Steven Swagler

PTSD is a large topic that can be broken down into three main parts, who can be affected/what is
it, how do you know if you have it, and how it can be addressed. There are many sources that
support all points but the ones in the following paragraphs were chosen because I thought they
were the best for explanations.
PTSD is defined as an illness from witnessing traumatic events. 12 Although it most often occurs
in military personal after a tour in combat, it can occur in all types of people; men, women, and
children.10 Commonly PTSD occurs in civilian people who have witnessed terrorist attacks or
experienced any type of abuse: sexual, physical, or mental. 2 Most who suffer from it will
become unemployed and homeless which results in suicide for some and substance abuse for
others.13 The facts in the preceding statement is currently on the rise among US war veterans.1
You now know who PTSD occurs in but how do you know if you have it? A veteran Scott Fink
reports being very tense, untrusting, protective, and very attentive during his battle with it.4 He
states that he found himself scanning the roads for bombs as he drove down perfectly safe
streets.4 From an outside perspective, his wife reports that he is a changed man and is no longer
happy and open.4 If you can relate to him after an experience then you might just have the
disorder. PTSD patients need support and a way to address their disorder; Scott Fink found this
with his wife.
PTSD is like depression and anxiety in the sense of curing because a lot of the symptoms
overlap. Johnathan Haidt and Alison Tonks both suggest cognitive therapy as an effective way to
cure these mental disorders.14 This is expanded on by Hector Garcia who states that soldiers are
trained to fight but not trained to come home.7 He suggests that cognitive therapy is now the
homebound adjustment training.7 It is also suggested that Meditation and SSRIs or selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors will also help or cure PTSD, depression, and anxiety 5. All the three
preceding ways provide a method of getting back to normal life but used with a combination of
individual exercise is even more successful. Patients have found other ways to get over their
disorder. One of these is art therapy, an offshoot of cognitive therapy, developed by Walter Reid
hospital that allows the patients to express their experiences via drawing and clay models.8
Another is what Chris Fahey has found to be successful, salsa dancing. 91
1Xenakis, Stephen N., and Matthew J. Friedman. "UNDERSTANDING
PTSD." The Wilson Quarterly (1976-) 36, no. 1 (2012): 8-9.
http://www.jstor.org.librarylink.uncc.edu/stable/41484417.Smith, Tyler C., Deborah L.
Wingard, Margaret A.K. Ryan, Donna Kritz-Silverstein, Donald J. Slymen, and James F.
Sallis. "PTSD Prevalence, Associated Exposures, and Functional Health Outcomes in a
Large, Population-Based Military Cohort." Public Health Reports (1974-) 124, no. 1 (2009):
90-102.
2. Brady, Kathleen T., Sudie E. Back, and Scott F. Coffey. "Substance Abuse
and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder." Current Directions in Psychological Science 13, no. 5
(2004): 206-09.
3. "PTSD Takes Toll on Iraq Veteran and Family." NPR (audio blog), August
25, 2017. Accessed January 22, 2017.
Steven Swagler

4. Haidt, Jonathan. The happiness hypothesis: finding modern truth in

ancient wisdom. New York: Basic Books, 2006.
5. Tonks, Alison. "Commentary: Information For Patients Receiving
Cognitive Therapy." BMJ: British Medical Journal 326, no. 7391 (2003): 702.
6. Garcia, Hector. "We train soldiers for war. Let's train them to come home,
too." Lecture, Ted Talk , January 23, 2017. November 2015. Accessed January 23, 2017.
7. Walker, Melissa. "Art can heal PTSD's invisible wounds." Lecture, Ted
Talk , January 22, 2017. November 2015. Accessed January 22, 2017.
8. "Vet Manages PTSD With Salsa Dancing." NPR (audio blog), November
25, 2015. Accessed January 22, 2017.
9. Yorbik, Ozgr, Derya Iren Akbiyik, Pinar Kirmizigul, and Teoman
Shmen. "Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Children After the 1999 Marmara
Earthquake in Turkey." International Journal of Mental Health 33, no. 1 (2004): 46-58.
10. B. B. "Aging Vets Take Stress Disorder to Heart." Science News 171, no. 4
(2007): 61.
11. Xenakis, Stephen N., and Matthew J. Friedman. "UNDERSTANDING
PTSD." The Wilson Quarterly (1976-) 36, no. 1 (2012): 8-9.
http://www.jstor.org.librarylink.uncc.edu/stable/41484417.; Smith, Tyler C., Deborah L.
Wingard, Margaret A.K. Ryan, Donna Kritz-Silverstein, Donald J. Slymen, and James F.
Sallis. "PTSD Prevalence, Associated Exposures, and Functional Health Outcomes in a
Large, Population-Based Military Cohort." Public Health Reports (1974-) 124, no. 1 (2009):
90-102.
12. Xenakis, Stephen N., and Matthew J. Friedman. "UNDERSTANDING
PTSD." The Wilson Quarterly (1976-) 36, no. 1 (2012): 8-9.
http://www.jstor.org.librarylink.uncc.edu/stable/41484417.; Brady, Kathleen T., Sudie E.
Back, and Scott F. Coffey. "Substance Abuse and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder." Current
Directions in Psychological Science 13, no. 5 (2004): 206-09.
13. Haidt, Jonathan. The happiness hypothesis: finding modern truth in
ancient wisdom. New York: Basic Books, 2006.; Tonks, Alison. "Commentary: Information
For Patients Receiving Cognitive Therapy." BMJ: British Medical Journal 326, no. 7391
(2003): 702.