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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: PTSD

PTSD stories: 37 news summaries

1 - 20 of 37 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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OPINION roundup

 Stop Making 
 Excuses 
 for Hasan 

Murderous Islamic extremism was his motive, not PTSD

Nov 10, 09 7:11 AM CST
(Newser) - Commentators are working overtime to explain away the Fort Hood shootings as a personal breakdown rather than what it obviously was, three conservative columnists argue today: a terrorist assault by an Islamic extremist.
  • The explanation for Major Hasan's actions should be crystal clear to anybody not afraid of offending
... More »

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Muslim • Islamic extremism • PTSD • Dr Phil • David Brooks • Jonah Goldberg • Fort Hood • Fort Hood shooting • Nidal Malik Hasan

fort hood shooting

  Blame 'Vicarious' PTSD 

Trauma is infectious, Essig writes, and therapists can catch it

Nov 6, 09 10:03 AM CST
(Newser) - When Todd Essig learned the Fort Hood shooter “was an Army psychiatrist who treats post traumatic stress disorder, himself on the cusp of deployment, I thought, ‘I’m not surprised.’” Why? Because there is a documented transfer of trauma disorders from sufferers to caregivers, dubbed “... More »

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psychiatry • PTSD • mass shootings • Iraq war • Afghanistan war • trauma • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder • Fort Hood • Nidal Malik Hasan

ANALYSIS

Army's Stress Most Obvious
at Fort Hood

Repeat deployments prompt record levels of suicide, depression

Nov 6, 09 6:16 AM CST
(Newser) - Fort Hood has had more suicides than any other US Army facility since the start of the Iraq war, and while Nidal Hasan, the man officials say is responsible for yesterday's massacre, likely had unique motivations, he was perhaps only the most troubled member of a volunteer force buckling under... More »

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suicide • alcohol abuse • US Army • PTSD • Iraq war • Afghanistan war • American soldiers • Fort Hood • Fort Hood shooting • Nidal Malik Hasan

Injured Vets Seeking Closure Return to Iraq

Operation Proper Exit reveals war's progress to wounded

Oct 15, 09 4:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - The military has been aiding injured veterans to return to Iraq to help them find closure and assure them that their sacrifices were worth it. Operation Proper Exit—believed to be the first such program to facilitate vets' return to a battlefield while a war is still in progress—has... More »

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Iraq • veterans • US military • Wounded Warriors • PTSD • Iraq veterans • Iraq war • injured

 DC Sniper's Ex: Rampage 
 Was Scheme to Kill Me 

Muhammad hoped to pass off murder on madman and regain custody of kids

Oct 6, 09 1:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - The ex-wife of convicted Beltway Sniper John Muhammad was the ultimate target of his murderous 2002 DC rampage that killed 10 people. Mildred Muhammad says her ex intended to pass off her murder as the work of a madman and regain custody of their three children. She got wise to... More »

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ATF • shooting rampage • PTSD • Gulf War • child custody • John Allen Muhammad • Lee Boyd Malvo • post-traumatic stress disorder • scheme • Mildred Muhammad • Beltway Sniper

 War Games 
 Help Vets 
 Cope With 
 PTSD 

Psychologists say virtual reality allows vets to confront and overcome trauma

Sep 29, 09 9:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Using realistic war games to re-create the sights, sounds, and even smells of combat is helping veterans overcome post-traumatic stress disorder in several clinical trials. Games like Virtual Iraq—modeled on Full Spectrum Warrior—help psychologists bring patients back to traumatic events and break down mental barriers. Researchers say the... More »

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veterans • US military • virtual reality • PTSD • Iraq veterans • Afghanistan veterans • video games • post-traumatic stress disorder

Dogs Trained to Heal Iraq Vets' Mental Scars

'Psychiatric service' pooches respond to PTSD sufferers' needs

Jul 11, 09 10:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - The golden retriever nuzzles his master as though he wants a treat, trots into the kitchen, and waits patiently. His master walks over and, under the pet’s watchful gaze, takes a series of pills. The dog wags his tail with approval. He is a psychiatric-service dog, part of a... More »

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veterans • PTSD • dog • Iraq veterans • post-traumatic stress disorder • dog training • guide dog

Shrinks Single Out Next PTSD:
Bitterness

Over-the-top reactions to being thwarted may signal mental illness

May 20, 09 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Some psychiatrists believe embitterment is so common and so destructive that it should be classed as a mental illness, the Los Angeles Times reports. Sufferers are described as people who have worked hard at something like a job or relationship, only to be transformed into angry, pessimistic, brooding individuals consumed... More »

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psychiatry • behavior • stress • mental illness • revenge • PTSD • psychiatric disorders • emotion

OPINION

 Let's Help Vets 
 Avoid Extremist Urge 


Apr 18, 09 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - The recent Homeland Security report detailing right-wing extremist recruitment of veterans is “true, true, true,” Charles M. Blow writes in the New York Times. But “conservatives reacted by throwing a knee-jerk hissy fit,” suggesting that vets “were being vilified by a partisan document.”... More »

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veterans • US military • recruitment • Department of Homeland Security • white supremacism • PTSD • right-wing extremism

Senate Likes Shinseki for Veterans Affairs

War, economy burden system former Army general would inherit

Jan 14, 09 3:06 PM CST
(Newser) - Retired Gen. Eric Shinseki garnered bipartisan support for his Veterans Affairs Secretary nomination today in outlining his priorities before Congress, the Military Times reports. The former Army chief of staff admitted to little experience with veterans issues, but his vows to streamline the agency won support from the likes of... More »

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veterans • Department of Veterans Affairs • Republican Party • Bob Dole • PTSD • US Congress • Iraq war • Afghanistan war • Obama Cabinet • Eric Shinseki

Troop Brain Injuries Often Overlooked

Wounded suffer blast affects that stump medical experts

Aug 26, 08 2:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - An alarming number of US veterans are returning home from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars suffering long-term effects from concussions, the New York Times reports. Half of those who have suffered concussions quickly recover, but others have symptoms—including memory loss and mood swings—that can resurface months after the... More »

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veterans • US military • concussions • PTSD • brain injuries • Iraq veterans • Afghanistan veterans

OPINION

 Did Iconic
 Photo Drive
 Soldier's Death? 

Photographer reflects on the power of a moment captured

Jul 13, 08 9:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - A photo turned an American medic in Iraq into a hero, showing him carrying an Iraqi child to safety. But the photographer, Warren Zinn, wonders whether it also contributed to his suicide. Joseph Dwyer suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from Iraq; Zinn worries, in the Washington Post, whether his... More »

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US military • photography • overdose • soldier • PTSD • Iraq war • heroism

 Vets Slipping Into the Bottle 

Military blames troubled vets turning to booze for rise in misconduct

Jul 8, 08 5:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - A rise in alcohol abuse among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is worrying military officials, the New York Times reports. Counseling services for vets suffering post-traumatic stress disorder are stretched to the limit and many tormented former soldiers are turning instead to the bottle. The increase in binge drinking, and a... More »

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alcoholism • US military • substance abuse • PTSD • Iraq veterans • Afghanistan veterans

Vets Used to Test Drugs Linked to Suicide

VA accused of treating troubled patients like 'lab rats'

Jun 17, 08 2:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Combat veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder were recruited for clinical trials of drugs linked to suicide and mental disorders, ABC reports. In a trial involving the smoking-cessation drug Chantix, the VA did not warn patients of the drug's serious potential side effects until 3 months after the FDA and the... More »

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veterans • Department of Veterans Affairs • PTSD • clinical trials • Chantix • Food and Drug Administration • Veterans Administration

 Combat Troops Turn to Prozac 

Anti-depressants keep soldiers in the field

Jun 6, 08 3:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - A growing number of American troops serving abroad are taking Prozac and other antidepressants, Time reports. A survey last year found 12% of troops in Iraq are using the drugs, with 17% relying on them in Afghanistan. The drugs help the military keep stressed combat troops in the field—but... More »

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depression • antidepressant • US military • Prozac • PTSD • SSRIs

Stress Disorder Surges Among US Troops

Number of diagnosed cases rises 46%
to 14,000 last year

May 27, 08 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Post-traumatic stress disorder is surging among US troops sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. New cases rose by more than 46% to nearly 14,000 in 2007, reports Reuters. In the last five years, about 40,000 cases have been diagnosed, most of them in the Army. More »

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military • US Army • PTSD • Iraq war • Afghanistan war

 Debate Swirls Over
 Purple Heart for PTSD 

Proponents say honor would reduce stigma; medal devalued, foes counter

May 19, 08 7:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Members of the US military are debating whether Purple Heart medals should go to troops with post-traumatic stress disorder, the Military Times reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said, "It’s clearly something that needs to be looked at,” but foes argue it would devalue the honor for... More »

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US military • mental illness • PTSD • Purple Heart

 'Virtual Iraq'
 Helps Vets
 Face Stress 

Treatment drags soldiers back to moments of crisis

May 18, 08 5:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - Therapists are plunging US war veterans back into the horrors of battle—as therapy. A virtual reality treatment is helping them cope with post-traumatic stress disorder by returning them to scarring events until their shock value wanes. "When the ground starts vibrating and you smell smoke and hear the... More »

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veterans • Vietnam veteran • virtual reality • therapy • PTSD • Iraq veterans • Afghanistan veterans • cognitive behavioral therapy

VA Doctor Discouraged Post-Traumatic Diagnoses

Email urged staffers
to save disability costs

May 16, 08 9:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - A team leader at a veterans' medical center in Texas sent staffers an email urging them to avoid diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder, the Washington Post reports. "Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD... More »

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veterans • mental health • veterans' benefits • veterans' health care • Department of Veterans Affairs • PTSD • James B. Peake • Iraq veterans • Afghanistan veterans

'Sorry' Gates: We Let Down Our Soldiers

He regrets poor treatment for Iraq, Afghanistan vets

May 2, 08 7:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates admitted yesterday that the US military made mistakes in taking care of soldiers back from Afghanistan and Iraq, reports Reuters. He said he regretted that veterans had received inadequate care for physical and mental problems, particularly those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Gates also acknowledged that... More »

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veterans • Robert Gates • veterans' health care • US military • PTSD • Iraq veterans • Afghanistan veterans

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