Since we first went to war in this country, there have been cases of PTSD, but they were defined by the terms shell shocked or battle fatigue. It was not until 1980 that PTSD was finally recognized as a medical diagnosis. While PTSD may result from many different events such as combat exposure, sexual assault, accidents, natural disasters and even abuse, I am focusing only on combat related PTSD for the time being.
In this age of computers and virtual reality, it is not surprising to know that the military uses computer gaming software to simulate certain realities found in Iraq/Afghanistan. Thanks to the developers at the Institute of Creative Technology at the University of Southern California, a virtual world has been developed whereby soldiers can feel as if they are back in Iraq, feel explosions occurring around them, as the sights, sounds and feelings are recreated for them.
One clinical psychologist, Dr. Greg Reger working at the Telehealth and Technology Center of the Defense Center of Excellence is actually putting it to work. He has used this technology to help in the treatment of patients with PTSD. The transition from war and a need for heightened alertness at all times into a life back home is not always easily accomplished and for some, it is nearly impossible.
Through the use of virtual reality, not only can the experiences that triggered the soldiers’ PTSD be brought out, but it makes it much harder for them to disengage from the reality of the situation as they talk about it. One thing that our military learns to do is to create a mental distancing from situations in order to cope with the dead or wounded. They don’t have time to stop and think, they have to rely on their training, instincts and react to what is happening around them, rather than to their feelings of what is happening to their buddies.
While this is a good thing in the heat of battle, they need to be able to turn it off when they come in for counseling. That is not something easily done. One of the standard methods of therapy is to imagine what happened and talk about it again and again, thus lessening the anxiety associated with those event or series of events. For many vets, they are not willing to do this, and have a hard time dropping the barriers for this method to be effective for them.
With the virtual reality method, the programming can be adjusted to each individual for time of day, weather conditions, type of ambush, fire fight, IED, etc. It is also felt that this might appeal more to the younger vets that have returned from the Gulf War, OIF and OEF.
Some of the most common symptoms of PTSD might include all or many of the following behaviors. They might have trouble sleeping, being easily startled, replaying of events again and again in their mind or avoidance of anything that might remind them of these events. Also it is quite common for a state of hyper awareness or vigilance to occur as well as a lack of emotions and even recognizing this lack of emotion. They might feel numb, detached, depressed or have no feelings at all.
The Navy is funding research at three different locations in the use of virtual reality and the treatment of PTSD. It has already been put into use for anxiety disorders, and chronic cases of PTSD, but they are exploring the effects of it on acute cases of PTSD. The three areas of research are located at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, The Naval Medical Center San Diego, and the Virtual Reality Medical Center in San Diego, which I spoke of previously.
If you are reluctant to seek help for your PTSD because of the method of treatment being offered, ask about the Virtual Reality Therapy treatments or perhaps you might seek out a different person to get help from. On May 27th I wrote an article talking about medical professionals who donate an hour of free therapy time each week. Here is the link to the article; Give an Hour provides free counseling for our vets and their families! Don’t think that because you can’t afford the cost, or it isn’t being handled through the VA system that you can’t use it. There are options out there, so take advantage of them!
Related articles:
US Navy to Study Virtual Reality Therapy for PTSD
Virtual Reality Brings Therapy to PTSD Patients
American Combat Veterans of War (ACVOW)
Give an Hour provides free counseling for our vets and their families!
Military Veterans PTSD Reference Manual
Center Creates ‘Little Miracles’ in Treating Combat Stress
Anti-depressants = a prescription for disaster ??
On Sheep, Wolves & Sheepdogs, LTC David Grossman
Copyright 2008 MsMarti. All rights reserved.
WOTN Note: Some symptoms of PTSD are not necessarily indicative of it. Alertness/Awareness for example is a natural state of the Sheepdog/Warrior though it may require refinement to fit into civilian settings. Please read the article "On Combat" by MTD which reviews the book of the same name and the article by LTC Grossman.
You can purchase the book "On Combat" via this link:
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