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Going through trauma is not rare. About 60% of men and 50% of women experience at least one trauma in their lives. Women are more likely to experience sexual assault and child sexual abuse. Men are more likely to experience accidents, physical assault, combat, disaster, or to witness death or injury.

Going through a trauma doesn’t mean you’ll get PTSD, though. Although over half of us go through some type of trauma, a much smaller percent develop PTSD.

Here are some facts (based on the U.S.):

• About 7-8% of the population will have PTSD at some point in their lives.
• About 5.2 million adults have PTSD during a given year. This is only a small portion of those who have gone through a trauma.
• Women are more likely than men to develop PTSD. About 10% of women develop PTSD sometime in their lives compared with 5% of men.

Who is most likely to develop PTSD?

Although most people who go through trauma will not get PTSD, you are more likely to develop PTSD if you:

• Were directly exposed to the trauma as a victim or a witness
• Were seriously hurt during the event
• Went through a trauma that was long-lasting or very severe
• Believed that you were in danger
• Believed that a family member was in danger
• Had a severe reaction during the event, such as crying, shaking, vomiting, or feeling apart from your surroundings
• Felt helpless during the trauma and were not able to help yourself or a loved one.

You are also more likely to develop PTSD if you:

• Had an earlier life-threatening event or trauma, such as being abused as a child
• Have another mental health problem
• Have family members who have had mental health problems
• Have little support from family and friends
• Have recently lost a loved one, especially if it was not expected
• Have had recent, stressful life changes
• Drink a lot of alcohol
• Are a woman
• Are poorly educated
• Are younger

Some groups of people, including blacks and Hispanics, may be more likely than whites to develop PTSD. This may be because these groups are more likely to go through a trauma. For example, in Veterans who survived Vietnam, a larger percent of blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans were in combat than whites.

Your culture or ethnic group also may affect how you react to trauma. For example, people from groups that are open and willing to talk about problems may be more willing to seek help.

PTSD and the Military

If you are in the military, you may have seen combat. You may have been on missions that exposed you to horrible and life-threatening experiences. You may have been shot at, seen a buddy shot, or seen death. These are types of events that can lead to PTSD.

Experts think PTSD occurs:

• In about 11-20% of Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom), or in 11-20 Veterans out of 100.
• In as many as 10% of Gulf War (Desert Storm) Veterans, or in 10 Veterans out of 100.
• In about 30% of Vietnam Veterans, or about 30 out of 100 Vietnam Veterans.

Other factors in a combat situation can add more stress to an already stressful situation. This may contribute to PTSD and other mental health problems. These factors include what you do in the war, the politics around the war, where it’s fought, and the type of enemy you face.

Another cause of PTSD in the military can be military sexual trauma (MST). This is any sexual harassment or sexual assault that occurs while you are in the military. MST can happen to both men and women and can occur during peacetime, training, or war.

Among Veterans using VA health care, about:

• 23 out of 100 women (23%) reported sexual assault when in the military.
• 55 out of 100 women (55%) and 38 out of 100 men (38%) have experienced sexual harassment when in the military.

Even though military sexual trauma is far more common in women Veterans, over half of all Veterans with military sexual trauma are men. This is because there are many more male Veterans than there are females.

Sources

Kessler, R.C., Sonnega, A., Bromet, E. Hughes, M., & Nelson, C.B. (1995). Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 52(12), 1048-1060.

Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., & Walters, E. E. (2005a). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 593-602.

Kulka, R.A., Schlenger, W.E., Fairbank, J.A. Hough, R.L., Jordan, B.K., Marmar, C.R., & Weiss, D.S. (1990). Trauma and the Vietnam War Generation: Report of Findings from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Tanielian, T. & Jaycox, L. (Eds.)(2008). Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.”

All of this information above was quoted from its original source at http://www.ptsd.va.gov//public/pages/how-common-is-ptsd.asp.

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The VA’s website explains what can cause PTSD, discusses many symptoms of PTSD, and also explains:

People with PTSD may also have other problems. These include:

• Feelings of hopelessness, shame, or despair
• Depression or anxiety
• Drinking or drug problems
• Physical symptoms or chronic pain
• Employment problems
• Relationship problems, including divorce

In many cases, treatments for PTSD will also help these other problems, because they are often related. The coping skills you learn in treatment can work for PTSD and these related problems.

The site goes on to list “two main types of treatment, psychotherapy (sometimes called counseling) and medication. Sometimes people combine psychotherapy and medication.

Psychotherapy for PTSD

Psychotherapy, or counseling, involves meeting with a therapist. There are different types of psychotherapy:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most effective treatment for PTSD. There are different types of CBT. such as cognitive therapy and exposure therapy.
  • One type is Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) where you learn skills to understand how trauma changed your thoughts and feelings.
  • Another type is Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy where you talk about your trauma repeatedly until memories are no longer upsetting. You also go to places that are safe, but that you have been staying away from because they are related to the trauma.
• A similar kind of therapy is called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). This therapy involves focusing on sounds or hand movements while you talk about the trauma.

Medications for PTSD

Medications can be effective too. A type of drug known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), which is also used for depression, is effective for PTSD. Another medication called Prazosin has been found to be helpful in decreasing nightmares related to the trauma.”

All quoted material from original source page:  http://www.ptsd.va.gov//public/pages/what-is-ptsd.asp

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PTSD develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who develops PTSD may have been the one who was harmed, the harm may have happened to a loved one, or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones or strangers.

NIMH explains that PTSD affects 7.7 million people.  Their site describes the Signs and Symptoms of PTSD as follows:

“1. Re-experiencing symptoms

• Flashbacks—reliving the trauma over and over, including physical symptoms like a racing heart or sweating
• Bad dreams
• Frightening thoughts.

Re-experiencing symptoms may cause problems in a person’s everyday routine. They can start from the person’s own thoughts and feelings. Words, objects, or situations that are reminders of the event can also trigger re-experiencing.

2. Avoidance symptoms

• Staying away from places, events, or objects that are reminders of the experience
• Feeling emotionally numb
• Feeling strong guilt, depression, or worry
• Losing interest in activities that were enjoyable in the past
• Having trouble remembering the dangerous event.

Things that remind a person of the traumatic event can trigger avoidance symptoms. These symptoms may cause a person to change his or her personal routine. For example, after a bad car accident, a person who usually drives may avoid driving or riding in a car.

3. Hyperarousal symptoms

• Being easily startled
• Feeling tense or “on edge”
• Having difficulty sleeping, and/or having angry outbursts.

Hyperarousal symptoms are usually constant, instead of being triggered by things that remind one of the traumatic event. They can make the person feel stressed and angry. These symptoms may make it hard to do daily tasks, such as sleeping, eating, or concentrating.

It’s natural to have some of these symptoms after a dangerous event. Sometimes people have very serious symptoms that go away after a few weeks. This is called acute stress disorder, or ASD. When the symptoms last more than a few weeks and become an ongoing problem, they might be PTSD. Some people with PTSD don’t show any symptoms for weeks or months.”

Quoted material drawn from original source – NIMH website:  http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml

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Veteran Crisis Line: Veterans in emotional crisis have free, 24/7 access to trained counselors. Veterans can call the Lifeline number, 1-800-273- TALK (8255), and press “1” to be routed to the veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline.

Veterancrisisline.net

VA Website – PTSD Awareness Month

Raise PTSD Awareness – Huffington Post

How Common is PTSD – VA

PTSD Awareness – National Military Family Assc.

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“Effective Dates

When VA makes a determination that a compensation award is to be paid based on a claim, an effective date is also assigned. The effective date determines when benefits are payable. Effective dates can vary based on the type of benefit and the circumstances of the claim.

How Effective Dates are Assigned

Listed below are the most common types of claims and generally how effective dates are assigned for each type.

Direct Service-Connection

Generally, an effective date for service-connection for a disability that is directly linked to an injury or disease that was incurred or aggravated by military service is the date VA receives a claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. The date entitlement arose means the date the condition was shown to exist by medical evidence.

There is an exception in cases where the claim is filed within one year of separation from active military service. For these claims, the effective date will be the day following separation.

Presumptive Service-Connection

Generally, an effective date for service-connection for a disability that is presumed to be related to military service is the date entitlement arose if the claim is received by VA within one year of release from active duty. If the claim is received by VA after one year of release from active duty, the effective date is the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later.

Reopened Claims

Normally, the effective date for a reopened claim is the date of receipt of claim or date entitlement arose, whichever is later.”

This was copied verbatim from the VA website at:  http://www.benefits.va.gov/COMPENSATION/effective_dates.asp?expandable=0 so you could see how the VA tries to describe when benefit payments become effective.

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