16. Road to Recovery
As with all anxiety related disorders outlined in
this presentation, it is the combination of therapy,
medication and time that helps heal the broken
parts of our emotional state and help us lead more
productive, happy lives.
17. References
• ADAA. (n.d.). Retrieved 07 2015, from ADAA - Anxiety and Depression Association of America:
http://www.adaa.org/resources-professionals/practice-guidelines-gad
• Anxiety - Define Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Retrieved 07 2015, from Dictionary.com:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anxiety?s=t
• Anxiety Disorders: Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention. (n.d.). Retrieved 07 2015, from Web
M.D.: http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/mental-health-anxiety-disorders#3
• Cultural Aspects in Social Anxiety and Social Anxiety Disorder. (n.d.). Retrieved 07 015, from PMC - U.S. National Library
of Medicine National Intitutes of Health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3075954/
• Hoffman, S. &. (2010, December). Cultural Aspects in Social Anxiety and Social Anxiety Disorder. Retrieved 07 2015, from
PMC U.S. National Library of Medicine - National institutes of Health:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3075954/
• Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Dissociative Disorders - Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 07 2015, from Mayo Clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dissociative-disorders/basics/definition/con-20031012
• Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Dissociative Disorders Causes - Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 07 2015, from Mayo Clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dissociative-disorders/basics/causes/con-20031012
• Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Dissociative Disorders Risk Factors - Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 07 2015, from Mayo Clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dissociative-disorders/basics/risk-factors/con-20031012
• Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Dissociative Disorders Symptoms - Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 07 2015, from Mayo Clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dissociative-disorders/basics/symptoms/con-20031012
• Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Dissociative Disorders Treatments and Drugs - The Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 07 2015, from Mayo
Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dissociative-disorders/basics/treatment/con-20031012
• Medina, J. M. (n.d.). Panic Disorders Symptoms - Psych Central. Retrieved 07 2015, from Psych Central:
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/panic-disorder-symptoms/
• N.A. (n.d.). DSM-5 Criteria for PTSD. Retrieved 07 2015, from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/PTSD-overview/dsm5_criteria_ptsd.asp
• NIMH - Generalized Anxiety Disorder. (n.d.). Retrieved 07 2015, from NIMH:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad/index.shtml
Editor's Notes
Greetings to you, the wives of the soldiers at West Point Academy. The purpose of today’s meeting is to enlighten you to conditions which may affect your soldier husband when he returns home from service.
As we go through the post combat mental conditions that can be present following active combat, it is important to remember that you, too, should seek the advice of a professional for yourself or your family if you find that these conditions exist in your homes.
Because your husbands are considered the “Elite” of the military service, you may find that getting them to admit the problem is a bigger problem than you were prepared for. Your partners are being trained to be men among men, the best of the best. Sometimes this conditioning can result in soldiers refusing to see that there is a problem at all or considering themselves weak for seeking the help necessary.
You, the military wives, are a strong bunch of women who can guide your soldier husbands to safety and happiness. Remembering that you are the glue that holds your family together, your husband’s pride may get bruised by the thought of help. They will, however, want to hang on to their families so find a way to help them through this difficult time with love and compassion.
Anxiety, as defined by Dictionary.com, is “A state of apprehension and psychic tension occurring in some forms of mental disorder”. In lay terms, it is also defined as “distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune”. We have all felt it at some time in our lives. That anxious feeling that had our nerves on edge or had our pulse racing.
Anxiety has no bias. Everyone, male and female, of varying races and backgrounds, will likely experience anxiety in their lifetime. While it is true that women are more likely to obtain this particular condition, it really has no bias. However, people with a preexisting condition or childhood trauma are more likely to develop GAD (General Anxiety Disorder) during their adult lives.
The causes of anxiety are unknown. However, there are several factors which contribute to anxiety in general. These conditions consist of things like: Financial worries, job, death, health of yourself or your family and your overall emotional state all lend themselves to GAD.
While we all worry about things in our lives, people with GAD tend to worry to a debilitating degree about the every day stresses they experience. They experience racing hearts, shortness of breath, sleep disorders, pulse racing, difficulty swallowing or vomiting. These symptoms are cohesive with a panic attack. That overwhelming feeling that our emotions are overtaking us and often compared to a heart attack, panic attacks in people with GAD are very common.
Current medication guidelines include prescribing anti-depressants and anxiety-reducing drugs to aide in the symptoms of anxiety.
Psychotherapy, which addresses the emotional response to mental illness, is also effective. It uses “talk” therapy to help the patient overcome the issue through extensive discussion about the matter.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a particular type of psychotherapy in which the person learns to recognize and change thought patterns and behaviors that lead to troublesome feelings.
Panic, the constant anxiety over anxiety, affects 3 to 6 million Americans each year and is twice as common in women as it is in men. It is important to know that not everyone who experiences panic will also experience panic attacks. Unlike anxiety, panic actually strikes fear in the hearts of the people who experience it. They have an overwhelming fear of terror striking in some form and it, if left untreated, will become a crippling condition.
Often, people who experience panic also develop other disorders such as Social Anxiety Disorder and Agoraphobia. They are so limiting in their daily tasks that it actually prohibits their ability to lead productive lives.
Symptoms of panic include a loss of interest in things they once found interesting for fear of “what will happen if”. Things like venturing out too far from home, shopping, loud noises can all cause panic and are often related with Agoraphobia (defined as “Fear of places and situations that might cause panic, helplessness, or embarrassment”)
It is believed that the best treatments for Panic Disorder are medication, psychotherapy and/or a combination of both. Through the use of medicine designed to lessen the symptoms for the patient and “talk” therapy to help work through the behaviors that trigger the responses, these treatments have proven effective in 70-90% of patients.
PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is the most common disorder for people leaving military service. Originally referred to as “shell shock” as it was experienced by soldiers returning from war during WWII. These days, we know PTSD as a mental health condition experienced after witnessing something terrifying. This can vary from tragedy, war, violence or anything else traumatic to those who have experienced it. Alternatively, PTSD may be felt by people who have had a sexual assault, experienced the loss of a parent they were particularly close to or anything that is excessively traumatic in their lives.
Symptoms of PTSD include avoidance, alterations in mood, and alterations in arousal or activity. You might notice upon returning from active duty that your husband is withdrawn, reverts to video games, hides from everyone or is generally closed off emotionally from a once close family.
Some women, who are not familiar with PTSD and how it affects their relationships once their soldiers return home. Often, these conditions are met with arguing, feeling of not being loved or your partner not wanting you near them and general misunderstanding of the situation as a whole. The resulting misunderstanding is often cause for increased fighting at home and, in some cases, divorce.
Children will usually feel this withdrawal on the part of their father as something as a result of what they have done. While the returning soldiers do not mean to separate themselves from their children, PTSD will have a grip on them they cannot control.
Exposure Therapy is a form of treatment which requires talking repeatedly with your therapist about the problem at hand. It is believed that you can truly work through the issue through constant discussion about it.
EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a process in which focal points are used during discussion of the events to help change how you react to these triggers. There is great controversy over the practicality and effective nature of EMDR training.
Medication including serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are often prescribed to help lessen the pain felt by PTSD sufferers.
Counseling, group therapy and family therapy are also useful tools for helping not only the person afflicted with PTSD cope but also their families to help the patient and cope with the changes they see in their loved one. This may be one of the most important therapies for this group of women today because you are the support system to the soldiers when they return from combat. Let’s be there for them.
The Mayo Clinic tells us that General Dissociative Disorder is defined as “Someone with a dissociative disorder escapes reality in ways that are involuntary and unhealthy. The person with a dissociative disorder experiences a disconnection and lack of continuity between thoughts, memories, surroundings, actions and identity.”
The condition is usually the result of a trauma of sorts. Stress can magnify the symptoms of this condition while the disorder itself can cause a disruption in everyday life for those who suffer from it.
The Mayo Clinic also advises the following symptoms of this disorder:
Memory loss (amnesia) of certain time periods, events and people
Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and attempts
A sense of being detached from yourself
A perception of the people and things around you as distorted and unreal
A blurred sense of identity
Significant stress or problems in your relationships, work or other important areas of your life
Treatment is limited to psychotherapy and may include antidepressants to help with the symptoms of the condition.
