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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that occurs after a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, war or assault.

263 Questions

How may post-traumatic stress disorder by prevented?

Controlling exposure to traumatic events through safety measures, psychological preparation for individuals who will be exposed to traumatic events (front-line workers), and stress inoculation training.

What are mitigating factors for the success of treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder?

Proximity to the traumatic event, immediate intervention of therapy and expectations that the individual will return to more normal functions are important.

What are the symptoms of post - traumatic stress disorder?

The most common symptoms are as follows:

  • Nightmares
  • Flashbacks
  • Depression and hopelessness
  • Lack of interest in normal activities that you used to enjoy
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
  • Irritability and outbursts of anger
  • Avoiding things that remind you of the trauma (people, places, circumstances, etc)
  • Suicidal thoughts or feelings
  • Being easily startled or "on edge" all the time
  • Feelings of intense distress when reminded of the trauma
  • Wanting to be alone or a feeling of alienation

In order for a person to be diagnosed with PTSD there are 6 qualifying criteria that must be met. For brevity sakes I won't answer that here, but the one that is most important is that many of the common symptoms listed above have to exist for more than a month or else it could possibly be Acute Stress Disorder.



Also PTSD rarely goes away on it's own and can easily get triggered in the future unless one gets professional help.

What is retrieval cues?

Any stimulus that helps us recall information in long-term memory. The fact that retrieval cues can provoke powerful recollections has led some researchers to speculate that perhaps all memories are permanent. That is, perhaps nearly all experiences are recorded in memory for a lifetime, and all forgetting is due not to the actual loss of memories but to our inability to retrieve them. This idea is an interesting one, but most memory researchers believe it is probably wrong.

Is post traumatic stress disorder a defense for UCMJ action?

Depending on the severity, it may be a defense and it also may be used to rebut an element of proof in the government case. The military lawyer working the case should have experience in this area.

If the case goes into sentencing, under RCM 1001c it will most certainly come in as a matter in mitigation