This Stressor Thing Blows My Mind - *TRIGGERS*

[packrat]

Good for you. Keep the faith . I keep reading the deffinition of a stressor and even though it is in black and white, it really drives me batty. "Fear for your life or the life of others." I mean have a heart. How about a "reasonable person clause". " exposure to extreme war time sights,sounds or smells that would cause any reasonable person extreme emotional distress. I believe we are just touching the tip of the iceburg with the Vietnam vets when they come out of the woodwork in their mid 60's. I, myself will be able to provide the VA with a government document with statements like "heavily engaged with a hostile force and undaunted by the intensity of hostile fire and remained in his dangerously exposed position to ensure". I was shot at many times and we had rockets and mortors droped on us many a time. I lost close,close friends that were 50 yards away and poof, then they were gone. I have only been exposed this stressor requirement thing for a couple of weeks. Up until then if some one said "stressor" I wouldn't have known what they were talking about.

First hand experience folks. There are things far more unbearable to some then getting shot at or coming close to death. Now if the folks that wrote the requirements don't think so maybe they need to put in a year in a front line position. Now it may only be me but I don't think so. I would rather be shot at then have had to handle some of those poor souls that didn't make it. Those are the ghost that will haunt me until the day I die. I believe you can train a 20 year old to handle a confrontain that can result in their death. I am not sure you can train a 20 year old to handle the sights of what war can do to a human being.

Any war vet should be able to use as a stressor the sights and smells of death without fear for their own life or the life of others. How about the life that was already lost. The dessecration of what was once a human being. The unrecognizable remains of someone husband,son, father or brother. At least to me the origional stressor regulations should have always covered this without the provision of fear for your own life or the life of others.

The sights of the pure horrors of war it self is enough to drive some to the very edge. Even though I can sit with a shrink and prove "fear for my life" I know what I see, asleep and awake. They should not have made it this hard for some of those who sought help in the past.

I am new here and I am not sure venting like this is allowed. These are my thoughts and if it is not allowed or too extreme, I understand if you take it down. I have not seen my first shrink and the VA informs me of a problem. The shrink my be the least of my problems. Take care of each other people. You are vets 365 days of the year not just on Nov 11th.

Semper Fi

[john999]

I know there was a case recently we discussed here about a soldier in Europe who feared a terrorist attack and he got service connection for PTSD under new rules. He got it because he had some "reasonable" fear of terrorism. So every single soldier in Afghanistan could claim the same thing. You might get shot or blown up walking to the PX at some airbase.

[LarryJ]

Show me some Vets that even knew about PTSD during the Vietnam war. Most of the current vets are more educated about PTSD because of so many issues with the Vietnam vets. Most of the vets that lost a limb that I had to med evac were in shock. The fact that they went into shock was a self preservation mode to protect their sanity was it not? I have seen a soldier stare at a arm that was not there trying to figure out why it would not move.How could you go into shock to protect your sanity and not have a stressor? The act of going into shock itself says "I can't handle it". This is the very reason so many Vietnam vets do not seek help. We feel ashamed to seek help for what we see as minor when people like Commander Bob gave so much. I mean lets use some common sense. Having your leg blow off is getting shot at and I would think losing a leg pretty much covers "in fear for his life". Where do they find these people?

Well, to put it more accurately, the body's reaction to trauma, by "going into shock", is a physiological reaction and not a psychological reaction.

just sayin............

[packrat]

Well, to put it more accurately, the body's reaction to trauma, by "going into shock", is a physiological reaction and not a psychological reaction.

just sayin............

Larry are you saying a human can not a go through a physiological shock and a psychological shock or reaction as you call at the same time?

[LarryJ]

Larry are you saying a human can not a go through a physiological shock and a psychological shock or reaction as you call at the same time?

I do believe that the "shock" that you refer to in your posting (the loss of a limb, I believe you used as an example) is referred to as traumatic shock. If so, I offer this:

Traumatic shock A condition of depressed body functions as a reaction to injury with loss of body fluids or lack of oxygen. Signs of traumatic shock include weak and rapid pulse, shallow and rapid breathing, and pale, cool, clammy skin.Mentioned in: Woundsgem()Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.traumatic shock Etymology: Gk, trauma, wound; Fr, choc the emotional or psychologic state after trauma that may produce abnormal behavior. The most common types are hypovolemic shock from blood loss and neurogenic shock caused by a disruption of the integrity of the spinal cord. mosbyMD()Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.shock, n 1. a state of collapse of the body after injury or trauma. Shock may be either primary or secondary. The principal effects of shock are slowing of the peripheral blood flow and reduction in cardiac output.

2. a circulatory insufficiency caused by a disparity between circulating blood volume and vascular capacity.

[Philip Rogers]

Carla - I believe the part that states "fear for their own life or the life of others" is directly from the VA.

The DSM IVTR states: The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present:

1.the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others.

2.the person’s response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.

I believe the VA re-wrote the criteria in an effort to decrease or limit the number of claims. jmo

pr

[Bonzai]

Stressors don't have to be front line, you can have brushes with death in many ways in the military; it's kind of the nature of the training - and people die in training - been there, seen that

They can also be the result of the type of training: Special Operations trainings will change people, in ways they themselves do not realize.

The one MOS I can think of that was no muss, no fuss: In-flight missile repair ;)

Edited December 4, 2010 by Bonzai