DVIDS – News – PTSD: a silent and ignored thief

Conflict and battle are as old as humanity, but too often they leave silent and ignored traces in survivors, leading to symptoms that create difficulties in their daily lives.

“Soldier’s Heart,” “Shell Shock,” and “Battle Fatigue” are early attempts to diagnose the symptoms exhibited by soldiers during wartime. It wasn’t until the 20th century that humanity truly began to understand the devastating effects of combat, and it wasn’t until 1980 that post-traumatic stress disorder became a mental diagnosis.

“Everyone who has experienced trauma suffers from post-traumatic stress. The stress is, ‘I’m struggling with this,'” said Chaplain (Colonel) Mark Morgan, command chaplain of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. “It doesn’t become a disorder as long as it doesn’t cause problems or prevent you from identifying in society.”

Col. Dennis F. Williams, deputy chief of staff for the G-4 of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, is one of three veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom who have, at some point in their lives, been diagnosed with PTSD.

He joined the Army Reserve in December 1993 and was commissioned as an officer in the active Army in 2000. During his years of military service, he was deployed to a combat zone five times. From October 2006 to January 2008, Williams deployed to Iraq, which he calls the worst deployment he ever had.

“We lost a total of 17 Soldiers in my battalion during that rotation, and at the time, it was deployment number three for me,” Williams said. “And just being there and that constant fight for 15 months straight. You know, it was just a lot. It depended a lot on the soldier, a lot on the leadership.

Upon his return to Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos, Texas), he was selected to serve as aide-de-camp to a two-star general at Fort Carson, Colorado. Six weeks after returning from deployment, he and his family had moved, and he began traveling extensively for his new position.

“It must have been a little overwhelming, because again, after coming out of that intense fight, I never got down on my knees and never got any help,” Williams said.

Williams said he began exhibiting aggressive behavior, being forgetful and drinking excessively; he was sleep deprived and tired; and he started having panic attacks.

“I had a few incidents while I was his assistant, and he initially referred me to a mental health service,” he said. “I’ve been in constant care since 2008.”

Some common signs of PTSD include: reliving the event through flashbacks or dreams; sadness, fear or anger; feeling detached or distant from others; avoid situations; having a strong, negative reaction to an otherwise normal sound or touch; distorted thoughts about oneself or the event; be irritable; self-medication; behave in a reckless or self-destructive manner; being too suspicious of one’s surroundings; have difficulty concentrating or sleeping; and increased risk of suicide.

“For me, the main thing is severe anxiety, hyper vigilance. A little paranoia and just restless. And depression,” Williams said. “Some things trigger previous experiences. It could be a noise; It could be a smell. And you just go into panic mode.

Williams said he could no longer have an MRI without planning and assistance.

“It’s paranoid claustrophobia. It just takes me back to being in one of these vehicles,” Williams said. “Add to that the noise, and you won’t be able to move. I can’t do it mentally. I can not do it. I got to the point where they put me under anesthesia and knocked me out.

Veterans who experience PTSD are also at high risk for related physical and psychological problems, such as: substance use disorders; other mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety; cardiovascular problems; gastrointestinal problems; chronic pain; and head trauma.

Williams said his prescribed medication regimen allows him to manage his PTSD and other health issues resulting from his PTSD diagnosis, such as sleep apnea, high blood pressure and lack of sleep due to his hyper vigilance.

“The problem with trying to identify it is you’re taking a cocktail of drugs and trying to find the right mix. And sometimes you can find it pretty quickly. Sometimes it takes time,” Williams said. “Medication can make you numb to a lot of things and you don’t want to be numb. Then they give you another type of medication to balance that out. Then you need to take medication to sleep. And I still have to take another medication if I start having a panic attack.

In addition to medication, there are other treatments for PTSD:
• Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on developing new patterns of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors related to the traumatic experience.
• Cognitive processing therapy helps individuals develop new and more useful understandings of their traumatic experiences through critical reflection.
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing involves recalling the trauma while paying attention to a back-and-forth movement or sound.
• Prolonged exposure focuses on gradually challenging negative feelings and changing avoidance patterns arising from the person’s trauma.
• Self-help methods such as physical activity, aromatherapy, mindfulness practices and deep breathing.
Williams said he is actively pursuing additional treatment avenues because he wants to reduce his medication use. Some of these therapies are offered at local Veterans Affairs hospitals, but he said it can be much more difficult to treat PTSD and its associated problems once a service member takes off the uniform.

“In the type of units I was in, I never had time to do it. I never took the time to do it. I didn’t seek proper help when I was young,” Williams said. “I encourage those who have been in these types of units to seek help. It’s good to go talk to someone. I make sure to convey this message every time I speak in public, because I haven’t been doing it the right way. I didn’t handle it the right way. This was largely due to stigma. A lot of it is because I’m trying to self-medicate and I think I’m doing fine. I didn’t see myself.

Morgan said it’s in the retirement generation that he sees PTSD becoming a problem.

“Guys who are 20, 25, 30 years in now and starting to retire, and they’ve never faced this because of the stigma associated with getting help and their fear not being promoted, not being able to stay in the sector. military, asking a medical evaluation board to expel them because they are not mentally capable of conducting their daily operations in the military,” Morgan said. “I see it especially in the retirement and retirement community recently.”

Morgan is a front-line advisor to USASMDC staff regarding behavioral health or spiritual health. He said what a chaplain provides is 100 percent confidential and they are not required to report to anyone, no matter what they are told.

“It’s probably more prevalent than the small number of people who admit it or come forward and say, ‘Hey, I need help,’” Morgan said. “There’s still a stigma associated with it. Even though we’ve tried over the last 20 years to say, ‘Hey, it doesn’t mean you’re weak because you go to the chaplain.’”

Morgan said he lives by example and openly shares that he received counseling after his first deployment. He said he was very angry and the counseling had been very beneficial to him.

“So I think with one in three disorders, the key to moving from just post-traumatic stress to treating stress is being able to talk to someone about it. Being able to get it off your chest. Being willing to get help when you see things aren’t going the way they should,” Morgan said.

Morgan advises service members and civilians as a USASMDC chaplain. If a servicemember reports symptoms of PTSD, Morgan said he will connect them or them with outside resources.

“If someone comes to me and says they’re having problems, the first thing I’ll do is call the VA and ask them what they have to offer, and then we’ll go from there,” a Morgan said. “On my part, it will then be a reference, then a follow-up. I care about you and I want you to know that our command cares about you.

If you are experiencing symptoms of PTSD, call the USASMDC Chaplain at 256.955.5027 (active duty member, civilian, or veteran); Fox Army Health Clinic at 256.955.8888 ext. 1032 (active duty member); or the Huntsville Vet Center from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 256.539.5775 or after hours at 877.927.8387 (active duty member or veteran).