United States Department of Veterans Affairs

A common misconception is what a typical veteran looks like. Many people assume a typical veteran is an older male individual, but that is simply not the case! In fact, the idea of there being a “typical” veteran is absurd. Veterans have different backgrounds and come from a variety of places. This is important to remember when dealing with veterans in the VA health system. An example would be WWII veterans tend to be more reserved in their health care and simply want the doctor to prescribe…

Vietnam War veterans. In 1980, the disorder was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) (Friedman), the standard classification of mental illnesses used by medical professionals in the US (“DSM”). Its classification was groundbreaking because it recognized an external cause to the unusual behaviors many people experience after trauma rather than attributing that behavior to an internal weakness. While PTSD is publicized primarily on behalf of veteran…

Of the myriad of “invisible wounds” that may become manifest in veterans returning from combat deployment I choose to describe “depression”. Kanel (2014) states that “symptoms such as sleep problems, feelings of guilt, worthlessness, hopelessness, regret, loss of energy and interest in life, and concentration deficits, appetite disorder, psychomotor retardation or agitation, and suicidal thoughts” (p. 179), all may be associated with depression. If I, as a crisis worker, was not knowledgeable…

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, commonly known as PTSD, is a mental illness triggered by one or more terrifying events that happened in the past, either being experienced or witnessed. The events include severe injury, extreme violence, sexual assault, or warfare, etc. The symptoms of such mental disorder caused by the past traumas include disturbing flashbacks, severe anxiety, and hyperarousal, which results in a constant condition of being easily startled and feeling tense for a long period of…

When we think of a Military Veteran, often times our minds jump right to Vietnam or World War I and II. Many have served and sacrificed since the beginning of time. Some have been drafted, some chose the Military as a way of serving their country, while some chose to join for a guaranteed means to support them and their family. Not once did a Veteran think while they were Active Duty that eventually they would or could become unemployed. Unable to support themselves, or their family. Not…

Military Services and Men’s Health Trajectories in Later Life. This article is listed in the Journal of Gerontology Social Sciences. The primary objective behind this study was to closely analyze the variation that existed amongst armed services veterans and individuals that were never involved with the military.These associated differences were in the areas of long term patterns of health, basic living requirements, restricted life style due to physical disability or mental impairment, and a…

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is psychological disorder that “affects more than 7 million Americans” (Poole, 11). While we know that traumatic experiences can cause PTSD, it has only recently been studied and documented in detail. To develop a better understanding of PTSD this paper will examine the symptoms of PTSD, the history of PTSD, and the current treatments for PTSD. The symptoms of PTSD are very similar patient to patient. Most people have flashbacks or nightmares and become…

their thoughts and demeanor, giving us tools to navigate a client through the process gaining a positive result. Got me to thinking about the clients who are in the military coming for counseling. King et al. (2013) survey of group work with combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). When counseling individuals in the military…

Active Military/ Veteran Suicide Introduction Service members put their lives on the line daily for us. Stationed overseas they endure strenuous situations, most life changing. Our Soldiers deal with life altering situations and are faced with difficult decisions every day. For some the battle doesn’t always start on the battlefield. For them it can start before being stationed out or deployed. Studies find it may be due to transitions rather than the strain of combat. The United States…

Results The dependent variable in this is whether or not the veterans suffer from depression. It is the dependent variable because in this case, depression is dependent on the number of years has served in the military or if they have served at all. The independent variable is the variable that is not dependent on another. In this case, having depression is not a determining factor for serving in the military. The variable name for depression is ‘DEPRESS’ and the variable name for the number of…