Invisble Wounds: History of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Its Effects

By Mac Drinker

The author provides some of the earliest research of post traumatic stress disorder and it origins. Jean-Martin Charcot and Sigmund Freud research of homeless women provided the first clinical diagnoses of people who had been abused or traumatized. Charcot and Freud called the diagnosed disorder hysteria, of which carried similar symptoms to todays post traumatic stress disorder. Charcot and Sigmund studies also provided a treatment model which they called talking therapy and later psychotherapy.
The major view of this writing provides the characteristics features and criterions described in the DSM IV, the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. There are 20 chapter in the text that provide information on post traumatic stress disorder as it relates to ethnicity, policies and politics, current issues related to families in treatment of substance abuse, domestic violence and its effects on youth behavior and crime and society. There are also suggested hypothetical examples of a research module for post traumatic stress disorder for future references regarding substance abuse. The intension of this writing is to provide enough information to bring forth invisible wounds for clear diagnose. Although, some mental health disorders are clearly noticeable (i.e., depression, anxiety, panic attacks, dissociative disorders) other may not be so obvious. The text describes how once triggered the symptoms become a recurring cycle until treated. Therefore to assure veterans are properly assessed, the text implies an understanding of the dynamic of post traumatic stress disorder, uncovering the veil and opening up clear communication to assist veterans, and practitioners.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514453124

Mac Drinker

Mac Drinker is a total and permanent service-connected combat veteran. He served in the Republic of Vietnam from March 1969 to March 1970 and earned the meritorious medal for outstanding service in every adverse combat situation. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Bravery and awarded four honors from the Vietnam Presidential Citation for Bravery. Mr. Drinker was also a member of the Vietnam Peace Institute of North Chicago Medical Center from 1985 to 1996 while being treated for severe post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic type. Mac Drinker holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the Mercer University Continuing Education, and a master’s degree in community counseling from Argosy University School of Psychology. While attending Argosy University in Atlanta, he has taken forty-eight hours of coursework in the psychology and behavioral science fields that include counseling theory, abnormal psychology, counseling skills 1, counseling skills 2, human growth and development, personal theory and individual counseling, professional and ethical issues, group counseling, social and cultural diversity, appraisal and assessment, career and lifestyle development, research and program evaluation, substance abuse counseling, academic writing. He has passed a comprehensive psychology examination as well. He has also acquired two years of studies toward his doctorate for counseling education and supervision from Walden University, Minnesota. Mr. Drinker continues to advocate for veterans by assisting them in gaining benefits based upon eligibility.

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Copyright © 2016 by Mac Drinker.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 01/22/2016

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Contents

Book Description

I    History of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Its Effects

II    What Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

III    African-American Veterans and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

IV    The Effects of Policies and Politics on African-American and Other Veterans Diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

V    Recent and Current Research of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

VI    The Effects of Families in the Treatment of Substance Abuse of Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

VII    A Personal Experience Attending a Substance Abuse Group

VIII    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Domestic Violence: It Effects on Youth Behavior and Crime

IX    Suggestion for Further Research and Data

X    My Research Model

XI    Theories Most Conducive for Treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

XII    Psychodynamic Force I – Treatment Application: Strength and Limitations

XIII    Personal and Empirical Experiences of Military

XIV    A Personal Reflection

XV    Triggers and the Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

XVI    Suicidal Ideations

XVII    Other Symptoms Need For Observation By Therapists

XVIII    The Conclusion of the Matter

XIX    Veterans’ Benefits

Resources

About the Author

Reference

Book Description

Knowing that many users of this text are veterans, invisible wounds provide a brief amount of information for veterans and professionals alike. The book is based on broad research and a personal view from the author. The book provides a brief history of post-traumatic stress disorder, its characteristic features and criteria, in addition to recent research regarding its effects on veterans and families. The author also provides several research models, theories for treatment, identifying triggers, symptoms, and probabilities of suicidal ideations. Although not written in a traditional chapter format, the text begins and ends with each section providing enough information to assist veterans in understanding enough about post-traumatic stress disorder to assist them in seeking help and applying for veterans’ benefits.

The author begins by discussing how Egyptian and Roman soldiers may have once described symptoms similar to modern post-traumatic stress disorder syndromes. These soldiers, after returning from war, were faced with the same after-effects as today’s veterans. The texts also provided some of the earliest research of noted psychiatrists and researchers like Jean-Martin Charcot and Sigmund Freud. Charcot and Freud’s research has given use of the first clinical diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder; although at their time, the condition was called hysteria, the symptoms are similar.

Furthermore, the book reiterated and suggested that Charcot and Freud’s extensive research on homeless women was proof that being traumatized at an early age may also concur with irrational behavior. The studies by Charcot and Sigmund also provided a treatment model which they called talking therapy and later psychotherapy.

The major thesis of this writing provides the characteristic features and criterions described in the DSM IV, which still provides the necessary information to diagnose current symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Although the new DSM V provides new characteristic features and criteria, such as dissociative disorders, the DSM IV still provide a wealth of information easy for the novice to understand.

While the first section provides history of post-traumatic stress disorder, the text provides research to show that certain race/ethnic subgroups have a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder than white veterans. The text discusses how African-Americans and poor veterans fighting in Vietnam may have had a higher propensity of developing post-traumatic stress disorder than white veterans.

In this writing, the myth that most African-American veterans fabricate post-traumatic stress disorder to obtain veterans’ benefits is discussed. The writer suggested that policies and politics from the Reagan era actually harm poor veterans in particularly African-American veterans. The author also discussed how some records may have been flawed or lost during the Vietnam era, and as a result, many veterans, both African-American and Caucasians, were not diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder for their combat experiences.

Much effort had focused on describing current issues related to families in treatment of substance abuse of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, the author discusses domestic violence and its effects on youth behavior and crime and how it affects the entire family. In this section, the author describes a personal experience of a substance abuse group session he undertook and how these groups work. Also provided is a suggested hypothetical example of a research module for post-traumatic stress disorder for future reference studies of both post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse.

Most studies show that veterans, who have incurred a physical injury while in the military, are more likely to receive benefits because these injuries are visible and objective. On the other hand, invisible wounds may not be so easily verified. The intension of this writing is to provide enough information to bring forth invisible wounds for clear diagnose. The basic of post-traumatic stress disorder is that of feeling of guilt, shame, fear, and doubt which bear a multitude of irrational symptoms for a longer period of time before being diagnosed. Although some mental health disorders are clearly noticeable (i.e., depression, anxiety, panic attacks, dissociative disorders), other may not be so obvious. The text describes how, once triggered, the symptoms become a recurring cycle until treated. Therefore, to assure veterans are properly assessed, the text implies an understanding of the dynamic of post-traumatic stress disorder, uncovering the veil and opening up clear communication to assist veterans and practitioners.

Finally, post-traumatic stress disorder cannot be easily viewed with the naked eye. However, this text will provide the veterans some reference to understand the historical meaning, characteristic features, systemic symptoms, personal effects, and activating triggers that affect how they are viewing the world. The text may assist veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder in opening up to others about their traumatic experience and provide them a chance for treatment and recovery. The text’s invisible wounds finalize with basic resources to assist veterans to seek treatment and apply for veterans’ benefits.

I look forward with hope rather than despair.

I may never forget, but I need not