practitioners are licensed by the Bach Centre in England and they are found in most places in the world. For a list of practitioners near you or books, information and tutorials visit
http://www.bachflower.com/
Bach Flower Remedies are an effective and low cost modality to compliment other treatments. They are all-natural, non-habit forming, have no known side effects or counter-indications in 75 years of use. The remedies, based on a homeopathy heritage, are gently and safe for children and expectant mothers. Each remedy, which come in drops, spray, cream and pastilles and run about $15 each. In the case of drops, the dosage is 4 drops in a glass of water or under the tongue so a bottle lasts a long time. The remedies take effect in as little as one hour.
The original Bach Flower Remedies have been used confidently by ordinary people in their busy lives to high-power politicians, military leaders and yes, celebrities.
Among Bach Flower Remedies most visible advocates in America are Jennifer Anniston who says it keeps her cool under pressure. Salma Hayek has been a fan and advocate for years. Kate Blanchett depends on it to relieve stress; and says she would not dream of appearing at the Oscars without Rescue Remedy. Sissy Spacek and Jane Seymour use Rescue Remedy as soon as stress from their personal and professional lives ratchet up. Rosie O'Donnell credits Rescue Remedy for keeping her calm at critical times. Golf pro Chris Tschetter, interviewed by Golf Today magazine, shared how helpful the stress formula Rescue Remedy has been to help calm her nerves before important tournaments. Roberta Flack uses Rescue Remedy's soothing effect for menopausal hot flashes.
Soldiers suffering from PTSD most often complain about not being able to sleep. The bulk of sleep disorder studies discourage dependency on sleep medications; they make matters worse. Sleeping medications, including sedative/hypnotic medications, like Ambien, are recommended for short-term use, but lots of people take them frequently and become dependent upon them to fall asleep. Sleep-inducing medications, especially when taken over long periods of time, stay in the bloodstream, giving a hangover the next day and beyond, impairing memory and performance on the job and at home. All medications interact with other medications to one degree or another, sometimes with harmful effects. Finding a natural product or modifying our patterns of behavior to get a good night sleep is a good first approach with little or no harmful consequences.
There are questions about the effectiveness of sleeping pills. A study by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School found that a change in sleep habits and attitudes was more effective in treating chronic insomnia, over the short- and long-term, than sleeping pills (specifically Ambien). Ambien is the most prescribed pharmaceutical product to induce sleep, chemically. Earlier this month, it was reported that some Ambien users are susceptible to amnesia and walking in their sleep. Some even ate in the middle of the night without realizing it.
If the soldier or family member has trouble sleeping, Rescue Remedy Sleep would be the recommended blend. It contains the same remedies as Rescue Remedy plus White Chestnut. White Chestnut is effective against restless mind.
The Bach Flower remedies can be purchased online from BachFlower.com or its retailer DirectlyFromNature.com. BachFlower.com carries the world’s largest selection of Bach Flower books, information, charts, tutorials and a world directory of Bach Flower practitioners.
BachFlower.com – Telephone 800 214 2850 –
info@BachFlower.com
Tags: Rescue Remedy, Soldier, Soldiers, Fort Campbell, Fort Carson, PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, military base, deployment, redeployment, returning soldier, military bases, suicide, combat fatigue, emotional stress, Iraq, afghanistan, Army Mental Health, Veteran Administration, Mental Health, Acute Stress, military health officials, returning troops, war zone, base commander, marital problems, fear, Veteran Affairs, Health care professionals, social workers, sleeplessness, Bach Flower Remedies
