Page 18 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt July 1 2016

July 2016 News Thunderbolt
http://www.luke.af.mil
18 www.aerotechnews.com/lukeafb

PTSD awareness leads to positive treatment

by AF graphic problems such as depression, substance
J.D. LEVITE abuse and domestic violence.”
If you, or someone you know, have been through a traumatic event, seek out a men-
Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs tal health provider and request a screening. PTSD does not usually go away on its The symptom of avoidance keeps many
own and the earlier you seek help the sooner you can start feeling better and return people from seeking help; however, PTSD
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Post-trau- to the life you want to lead. typically doesn’t get better on its own and
matic stress disorder can be debilitating can really affect all areas of a person’s life as
in some patients, but thanks to advance- work with the patient to expose them to dramatic reductions in distress and symp- well as their quality of life if left untreated.
ments in research and the continued the stimuli they are afraid of gradually toms,” Foster said. “For most the therapy
training of mental health providers, over time and in a supportive environ- is not as bad as they think it’s going to He said one of the big fears of service
treatments are getting better all the time. ment, the person undergoing treatment be. Nearly every person I’ve worked with members with PTSD is that it could end
gets comfortable, gains con dence, and has told me the anxiety and fear they have their career, but that is not the case today.
Maj. Joel Foster, Chief of Air Force De- resumes normal activities which helps before treatment is always much worse “After treatment and even during treat-
ployment Mental Health, said treating them to make use of social supports for than going through the treatment.” ment service members can generally go
PTSD has improved dramatically in the even greater improvements in their symp- back to work and resume enjoying their
last 20 years. toms and overall satisfaction with life.” “People with PTSD who don’t get help normal activities and routine,” Foster said.
end up having behavioral problems over
“Twenty years ago we didn’t really “Most patients can make substantial time,” Foster said. “In fact, untreated PTSD awareness has improved a lot in
know what PTSD was and didn’t know improvement within 6-12 weeks with PTSD almost always leads to additional recent years because more people are aware
what to do with patients who had PTSD,” of what it is and education about PTSD is
Foster said. “We tried to treat it like spreading. The more people talk about it
other anxiety problems. We put people and understand PTSD, the better equipped
in various types of therapy groups, which they are to identify it, and the more likely
weren’t always very helpful. What we people struggling with it are to get the
didn’t realize back then was that this treatment they need.
approach was not effective in treating
PTSD.” “I think things are getting better. People
are using services more frequently and
He added that now mental health pro- there is greater acceptance of help-seeking
viders use evidence-based trauma-focused while mental health stigma is decreasing.
therapies. Two of these therapies are pro- We have more work to do, but I think we’re
longed exposure and cognitive processing in a much better position than we were just
therapy, which are taught to all mental ten years ago,” Foster said.
health providers in the Air Force. Part
of the reason these treatments work is If you, or someone you know, have been
because they treat the cardinal symptom through a traumatic event, seek out a men-
of PTSD — avoidance of memories and tal health provider and request a screening.
reminders of the traumatic event. PTSD does not usually go away on its own,
and the earlier you seek help the sooner
“What these treatments do is break you can start feeling better and return to
the cycle of avoidance,” Foster said. “We the life you want to lead.

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ugnueiDdeepmloayekdesFammoilvyeDsinmnoeor th
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“PCS’ing can be exciting but also Courtesy of AAFES