Panelists say post-traumatic stress disorder can't be cured, can only be managed

[unhappycamper]

http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2013/04/24/1252501?sac=fo.military

Panelists say post-traumatic stress disorder can't be cured, can only be managed
By Caitlin Dineen
Published: 06:15 AM, Wed Apr 24, 2013

There is no way to cure post-traumatic stress disorder, but those suffering from it can learn to manage it, health professionals said Tuesday night.

Kevin Smythe, a supervisory psychologist in the Mental Health Service Line at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center, said managing the disorder is currently the only option.

"There are a lot of ebbs and flows (with the disorder)," Smythe said.

He was one of five panelists to speak about the disorder and post-traumatic stress symptoms.



unhappycamper comment: Tis true. Ask any veteran who has spent time in a war zone.

[djean111]

1. This helps me; my son has (non-combat-related) diagnosed PTSD. So not many resources.

My home may as well be carpeted with explosive eggshells.
I am looking into trying to get him to meditate or try yoga - he is on four different meds and while life is better with the meds than without - life is pretty damned scary without - the meds are only a constantly slipping band-aid.
I worry about what will happen to him if something happens to me.
I do think that my grandson and I are having some of the same symptoms - being hyper-vigilant about someone who is hyper-vigilant makes everyone more on edge.

[unhappycamper]

2. Your worries are nothing new.

Veterans from every war have suffered from PTSD, "shell shock", or whatever you want to call it.

Here's a few PTSD links:

http://www.healingcombattrauma.com/
http://www.ivaw.org/resources/ptsd
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/

For more links google: ptsd resources

[Victor_c3]

3. what you are describing isn't abnormal

PTSD symptoms can be passed on to family members. I believe it is called secondary PTSD.

As a guy who has his own issues with PTSD and is a father, I've been very aware of how my issues could transfer to my children. If this is a concern of yours, see if your family can get some sort of family counseling from the VA.

[djean111]

4. Thanks for the information!

Thing is, his PTSD is not from being in the armed services, it is from two violent things that happened to him years ago - knife to his throat while he was driving (giving a customer a test drive), .45 shot at him close range, luckily misfired. But, I do get useful information from those links, and sometimes just knowing what to expect helps a great deal.

[Victor_c3]

5. Sorry, I skipped over the part where you mentioned that your son didn't get PTSD from military

service. I'm skip over details like that sometimes.

I hope that you and your family are able to find peace and reach a decent steady state.

Not to scare you, but when I was in the Army my wife used to work as a special education aid. She spent almost her whole day working with this one boy who was in kindergarten at the time who was VERY messed up as a result of his father's PTSD. As an adult you can take a step back and realize what is happening to you, but I doubt most young children can be that introspective. If this is a problem or a concern, really please stay on top of it.

I personally have been though several cycles of ups and downs. At least with my PTSD, it gets intense for periods of time and then it melts away and I can resume a mostly normal life. I think the trick for me was getting out of a high stress job and finding something that was more ideal for me. Stress really really really aggravated my PTSD symptoms.

Not to get your hopes up, but PTSD can become manageable. I went through a couple of really rough and low periods. Other than just hanging in there and living it one day at a time, I don't know what I did but the bad times went away and I eventually found myself being able to deal with things again. I still avoid certain situations and many things set me off, but I've come to recognize when the feelings I get before things spiral out of my control and I can disconnect myself and hide out for a bit and get some space and get my head back together.

I'm mostly functional when I'm out and about and I've even been able to hold down a job for the last three years. I still have periods where I can't focus on anything and stress really does a number on me, but I'm mostly able to take care of myself and be a pretty decent father to my daughters. I even find myself feeling a true sense of happiness from time to time.

Having family support and understanding really makes a big difference.

[djean111]

6. Thank you for sharing that. Immensely grateful.

My grandson is now 18, there is just the three of us - been through quite a bit. But - grandson has been reading about PTSD online on his own, which is important, and maybe we can all reach a better understanding. Really helps a lot, knowing how others handle this.