1. POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER 1
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Maurice Stover
HCS 310
December 5, 2014

2. POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER 2
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Introduction
Post-traumatic stress disorder has been called many things and has been around
since man first fought wars. It has been called war neurosis and shell shock. Shell shock
refers to the constant shelling sustained during trench warfare the soldiers were under in
World War I. The signs and symptoms are described as uncontrolled shaking, loss of
appetite, inability to focus and nightmares.
With the onset of World War II it was clear that one did not have to be morally or
emotionally weak to sustain injury. In fact in most cases physical harm was not present.
According to the National Center for PTSD this perpetuated Army psychiatrics to adopt
the name combat exhaustion and battle fatigue in place of combat neurosis (Bastien, 2010).
The severity of PTSD depends on how intense the trauma was and how long it
lasted, if you lost someone, or were hurt yourself. PTSD is terrifying it can disrupt your
life making it hard to carry out your normal daily activities. Symptoms don’t always
manifest at the beginning. It could take days, weeks, months, or years for the traumatic
symptoms to appear National Center for PTSD (2014).
Analysis
Currently the best approach for treating PTSD is Cognitive Processing Therapy.
Part of this procedure includes allowing you to get mad, frustrated, and scared. The
Department Of Veterans Affairs calls this the hot and cold thought method of treatment.
This treatment method is nothing more than attempting to take the emotional feelings out

3. POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER 3
of those experiences must traumatic. Since cognitive process therapy is one of the most
popular and effective treatments around for treating anxiety disorders, cognitive-
processing therapy, can be expensive, sometimes costing $100 or more per hour Anxiety
Depression Association of America. (2014).
Currently the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget proposal includes a strong
focus on mental health by investing in helping care givers recognize the signs of mental
illness. This Budget also seeks to train 5,000 additional mental health professionals with
an emphasis on helping those suffering from mental illness Mental Health. (2014). The
current budget has allocated $1 trillion dollars for all mental health issues, the senate was
hard pressed to allow such high expenditure however mental health is a concern that
needs consistent finical support National Council for Behavioral Health (2014).
Ultimately with the Affordable Health Care Act being passed patients will now have a
say in their health care.
References

4. POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER 4
Anxiety Depression Association of America. (2014). Low-Cost Treatment. Retrieved
from http://www.adaa.org
Bastien, D. (2010). Pharmacological treatment of combat-induced PTSD: a literature re-
view. British Journal Of Nursing (BJN), 19(5), 318-321.
Mental Health. (2014). The Affordable Care Act and Expanding Mental Health
Coverage. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealth.gov
National Council for Behavioral Health. (2014). House Passes 2014 Budget Deal;
Includes Funding Bump for Mental Health. Retrieved from
http://www.thenationalcouncil.org
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2014). National Center for PTSD. Retrieved from
http://www.ptsd.va.gov