Word: ptsd
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...know what may have triggered his murderous shooting rampage on Nov. 5 at Fort Hood in Texas - Hasan is accused of killing 12 people and wounding 32 others before he was wounded by a police officer - but it is not uncommon for therapists treating soldiers with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to be swept up in patients' displays of war-related paranoia, helplessness and fury. (See pictures of suicide in recruiters' ranks...
...medical parlance it is known as "secondary trauma," and it can afflict the families of soldiers who suffer from PTSD along with the health workers who are trying to help those soldiers. Dr. Antoinette Zeiss, deputy chief of Mental Health Services for Veterans Affairs, while not wishing to talk about the specific case of the Fort Hood slayings, told TIME that "anyone who works with PTSD clients and hears their stories will be profoundly affected...
...reportedly had been harassed because of his religion and had developed strong objections to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But he was also due to be shipped out to Afghanistan, drawing him closer to the terrible scenes described in detail by his patients. At Army hospitals dealing with PTSD patients, staff members are required to periodically fill out a "resiliency" questionnaire that is supposed to gauge how well they are coping with the burden of their patients' emotional and psychological demands. "It takes its toll on people," says an officer at a Colorado military hospital. "You cannot be unaffected...
...Most Army psychiatrists now have a full caseload of men and women returning from combat zones with PTSD. A survey by the Rand Corp. in April revealed that 1 in 5 service men and women are coming back with posttraumatic stress and mental depression. Previously known as "combat fatigue" or being "shell-shocked," PTSD was only diagnosed as an illness in the 1980s, but it has been around for as long as men have been killing one another and undergoing fearful experiences. It can lead to outbursts of rage, emotional numbness, severe depression, nightmares and the abuse of alcohol...
...will take years to ease the trauma Fort Hood suffered Thursday. The Army will have to deploy more psychiatrists to deal with the surge of PTSD cases sure to come. The post recently has taken steps to ease stress on the home front, including creating "Phantom Family Time." It occurs every Thursday at 3 p.m. That was 86 minutes after one of those psychiatrists dispatched to central Texas to help ailing troops instead began shooting and shouting "Allahu akbar" - God is great - at those counting on him for solace...