PTSD Support
The DAV was the first organization to fight for PTSD recognition in the United States. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an epidemic in the American veteran community. This psychiatric disorder impacts up to 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans, 12% of Gulf War veterans, and 15% of Vietnam War veterans. At the DAV of Maryland, we’ve implemented a support program to help veterans dealing with PTSD. The success of this program developed by Chapter #26 in Lexington Park, Maryland is the first program of its kind in the nation and fosters camaraderie and friendship among participants. In lieu of sharing war stories, this program focuses on developing strategies for functioning under daily stress and emphasizes the importance of comradeship. The program is so successful that it is used by the Department of Veterans Affairs to help affected veterans in their healing process.
If you, or a loved one suffers from PTSD, please reach out to our team for support! Symptoms of PTSD include, but are not limited to the following:
- Flashbacks to traumatic event
- Persistent negative emotions
- Hypervigilance
- Hyperarousal
- Difficulty remembering key elements of the traumatic event
Post-traumatic stress disorder impacts 11-20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans, approximately 12 percent of Gulf War veterans, and 15 percent of Vietnam veterans. In addition to the combat-related PTSD, roughly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 100 men utilizing the VA report instances of sexual assault, which can also result in prolonged traumatic stress.
How do you know if you or a loved one suffer from PTSD?
Symptoms
- Reliving the event – Awake or asleep, a trigger can cause painful memories to surface and make the sufferer feel as though they are experiencing the event all over again.
- Avoidance – Veterans will often avoid situations that remind them of the event. For example, some veterans avoid crowded places or loud, overstimulating situations. Some veterans will even avoid talking about the incident that effects them.
- Persistent negative emotions – Veterans experience PTSD can be overwhelmed by negative feelings. A veteran may also feel difficulty establishing trust, experience feelings of guilt, shame, remorse, disinterest in previously enjoyable activities, or genuinely find it hard to feel happy.
- Hypervigilance or hyperarousal – Veterans experiencing hyperarousal will feel constantly on alert and often uneasy in unfamiliar situations. For instance, they may prefer to find a seat facing the door in a restaurant, watch for dangerous people or objects in normal everyday situations, or feel the need to be near a point of egress. This can be distracting and make it difficult to focus or enjoy simple experiences, like dinner with family. Veterans with PTSD may also find it difficult to sleep or relax, be prone to anger or irritability, startle easily, act recklessly or abuse drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism.
Resources Available for a Veteran Struggling with PTSD
National Center for PTSD National Institute of Mental Health