VA Says PTSD Affects Most OIF-OEF Vets

[pinboy3niner]

Source: military.com


The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that as many as 95 percent of veterans returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have some form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).


Symptoms can include:

• Nightmares

• Feeling numb

• Having difficulty experiencing love or closeness with others

• Feeling jittery or overly alert

• Having difficulty sleeping

• Experiencing anger or irritability

• Having difficulty concentrating

• Substance abuse problems

• Having feelings of despair or hopelessness


For more information, visit the National Center for PTSD webpage.


More information and resources on PTSD


(Emphasis and reformatting mine.)



And unhappycamper provides links to a wealth of PTSD and TBI information and resources here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=259x12011

[pinboy3niner]

1. I posted this because 95% is an astounding estimate from the VA

My bad for neglecting to point out that estimates from the VA--and elsewhere--in the past used to run only as high as 30% or so.

This really is a sea change in terms of the extent of PTSD that is being acknowleged.

And it raises the question of whether the VA will now do a better job of awarding PTSD claims, instead of claiming vets have pre-existing 'personality disorders' or nickle-and-diming them on PTSD claims (awarding only a 10% disability rating which the vet has to contest to raise to 20%, then to 30%, etc. before ultimately getting the higher rating that he or she should have been given in the first place).

[JonLP24]

2. 95%??? Wow.

I went to OIF myself but I wasn't diagnosed.

I got 5 of those listed symptoms. Possibly 6 but nightmares are mostly seeing my ex-wife and begging to get back with her just to be rebuffed. Haven't had those in a couple months though.