Invisible wounds of war

Soldiers Magazine, April, 2005 by Beth Reece

GUNSHOT wounds are obvious injuries, but the mental effects of war can be just as devastating.

Warfighters are more likely to need help for combat-related depression six months after returning to their regular assignments than they are immediately upon their return, according to screening recently done by the U.S. Army Medical Research Unit, Europe, on Soldiers returning to their base in Italy.

People who experience extreme emotional stress or physical injury often have trauma symptoms and problems afterward. How serious the symptoms and problems are depends on many things, including a person's life experiences before the trauma, the seriousness of the trauma, the individual's ability to cope with stress, and the kind of support a person gets from family, friends and professionals immediately following the trauma.

Because most trauma survivors are not familiar with how trauma affects people, they often have trouble understanding what is happening to them and linking their symptoms to PTSD. They may experience extreme guilt, they may believe they are going crazy or that there is something wrong with them because other people with the same experiences don't appear to have the same problems.

Trying to avoid thinking about the trauma and avoiding treatment for trauma-related problems may keep a person from feeling upset in the short term, but avoiding treatment leads to persisting symptoms over time.

Information on managing stress and recovering from trauma is available for veterans with PTSD and their families at www.ncptsd.org. The Web site also offers links to the Department of Veterans' Affairs and specialized PTSD clinics and programs that can provide diagnostic evaluations.--Army News Service and National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder