Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Day (INFOGRAPHIC)

Today, June 27, is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Day, focusing attention on the 11 to 20 percent of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans as well as the many others who suffer from PTSD.

"Some have lost limbs on the battlefield and others still battle the demons that have followed them home," President Barack Obama said last week in a reference to PTSD. Local veterans in DC and throughout the country are coming together to raise awareness.

Learn all about PTSD with the infographic below. Read more about it here and 10 ways you can help here.

Brought to you by: Masters in Social Work | MSW@USC

Comments

[Vajara]

11:22 AM on 06/29/2011

Post Traumatic Stress, Anxiety and Depression is identified as a mental health disorder by the mental-behavioral health industry; however, it is a whole body, mind, spirit, emotion, and social injury of great proportion. The MH system as failed considerably by falsly identifying it as a disorder rather than as an Injury that affects every system in the body-mind-spirt. Thus, it is best treated with integrative health practices such as massage, meditation, Reiki, acupuncture, acupressure, therapeutic arts & outings, indiv. & group therapies, and applying these methods for the whole family...what affects one system and one member of the family affects everyone.

Do visit the Ft. Bliss R & R Center and our website to observe how our community is dealing with catastrophic injury and this epidemic that is affecting almost every returning vet and community in our country. Please wake up America and don't only count on the VA or the Mental Health Industry to respond effectively with labels, diagnosis, drugs and conventional medicine. Every injured warrior and their family require comprehensive, intensive and extensive holistic health practices to heal and to restore health and wellbeing. And, make sure our warrior and families are connected to "Meaningful Work" when they return to our society. "When will we ever Learn....?"
http://jerryvest.pages.qpg.com

[Pema]

04:26 PM on 06/29/2011

i really appreciated your post. terming it as an injury makes so much more sense, and employing holistic methods are found to be helpful. 1 in 4 women have been molested as a child, 1 in 7 boys are ptsd is rampant in this country. ill check your link out.

[Vajara]

05:07 PM on 06/29/2011

Thank you, Pema. Everyone should also read the article published in the NY Times Book Reviews related to the drugging of America...children, youth and families. Placebos are reported as just as useful and the side effects of these psychotropic meds are now showing the loss of brain matter in the Frontal Lobe during the long term research--much as psychiatry did lobotomies, just a few years ago. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/jun/23/epidemic-mental-illness-why/?page=3

[Stacey Jones]

04:30 AM on 06/29/2011

My dad suffers from PSTD he was in Viet Nam. PSTD is a terrible disorder. It's horrible. One of the worst mental illnesses and it causes so much pain. I'm very empathic to people who struggle with this disorder. Especially our military men and woman who don't get the proper are they need.

[Vajara]

04:08 PM on 06/30/2011

Yes, our Viet Nam vets were not provided health support services when returning from the War....I would have thought that the VA would have learned that diagnosing, labeling and drugging is not health care, but sick care. Psychoactive drugs have numerous side effects and being labeled as a disease or disorder isn't encouraging for the psyche...often feelings of hopelessness and despair follow....and, who wishes to live their life this way. Suicides have increased enormously these past ten years and many can be attributed to the lack of integrative health methods employed that work naturally to heal the nervious system, body, mind and spirit by slowing down, relaxing and learning to become mindful and aware. It is especially helpful to learn meditation, receive a massage regularly, along with some great pain relief with Acupuncture and Reiki Therapies.

In our Alliance, we have numerous holistic & integrative health practitioners in all of our communities who are eager to serve and assist with these catastrophic injuries identified as PTSD. Our recommendation is to develop a daily self care plan and receive these health practices along with others intensively and extensively for restoration and resilience.

[Danielle Le Roy]

08:34 PM on 06/27/2011

Wow. Thanks for posting the symptoms. It helped me realize that my dad is still suffering from PTSD from being imprisoned and beaten for speaking against Duvalier in Haiti.

[Pema]

04:27 PM on 06/29/2011

my best wishes for your father. i hope he can write about those experiences someday so we can help people see what suffering the hatian people went thru.