# data[].attributes.body
Over 800,000 Vietnam Veterans are suffering or have suffered from PTSD.

# data[].attributes.headline
Different People, Different Types of PTSD

# data[].attributes.subject
Different People, Different Types of PTSD

# data[].attributes.body
All cases of PTSD and their effects are different among various people. Some are triggered by a helicopter going by or even the smell of diesel exhaust.

# data[].attributes.body
Most soldiers who were victims of PTSD did not recieve compensation from the government. Most people did not like this because PTSD can happen any time after returning home from war. If it happens immediately it is called acute PTSD. If it happens after a long delay it is called chronic PTSD.

# data[].attributes.body
Out of a few other wars, Vietnam Veterans have a significant higher number of Veterans affected from PTSD. The factors that contribute to the trauma in soldiers could have been:
-the role they fulfilled
the location (extremely hot environment, lost 20% of their body weight in the "bush," and disease was everywhere)
-the politics around the war (the stress of not being welcomed home)
- the enemy faced (difficult to distinguish friend from foe)

# data[].attributes.body
Some loud noises can remind the soldier of the stresses that occurred during combat. Another way to trigger PTSD is through extreme feelings of stress. Whether it be from life changing events or not being able to adapt to normal civilian life, most result in traumatic feelings.

# data[].attributes.body
As it can be seen in the pie chart, veterans from the Vietnam War are the ones who have suffered from PTSD the most compared to other wars.

# data[].attributes.body
Although only 10% of the American forces see combat, our US Military now has the highest rate of PTSD in history. PTSD is a natural response to danger, which makes it almost unavoidable in the short term. Only around 20% of veterans get long term PTSD with trauma.

# data[].attributes.body
Studies were done to see how PTSD has affected Vietnam Veterans over the years

# data[].attributes.body
If soldiers experienced symptoms 6 months after their return home it was considered a "transient situational disorder." The policy for receiving treatment and compensation for this PTSD, made it so they were not eligible for treatment because it was a pre-existing condition. The United States Government could not treat it.

# data[].attributes.body
In prior years, soldiers who had fought in a war were welcomed home and seen to be heroes. When Vietnam veterans returned home they were seen as murderers. They were seen this way because so many citizens disapproved of the war and did not believe that the United States should be fighting there in the first place. When the veterans were not asked to share their experiences, they had to bottle it up and not tell anyone. The lack of support from the community added to the post war stress that the veterans were beginning to have.

# data[].attributes.body
This type of therapy is specifically helpful in the beginning stages if treatment. Also there are some times when Doctors will suggest group cognitive therapy to help. Then many veterans find that group meditation and therapy may help.

# data[].attributes.body
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are a type of antidepressant which many veterans take. They help you to feel less sad and worried. Some types of these medications include; citalopram, fluoxetine (Such as Prosac), paroxetine, and sertraline.

# data[].attributes.body
One form of treatment is
Cognitive behavioral therapy. It is said to be the most effective type of counseling for PTSD. With this type of therapy, the therapist helps you to change the way you understand and think about the event, such as war. With the help of this therapy it changes your thoughts to show more accurate and less distressing thoughts.

# data[].attributes.body
-Relive the event
-Have nightmares
-Flashbacks
-Negative changes in beliefs and feelings
-May get hyperarousal
-Anxiety
-Depression

# data[].attributes.body
Most people believe that men were the only people to suffer from  PTSD, but military women also suffered from this. Most of these women were nurses that helped the wounded soldiers. They too were involved in highly traumatic events while they were working to save many soldiers that were wounded from combat. Their mental well-being was affected by being in extremely stressful situations because they felt as though they were often responsible for not being able to save their lives. This led them to feel guilty and fearful about what happened. Fourteen to twenty-two years after their service 10% of these women serving in Vietnam were diagnosed with PTSD.

# data[].attributes.body
Male Vietnam Veterans who had PTSD in 1987 were nearly twice as likely to have died compared to those who did not have PTSD.

# data[].attributes.body
The high levels of stress and need for survival in combat is what led to veterans having post traumatic stress disorder.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

# data[].attributes.body
Before Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was the official name to describe returning soldiers with trauma symptoms, it was called Post Vietnam Syndrome. This syndrome usually consists of combat related nightmares, anxiety, anger, depression, alcohol and/or drug dependence, and poor responsiveness. It wasn't until 1980 that it was considered an anxiety disorder.

# data[].attributes.body
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is defined as having flashbacks, upsetting memories, and anxiety following a traumatic event.

# data[].attributes.body
Even 40 years after Vietnam more than 250,000 veterans suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, this is the story of a veteran who is now getting help.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Philip Paolini served four years in the Vietnam War as a marine. In the years since then, he's faced a number of hardships, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse and homelessness.

And Paolini's story is far from uncommon. New research shows that four decades after the Vietnam War ended, more than 270,000 veterans who served in the war zone suffer from symptoms of PTSD, a mental health condition characterized by painful flashbacks, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about the disturbing events they experienced.

The study, published online Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry, also found that at least one-third of those veterans exhibiting symptoms of PTSD suffer from major depression, as well.

Researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center followed up with Vietnam War veterans who had participated in a study from 1984 to 1988. Of the 1,839 men and women still alive from the original study, over 1,400 participated in at least one phase of the new study, which involved a health questionnaire, health interview and clinical interview.

The study authors used three different scales to measure PTSD. Depending on the method, the results suggest that between 4.5 percent and 11.2 percent of the male Vietnam veterans and 6.1 and 8.7 percent of the female vets are experiencing serious PTSD symptoms today.

About 16 percent of veterans in the study reported an increase of more than 20 points on a PTSD symptom scale, while only 7.6 percent reported a decrease of greater than 20 points.

"The primary message is that the majority of men and women who served in Vietnam are resilient across 40 years," lead study author Dr. Charles Marmar told CBS News. "However, equally important, the minority of individuals who were symptomatic 15 years ago or more are likely to have increases rather than decreases in the severity of the symptoms. A case of PTSD that is chronic -- lasting more than five years after war -- is likely to persist because most spontaneous recovery occurs in the first two to three years."

He pointed out that although rates of overall depression are very low among Vietnam veterans today, one third of those with PTSD also have major depressive disorder, compounding the mental illness.

In addition, the ordinary stresses of aging, including increasing health problems and declining cognitive function, tend to exacerbate PTSD symptoms even more, the authors said.

"Also impacting PTSD are other sociological factors of aging, such as retirement which can lead to greater social isolation and opportunities to reminisce on memories," Marmar said. "All of these make it more difficult to suppress and control traumatic memories."

Now 70-year-old veteran Joe Jackson says that when he got home from a year of combat in Vietnam, "I tried to bury it." But ignoring the trauma didn't work; instead he experienced anxiety and outbursts of rage. He and his family suffered for 20 years before he got help.

Experts say that the research highlights what may be ahead for other generations of veterans and the importance of getting treatment to those who need it.

"For Vietnam veterans, I would say they really did not have services for PTSD available to them when they came home, and if they haven't received treatment it's never too late," said Dr. Charles Hoge, senior scientist at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. "For Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, there are many more treatment options available."

At his daughter's urging, Jackson finally got counseling, and he says it has helped. "It made it a lot easier for me to accept," he said.

As for Paolini, about two years ago he went Veterans Inc., a non-profit organization aimed at ending homelessness among veterans, to get support. He received counseling and medication and said he has since turned his life around. Despite his struggles, he said he is proud to have served his country.

"I don't choose to live in the past," he said. "I don't choose to live in the future. I choose to live in the moment now and make the best day I can every day."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Many Vietnam veterans still suffer from PTSD decades later

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Philip Paolini served four years in the Vietnam War as a marine. In the years since then, he's faced a number of hardships, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse and homelessness. And Paolini's story is far from uncommon.