Only
a skilled and competent medical doctor specializing in psychiatry can definitively tell you if you suffer from Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nevertheless, if since returning from a combat deployment and sometimes many years after returning
you can answer yes to any of the following questions, you have some symptoms of PTSD:
- Do you have prolonged memories
of combat?
- Do you dream about the
country in which you saw combat?
- Do you have nightmares
or flashbacks?
- Do you suffer from bouts
of insomnia?
- Do you ever seem to shut
out the world?
- Do you often feel drained
of emotions or just numb?
- Do you avoid things that
remind you of combat experience?
- Do you find that anniversary
dates of certain events in your combat experience make you feel uncomfortable?
- Do you find it hard to
make and keep friends?
- Have you had multiple marriages?
- Is your current marriage
strained?
- Have you abused alcohol
or drugs to help you feel better?
- Do you have no plans for
the future or could you not care less about the future?
- Are you irritable and prone
to unexplained outbursts of anger?
- Are you jumpy or over-reactive
to things that fail to startle others?
Most people experience one of more of these
symptoms in the normal course of life. However, the more of these symptoms you
have on a recurring basis, the more likely it is that you have PTSD.
The military has made an extensive effort
to help its personnel adjust to the stress of combat. However, in the environment of a professional army many active
duty personnel view psychiatric treatment as an admission of weakness or failure. This is especially problematic
for younger soldiers desiring to continue their military careers.
Left untreated, PTSD only becomes more ingrained and less responsive to treatment. Failed relationships, career and employment problems, substance abuse, depression,
suicide, homicide and other acts of violence can be the end result of untreated PTSD.
Seek a diagnosis and get help at your first reasonable opportunity.
