Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Veterans Essay -- Post-traumatic st

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), originally associated with combat, has always been around in some shape or form but it was not until 1980 that it was named Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and became an accredited diagnosis (Rothschild). The fact is PTSD is one of many names for an old problem; that war has always had a severe psychological impact on people in immediate and lasting ways. PTSD has a history that is as long and significant as the world’s war history - thousands of years. Although, the diagnosis has not been around for that long, different names and symptoms of PTSD always have been. Some physical symptoms include increased blood pressure, excessive heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea, diarrhea, problems with vision, speech, walking disorders, convulsive vomiting, cardiac palpitations, twitching or spasms, weakness and severe muscular cramps. The individual may also suffer from psychological symptoms, such as violent nightmares, flashbacks , melancholy, disturbed sleep or insomnia, loss of appetite, and anxieties when certain things remind them such as the anniversary date of the event (Peterson, 2009). Examples of PTSD can be found as early as in ancient Greek and Roman history, for example the Greek historian Herodotus mentions â€Å"an Athenian warrior who went permanently blind when the soldier standing next to him was killed, although the blinded soldier was wounded in no part of his body† when he wrote about the battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. He â€Å"also writes of the Spartan commander Leonidas, who, at the battle of Thermopylae Pass in 480 B.C., dismissed his men from joining the combat because he clearly recognized they were psychologically spent from previous battles.-They had no heart for ... ...to gain economically (combined with veterans’ pride and distrust) accounts for the fact that of 830,000 Vietnam veterans with full-blown or partial PTSD, only 55,119 have filed claims, and the medical boards have only believed 28,411 (Triangle Institute study, July 1990) (Bentley, 2005)! Works Cited Bentley, S. (2005, March). Short History of PTSD. Retrieved 12 6, 2011, from Veteran: http://www.vva.org/archive/TheVeteran/2005_03/feature_HistoryPTSD.htm PBS. (n.d.). PBS Org. Retrieved 12 6, 2011, from The Soldier's Heart: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heart/themes/shellshock.html Peterson, D. (2009). From Shell shock to PTSD. Retrieved 12 6, 2011, from http://www.las.illinois.edu/news/2009/ptsd/ Rothschild, B. (n.d.). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder:. Retrieved 11 6, 20011, from http://www.healing-arts.org/tir/n-r-rothschild.htm