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PTSD IN THE FEMALE SOLDIER -- Female patients report
more depressive symptoms than do male patients,
and men
report more irritability and anger, nightmares,
and flashbacks.
For more about veterans and PTSD, click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/se
ssearch.php?q=ptsd&op=and
Story here...
http://psychcentral.com/new
s/2009/02/20/ptsd-in-the-female-solider/4243.html
Story below:
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-------------------------
PTSD In The Female Solider
By Rick Nauert, Ph.D.
Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
(Psych Central) -- According to military records, as of September 30, 2008
over 200,000 women were serving on active duty. While women are
technically barred from serving in combat, they are serving in support
positions in combat areas in greater numbers.
This new role for women in the military brings with it new physical and
mental health concerns, namely post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for
those exposed to combat-related trauma.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PTSD is a condition
that develops after a distressing ordeal that involved physical harm or
the threat of physical harm. This harm may have happened to the person who
develops PTSD or to a friend or loved one, or may have simply been
witnessed by the person who develops PTSD.
People with PTSD may suffer flashbacks to the traumatic event, become
aggressive or withdrawn, have nightmares, or become emotionally numb or
even violent. Symptoms of PTSD usually appear about three months after the
traumatic event.
PTSD affects approximately 2.6 percent of the U.S. population. Among
military personnel serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation
Enduring Freedom (OEF), that percentage climbs as high as 17 percent. In
the general population, women suffer from PTSD at almost twice the rate as
do men.
Why are women more susceptible to PTSD? Animal models have shown that male
and female rats react to stress differently. For example, male rats are
more prone to develop memory impairments in response to stressors.
In addition, women have been shown to ruminate over nontraumatic negative
events more than men, who tend to use more distraction-based coping
techniques. While these behaviors may pose evolutionary advantages for
each sex, they also may contribute to the increased incidence of PTSD in
women. Surprisingly, female soldiers suffer from PTSD at about the same
rate as do male soldiers.
More study is needed to determine whether the degree of trauma experienced
by female soldiers is less severe, due to the differences in job
assignments.
Because the female combat-exposed soldier is a relatively new phenomenon,
little is known about the unique needs and issues facing the female
soldier with combat-related PTSD. Studies have shown that the PTSD
symptoms of female and male soldiers are different. Female patients report
more depressive symptoms than do male patients, and men report more
irritability and anger, nightmares, and flashbacks.
The good news for female soldiers suffering from PTSD is that effective
treatments are available.
Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and exposure therapy have shown promise
in treating both combat and noncombat-related PTSD. However, not everyone
who experiences a trauma seeks treatment.
Women are more likely than men to seek help after a traumatic event and
least one study found that women respond to treatment as well as or better
than men. This may be because women are generally more comfortable sharing
feelings and talking about personal things
 with
others than men.
While the Veterans Administration is developing treatment programs
specifically tailored to the unique needs of the female soldier, more and
more female soldiers are returning from combat and transitioning into the
private health care system.
According to Dr. Dan McCarthy, chief clinical officer of Magellan Health
Services, “Behavioral health providers in the private sector have a couple
of basic hurdles to overcome in preparing to better serve our nation’s
female veterans who may have PTSD.
“The first has to do with regularly obtaining information from women, as
they routinely do with men, about their military service and veteran
status in order to facilitate follow-up questioning regarding possible
military-related traumatic experiences.
“The second has to do with acquiring a greater familiarity with military
culture so that private sector treatment can be delivered in a culturally
sensitive manner and coordination with Department of Defense and VA
resources can be maximized.”
-------------------------
posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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