POSTWAR TRAUMA: THE NEXT WAVE

April 23rd, 2009

Though Vietnam, the war most commonly associated with today’s cases of PTSD, was more than 20 years ago, that doesn’t mean that you should expect that all these wounds are healed. “You can learn to live with PTSD, but it never fully goes away,” says Mendel. In fact, when researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center surveyed World War II prisoners of war and concentration camp survivors a few years back, they found that about one-third of them still suffered from nightmares and depression more than 45 years later.

What may be more disturbing is that many veterans who seemed to have escaped the worst of PTSD from the Vietnam War are just now beginning to surface with symptoms two decades later. “Many of these men and women came back from the war and completely immersed themselves in their careers, working until they were exhausted every day to numb the pain,” says Weber. “But now that they’re hitting their fifties, they can’t work like they used to and they’re losing this coping mechanism. I’m seeing lawyers, physicians, and people from all walks of life who have been extremely functional who are just now breaking down.”

Since PTSD increases your risk for suicide, it’s important that you seek treatment as soon as you notice symptoms, says Weber. “We can’t cure it, but we can make it much easier to live with.” Here’s what you should know.

Watch the triggers. If you’re diving for cover at the sound of a helicopter, that’s an obvious sign of PTSD. But some of the things that trigger the onset of the disorder are more subtle, says Mendel. “The losses you experience as you age can bring back all your old unresolved feelings of emotional trauma and trigger PTSD symptoms in the present.”

Know your strengths. “Don’t for a minute think that you’re less of a man if you’re having trouble dealing with your trauma,” says Weber. “PTSD isn’t a weakness; it’s a mental condition with physical components. And you owe it to yourself to get help for it.”

Walk the wall. A visit to the Vietnam Memorial wall can help, says Weber. “You can go and reconnect with your feelings. You can allow yourself to feel. That’s very important for men who have been disconnected from them for so long.”

Take yourself in context. “Don’t make the mistake of judging what you did in combat by current values,” says Weber. “Re-frame your actions in the realm of combat. What you did in the context of that situation was okay. You were doing your job.”

Find an open ear. You may have felt that you couldn’t talk to the people close to you because what you had seen or done seemed too horrible, says Mendel, but there is something very cathartic in finding someone who will listen. “It’s best to find someone trained in veteran counseling for that kind of discussion,” she notes, “since not just any counselor is prepared to deal with hearing the horrors of combat.”

Admit addictions. “Substance abuse and trauma go hand in hand,” says Mendel, “If you’re using alcohol or drugs to drown your pain, a group like Alcoholics Anonymous can help. But you’ll likely also need counseling to deal with the trauma you’ve been suppressing. The route of relapse in substance abuse is often a trigger of unresolved trauma. This is why counseling on the traumatic events is necessary to avoid relapse.”

Hang on. Right now, most therapists use a combination of medications to ease the symptoms of PTSD, says Weber. “But new drugs specific for the condition are being developed as we speak. We should have much better medications in the next few years.”