http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121119140625.htm
Many of us are very interested in studying PTSD and helping those who have developed it. What I had always assumed about PTSD was that it was only developed after a traumatic experience has occurred. This article summarizes a research study that challenges that widely accepted idea.
Researchers from Aarhus University noticed that many studies concerning PTSD were lacking an appropriate baseline. Soldiers were really only being tested for PTSD symptoms after they returned from combat. Unfortunately, many people have some symptoms of PTSD that have developed from stressful situations they have experienced in their lifetime. These experiences include abuse, physical punishment, and other combat experiences. The study Dorthe Bernsten conducted made sure the 746 soldiers were tested for these experiences as well as symptoms of depression.
The soldiers were tested five weeks before they left for Afghanistan, and then two weeks, 2-4 months, and 7-8 months after their return. The soldiers were also followed up with during deployment about their perceptions of what they were experiencing, the stress they were under, and how they felt about killing people. What they found was truly unexpected. They found that most soldiers were resilient and did not develop any PTSD symptoms. The rest were not consistent in what they experienced. Some experienced the gradual increase of symptoms that did not seem to have any specific cause.
A surprising number of soldiers actually showed improvement from their original symptoms while they were in active combat. I thought this was the most interesting. The researchers provided social support and camaraderie as reasons why this might have been the case. They were probably lacking in this before they left.
I wonder if this information could be used to develop some sort of preparation program before leaving for Afghanistan. It could form some sort structured support group for the soldiers to revel in before they left and return to when they get back. Is anyone else surprised by these results?
I am a little confused by the camaraderie. Were the researchers friends with the soldiers while they were in combat or did the friendships form after they had returned?
ReplyDeleteI find this pretty interesting. However, I think that maybe they "performed" better in active combat because of their boot camp training and that sort of thing, they knew what to expect and how to handle it and were with other people who had the same mindset. It was sort of an immersion into an experience of which they pretty much could not remove themselves from. Once soldiers return, they're not really sure what to expect and that sort of thing, which may reintroduce some PTSD symptoms. I think your last paragraph is a really great idea though, introducing a sort of psychology program for before and after may have some interesting and positive results.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. I have a friend who deployed over to Afghanistan. His unit was hit by an IED and stuff like that which with most of widely accepted view of PTSD means he will most likely develop it. However, I also know that his divorce papers were finalized in June before he left in July, his ex-wife had a child that wasn't his that he thought was his in July to only find out in August that it wasn't, and now she is pregnant again (clearly not his child). So all of those things are stressful events before even left the states to go into a battlefield. Which came first the chicken or the egg? Will he get PTSD from being over in Afghanistan or did he have many of the symptoms before he even went over?
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