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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder


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It is a stunning statistic: one in six veterans returning from combat in Iraq has symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder! PTSD is a psychiatric malady that is marked by clear biological changes as well as psychological symptoms. Victims of PTSD typically experience nightmares, sleepless nights and short temper. And as reported on the Eyewitness News earlier this week, many so afflicted can’t figure out what’s wrong with them. Fewer than 40 percent seek professional help.

While the military is proactively addressing the issue, KSL believes society at large must become more keenly aware of PTSD as our soldiers return and assimilate back into civilian life. PTSD often affects a person’s ability to function in social or family life, including occupational instability, marital problems and difficulty in parenting. Hopefully, awareness will bring greater empathy for the erratic behavior exhibited by some war veterans, and there will be less of a stigma associated with the disorder, which is one of the main reasons many veterans fail to seek professional help.

War, of course, leaves many scars. In KSL’s view, it is as important to treat and heal those with scars of the mind as it is soldiers who sustain more obvious physical injuries in the course of fighting for their country.

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