Steven Swagler

Literature review
Neurological and phycological disorders are becoming more common in todays world
population. One of these disorders is something called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This
disorder affects a range of different people and can be the result of many different types of
events. In the past (preceding the Vietnam conflict) the people who had the disorder never
received the right treatment, mainly because they didnt know that it was a real thing or no one
ever noticed them having it. In any case, it needs to be recognized first then it can be treated.
PTSD can be cured with treatment and with patience.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is defined as an illness from witnessing traumatic events.1 PTSD
is commonly known to happen in military service members after a tour in combat, but most dont
know that it also occurs in civilians: men, women, and children.2 It most frequently occurs in
civilians who have witnessed terrorist attacks or have experienced any form of abuse whether it
be sexual, physical, or mental.3 Those who can experience traumatic events and not contract, for
lack of a better word, PTSD have an ability to avoid becoming personally attached to the events.
Brian Swagler, a retired army pilot, states that this will allow that type of person to deal with the
event a lot better than others will.4 For those who cannot detach themselves from the event, a few
scenarios can play out. The first is that they seek help and make progress fighting the disorder.
The second is that they keep it to themselves for the rest of their lifes and never get back to who
they were before. Lastly, they will let it destroy their lives; they will become unemployed then
homeless. Some of them will turn to substance abuse to forget the memories. When that doesnt
work, some will act out violently which leads them to jail and others will result to suicide. Sadly,
this fact is on the rise among American war veterans.5

1. Xenakis, Stephen N., and Matthew J. Friedman. "UNDERSTANDING PTSD." The Wilson Quarterly (1976-) 36,
no. 1 (2012): 8-9. http://www.jstor.org.librarylink.uncc.edu/stable/41484417.; Smith, Tyler C., Deborah L. Wingard,
Margaret A.K. Ryan, Donna Kritz-Silverstein, Donald J. Slymen, and James F. Sallis. "PTSD Prevalence, Associated
Exposures, and Functional Health Outcomes in a Large, Population-Based Military Cohort." Public Health Reports
(1974-) 124, no. 1 (2009): 90-102.

2. Yorbik, Ozgr, Derya Iren Akbiyik, Pinar Kirmizigul, and Teoman Shmen. "Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Symptoms in Children After the 1999 Marmara Earthquake in Turkey." International Journal of Mental Health 33,
no. 1 (2004): 46-58.

33. Smith, Tyler C., Deborah L. Wingard, Margaret A.K. Ryan, Donna Kritz-Silverstein, Donald J. Slymen, and
James F. Sallis. "PTSD Prevalence, Associated Exposures, and Functional Health Outcomes in a Large, Population-
Based Military Cohort." Public Health Reports (1974-) 124, no. 1 (2009): 90-102.

4. Swagler, Brian, and Brittney Morgan. "PTSD ." E-mail interview by author. February 1, 2017.

5. Xenakis, Stephen N., and Matthew J. Friedman. "UNDERSTANDING PTSD." The Wilson Quarterly (1976-) 36,
no. 1 (2012): 8-9. http://www.jstor.org.librarylink.uncc.edu/stable/41484417.
Steven Swagler
Literature review
Having a prior knowledge about a disease or disorder is nice, but it is useless until applied. With
that, how do you recognize if you or someone you know has PTSD? This is best described by
Scott Fink, a war veteran, and his wife. Scott suffers from the disorder and has struggled with it
for many years now. During the time after his safe return home, he reports being very tense,
untrusting, protective, and very attentive. At one point, he even found himself scanning for road
bombs as he drove down perfectly safe streets. PTSD has changed this man in a very negative
way. He used to be very happy and open but now his wife reports that he hardly speaks to her
about how he is feeling and always seems to be focused on something within. A few weeks after
they noticed his changed behavior they began to seek treatment. He resisted at first but with her
support he surmounted PTSD.6
With support and treatment most phycological disorders can be overpowered. PTSD is however
very convenient in regards to its treatment because most to all the general symptoms overlap
with depression and anxiety. This means that the methods of treatment between the three are also
similar. In an interview, it is stated that counseling may be able to help the patient overcome the
disorder.7 This is true, but no ordinary consoling will work. Johnathan Haidt and Allison Tonks
both suggest that cognitive therapy what is required to treat those who suffer of mental
disorders.8 A main portion of this therapy is to pick up hobbies or weekly activities to maintain a
busy and active schedule. Chris Fahey has found his hobby of salsa dancing, which has been
very successful for him.9 When a soldier goes off to war they are previously train on what to do
when they arrive and what their task will be, but soldiers do not seem to be trained on how to
return to where they started. Hector Garcia agrees that cognitive therapy is effect but also goes
on to say that it is the training that soldiers require to come back home to family and friends.10
Cognitive therapy may be one of the best methods of treatment but there are three others that
could also help along the journey back to normal. The first one is meditation, which is designed
to help the patient empty their mind and eventually control what they want to think about.11 The
second is a medicine called Prozac that belongs to the pill group of SSRIs. SSRIs or selective

66. "PTSD Takes Toll on Iraq Veteran and Family." NPR (audio blog), August 25, 2017.
Accessed January 22, 2017.

7. Swagler, Brian, and Brittney Morgan. "PTSD ." E-mail interview by author. February 1, 2017.

8. Haidt, Jonathan. The happiness hypothesis: finding modern truth in ancient wisdom. New York: Basic Books,
2006.; Tonks, Alison. "Commentary: Information For Patients Receiving Cognitive Therapy." BMJ: British Medical
Journal 326, no. 7391 (2003): 702.

9. "Vet Manages PTSD With Salsa Dancing." NPR (audio blog), November 25, 2015. Accessed January 22, 2017.

10. Garcia, Hector. "We train soldiers for war. Let's train them to come home, too." Lecture, Ted Talk , January 23,
2017. November 2015. Accessed January 23, 2017.
Steven Swagler
Literature review
serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the quickest way to cure mental disorders and restore
happiness.10 The only problem with them is that they are only temporary. After five weeks, they
begin to show progress but after five weeks of not taking them the patient is back where they
initially started.10 The final form of treatment is something known as art therapy. It is an off shoot
of cognitive therapy where the patients use drawings and painting to express how they feel, and
using these it can help them understand that they are now safe in this world and that it is nothing
but a picture now. This type of therapy is currently being used at Walter Reid Hospital which is
known to be very successful in curing PTSD.12 With these treatments in mind, all can be very
beneficial but a combination of them along with taking up old or new hobbies is sure to achieve
success.

11. Haidt, Jonathan. The happiness hypothesis: finding modern truth in ancient wisdom. New York: Basic Books,
2006.

12. Walker, Melissa. "Art can heal PTSD's invisible wounds." Lecture, Ted Talk , January 22,
2017. November 2015. Accessed January 22, 2017.