At the 2011 Military Blogger’s Conference a very concerned person came up to the mic during a question and answer session with GI Film Festival film makers and expressed that, in an effort to remove the stigma associated with PTSD, it should no longer be called ”PTSD,” but instead be called “PTS” — Post Traumatic Stress. No “Disorder.”
Now don’t get me wrong — I want to remove the stigma just as much as the next person. But I’m really curious what a name change is actually going to do. You are still going to run into people who don’t know how to treat it no matter what it is called. There will still be people embarrassed to have it.
Bottom line: mental health is a tough issue, always has been, always will be.
Here we are again exactly a year later and the dialogue is still open, only now there are more ideas as to what it should be called. One of those new names is “Post Traumatic Stress Injury.” Maybe that will work, maybe it won’t … but the medical definition of an injury doesn’t fit.
What PTSD (or PTS … or PTSI …) is called has changed over and over throughout the years. Soldier’s Heart, Shell Shock, War Neurosis, Combat Fatigue … and although we have made some progress, the stigma is still there. I’m not sure dropping a letter is what is going to do it.
In my opinion we have progressed in reducing the stigma because more and more people are becoming aware of what is going on with our servicemembers upon return from war, and more and more servicemembers are talking about their experiences — all this without a name change.
There are many reasons people have come up with as to why the “D” should be dropped. It’s like the “D” is something to be ashamed of. PTSD is never something to be ashamed of — and taking the “D” away will not change that.
It DOES NOT matter what it is called it IS the same thing.
Symptoms of PTSD: Re-experiencing the traumatic event
- Intrusive, upsetting memories of the event
- Flashbacks (acting or feeling like the event is happening again)
- Nightmares (either of the event or of other frightening things)
- Feelings of intense distress when reminded of the trauma
- Intense physical reactions to reminders of the event (e.g. pounding heart, rapid breathing, nausea, muscle tension, sweating)
Symptoms of PTSD: Avoidance and numbing
- Avoiding activities, places, thoughts, or feelings that remind you of the trauma
- Inability to remember important aspects of the trauma
- Loss of interest in activities and life in general
- Feeling detached from others and emotionally numb
- Sense of a limited future (you don’t expect to live a normal life span, get married, have a career)
Symptoms of PTSD: Increased anxiety and emotional arousal
- Difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Irritability or outbursts of anger
- Difficulty concentrating
- Hypervigilance (on constant “red alert”)
- Feeling jumpy and easily startled
So if we are going to drop the “D,” can we just take away the symptoms as well? No?
The reasons folks have for changing the name run the gamut. I have seen everything from “it will help servicemembers get jobs,” to “it shouldn’t be a disorder because it is normal.”
Now those of us who have been through medical retirements and VA ratings know that if something is “normal” it doesn’t get acknowledged and if it is a symptom it does not get rated.
So if the name changed and it was no longer a “disorder,” how many service members would then not get rated?
I sit here, conflicted in even writing this piece because I feel like arguing it is a waste of time, that we should be putting our efforts into ensuring that these brave men and women are getting the quality care that they need and deserve.
Has anyone out there actually been diagnosed using the “PTS” term yet? What are your thoughts?
About Kristle
Comments
I believe that the term change is a good idea, since the focus should be on the word stress and the change could lower the stigma attached to someone having a disorder. Humans are just as much about connotation as they are about denotation.
I disagree with dropping the "disorder" part of the name. Stress is too often seen as something we all live with, suck it up and deal – the attitude that was prevalent in the mid 90's. Having the collection of symptoms recognized as a "disorder" went a long way towards making treatment more acceptable, and giving the realities of PTSD more legitimacy in a lot of eyes.
In the end, I agree with you – it is getting care, and the quality of that care, that matters most.
Well stated. I work in a military environment and one of the biggest problems is getting Soldiers who have suffered battle-related to admit they have issues. They hide their symptoms because they don't want to face possibly being taken out of active units or being stigmatized by unsupportive cadre or commanders. I have talked to Soldiers who have been concussed 10, 15, even 20 times and suffered TBI to the extent of being unconscious for a couple of days. But they don't want to leave their units and their buddies when it is obvious just talking to them that they have issues. Taking the word "disorder" off of the diagnosis makes it sound like they just had a rough day at work. They need to know that being diagnosed with a disorder like PTSD doesn't mean they are crazy, but they do need to seek proper behavioral health care as soon as possible before they end up doing things they have no control over. They can be helped.
Hello all. I am retired British Army and now training as a psychotherapist in England. You all seem to have forgotten that you americans invented a very effective (and evidence based) treatment for PTSD called EMDR (eye movement desensitisation reprocessing). For anyone suffering that has not tried this, I implore you to google and find a qualified EMDR therapist to help you. The DoD use it, but a bit sketchy with the VA? I would be interesting to hear any of your stories involving EMDR – good and bad – at justin.havens@oeeuk.com
There is help out there. It's The Freedom Care Program. Freedom Care is a leading provider of inpatient and residential programs designed to meet the unique needs of warriors, veterans, retirees and their families. Mental health and addiction programs are available to meet the needs of military families and retirees. Adults, senior adults, children and adolescents. Specialized women's services for combat trauma, militray sexual trauma, other traumas, depression, addiction and other psychiatric illnesses. The Combat Trauma program is exclusively for warriors who have experienced combat. They treat post-traumatic stress disorder, combat operational stress, adjustment disorder, and when indicated, co-occurring addiction. There are facilities in Arizona, Oregon, Texas, and Utah. To refer a military patient call 866-441-4440 24/7, or email info@freedomcare.com, or visit http://www.freedomcare.com.
Military psychiatrist here. Look at the C criterion for PTSD in the DSM-IV. It's titled avoidance. It's avoiding the thoughts/ideas/concepts related to the trauma. This is what makes the trauma last, when others recover. Tackling avoidance is the main goal of one of the most effective therapies for PTSD – Cognitive Processing Therapy (70% of those who complete this 12 session therapy will no longer have PTSD – no meds, no symptoms, no disorder – nada).
This while PTS thing is part good intentioned and part political – but avoiding calling it by its name is just another symptom of the disease.