5 ms·

We hear a lot about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the point of view of the soldiers but I feel we're not seeing the full picture nor hearing the full stor

We hear a lot about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the point of view of the soldiers but I feel we're not seeing the full picture nor hearing the full story. What about soldiers, and civilians, and even the opposition? Is there any research or information for the following: - Do men or women suffer more from PTSD? - Which ages suffer from PTSD? - Which groups are more likely to have PTSD: the soldiers (us), the civilians (them), or the opposition (them)? - Do people in 3rd world countries suffer from PTSD less than those in 1st world countries or the other way around? - Do civilians suffer from PTSD more when they are invaded by soldiers of a different racial/ethnic/religious group than their own, or when invaded by soldiers from the same racial/ethnic/religious group as their own?

danso 10y ago
We're not hearing the full story because the data collection for such research is inherently costly and problematic. As evidenced by the OP, we don't even have a full picture of PTSD among our own troops, nor even the VA resources to take care of the diagnosed veterans. On the opposing side, we don't even have an accurate accounting for those actually killed, nevermind the mental state of those who have survived.
- ryanmarsh 10y ago
  There's a good book comprising all of the gov't data on how veterans faired after WWII. They did collect a lot of data and I found their insights surprising and relevant to me. I apologize I cannot remember the books title. I happened across it in a library I can't visit anymore.
  - omegant 10y ago
    "On killing"?
    - ryanmarsh 10y ago
      No it had a much more formal sounding title and was published by the VA or DOD. It was mostly data tables and charts.
bootload 10y ago
as @clumsysmurf suggested, read "Tribe", watch "Last Patrol" [0] or "How PTSD Became A Problem Far Beyond The Battlefield".[1] Junger's contentious theory: PTSD is partially a side-effect of not belonging. [2] [0] https://warisboring.com/the-last-patrol-is-a-haunting-eulogy-for-restrepo-4b03f0af74fb https://warisboring.com/the-last-patrol-is-a-haunting-eulogy... [1] http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/05/ptsd-war-home-sebastian-junger http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/05/ptsd-war-home-sebasti... [2] Junger views this through the lens of an anthropologist, lived war as a journalist until his friend Tim Heatherington was killed in Misrata, Libya ~ http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2011/04/sebastian-junger-remembers-tim-hetherington-201104 http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2011/04/sebastian-junger-...
spangry 10y ago
Your feeling is probably correct. The NY Times ran an interesting piece in June covering research indicating that some cases of PTSD might actually be the manifestation of traumatic physical brain injury: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magazine/what-if-ptsd-is-more-physical-than-psychological.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magazine/what-if-ptsd-is-m... Obviously this is an area that warrants careful study, and not jumping to conclusions. I don't doubt that many, perhaps most, cases of returned soldier dysfunction (sorry for the clumsy phrase) are the psychological after-effects of being exposed to the horrors of war. But this new research means we also shouldn't immediately rule out physical damage to the brain as a possible cause. Incidentally this research brings us full-circle, back to some of the theories during WWI about 'shell-shocked' soldiers.

danso 10y ago

We're not hearing the full story because the data collection for such research is inherently costly and problematic. As evidenced by the OP, we don't even have a full picture of PTSD among our own troops, nor even the VA resources to take care of the diagnosed veterans. On the opposing side, we don't even have an accurate accounting for those actually killed, nevermind the mental state of those who have survived.

ryanmarsh 10y ago
There's a good book comprising all of the gov't data on how veterans faired after WWII. They did collect a lot of data and I found their insights surprising and relevant to me. I apologize I cannot remember the books title. I happened across it in a library I can't visit anymore.
- omegant 10y ago
  "On killing"?
  - ryanmarsh 10y ago
    No it had a much more formal sounding title and was published by the VA or DOD. It was mostly data tables and charts.

bootload 10y ago

as @clumsysmurf suggested, read "Tribe", watch "Last Patrol" [0] or "How PTSD Became A Problem Far Beyond The Battlefield".[1] Junger's contentious theory: PTSD is partially a side-effect of not belonging. [2] [0] https://warisboring.com/the-last-patrol-is-a-haunting-eulogy-for-restrepo-4b03f0af74fb https://warisboring.com/the-last-patrol-is-a-haunting-eulogy... [1] http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/05/ptsd-war-home-sebastian-junger http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/05/ptsd-war-home-sebasti... [2] Junger views this through the lens of an anthropologist, lived war as a journalist until his friend Tim Heatherington was killed in Misrata, Libya ~ http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2011/04/sebastian-junger-remembers-tim-hetherington-201104 http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2011/04/sebastian-junger-...

spangry 10y ago

Your feeling is probably correct. The NY Times ran an interesting piece in June covering research indicating that some cases of PTSD might actually be the manifestation of traumatic physical brain injury: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magazine/what-if-ptsd-is-more-physical-than-psychological.html http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magazine/what-if-ptsd-is-m... Obviously this is an area that warrants careful study, and not jumping to conclusions. I don't doubt that many, perhaps most, cases of returned soldier dysfunction (sorry for the clumsy phrase) are the psychological after-effects of being exposed to the horrors of war. But this new research means we also shouldn't immediately rule out physical damage to the brain as a possible cause. Incidentally this research brings us full-circle, back to some of the theories during WWI about 'shell-shocked' soldiers.