Military families share wounds as service members transition to life back home

(Family Features) — It's common for service members and their families to experience stress as a result of deployment and other life transitions. Service members and their families are not alone. Resources like the Real Warriors Campaign exist to support families' overall well-being.

The campaign, sponsored by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE), is a public education initiative designed to encourage help-seeking behavior for service members, veterans and military families coping with invisible wounds. The tools and resources available through the campaign promote the processes of building resilience, facilitating recovery and supporting reintegration for returning service members, veterans and their families.

The website (www.realwarriors.net) offers articles and practical tips for spouses and families of service members aimed to cover all aspects of military life and the deployment cycle, including articles about how to adjust to changes preparing for homecomings and how to help children cope with deployments and reunions.



http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/20110727/NEWS/110729920/1055&ParentProfile=1045

War veterans find peace of mind with pets

(CBS News)  For too many veterans, the battles don't end when they come home from war. Combat stress has no easy cure. But one vet found peace was a lot closer than he thought and now he's helping others find it, too. CBS News correspondent Chip Reid has his story.
Dave Sharpe calls his pit bull Cheyenne his savior, and that's no exaggeration. When she was just a puppy, she saved his life
Sharpe served with the U.S. Air Force security forces in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. After two near-death experiences, he returned home with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Before I met her, I was a wreck," said Sharpe. "I was out of control, I would start fights for no reason."
Deeply depressed and filled with rage, he decided to end his misery with his pistol.
"[I] cocked it back, put it right in my mouth and I sat there and cried for about a minute or two," Sharpe recalled. "I was this close to pulling the trigger."
That's when Cheyenne, who was then six months old, came to his rescue.
"She came up behind me and she licked my ear, said Sharpe. "And she gave me this look of, 'What are you doing man, who's going to let me sleep in your bed? Listen, if you take care of me, I'll take care of you.'"
Sharpe realized at that moment he had something to live for. But he didn't stop there, as he decided that what saved him might save others like him

By Chip Reid

 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/25/eveningnews/main20083157.shtml

Army unveils new website for wounded, injured, ill soldiers' families and caregivers

The Army Warrior Transition Command has added another tool in its holistic approach to caring for wounded, ill and injured soldiers.

Available online at http://www.wtc.army.mil/about_us/ctp.html, the Comprehensive Transition Plan Learning Module is a resource developed to help families and caregivers of a Warrior in Transition, defined as "a soldier with complex medical needs requiring six months or more of treatment or rehabilitation."

The definition can include soldiers severely wounded in combat, injured on the job in peacetime or wartime, or suffering from a long-term illness.

At the Army's 29 Warrior Transition Units in the United States and Europe, supporting some 8,500 soldiers requiring long-term treatment and rehabilitation, the soldiers are given one mission — to heal and transition successfully, either back to active duty or into the civilian world.

By Phillip Grey

http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20110722/NEWS08/107220322/Army-unveils-new-website-for-soldiers-caregivers?odyssey=tab|mostpopular|text|FRONTPAGE

Take Home Points: Lessons From a DCoE Psychologist

Today, the U.S. Army highlights a blog post from one of DCoE’s newest team members, Capt. Dayami Liebenguth. 


Capt.Liebenguth is a former officer in charge of the combat stress control behavioral health clinic for an entire forward operating base during a 12-month deployment to Iraq. Liebenguth is now a clinical psychologist consultant at Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE).

Liebenguth, who completed her postdoctoral training at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, was attached to the 85^th combat stress control medical detachment from Fort Hood, Texas. While deployed, she incorporated group classes as an effective tactic in maintaining resilience.

“Most of the service member training I did in theater included classes on anger and stress management, sleep hygiene, coping skills and relationship sessions, interpersonal difficulties and problem resolution among peers,” she said. “The most frequent psychological health concerns while deployed revolved around home-front issues and duty-related stressors.”

By Ashmc call

http://armylive.dodlive.mil/index.php/2011/07/take-home-points-lessons-from-a-dcoe-psychologist/

New app provides vets a tool for PTSD

WASHINGTON - Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) now have a new mobile resource to help combat the disorders’ many challenges.

The Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) have jointly developed the “ PTSD Coach ,” a free smartphone application to help those with PTSD.

It allows users to track and manage symptoms, find support and get reliable information about PTSD. The app can also bring up personal photos or play music during times of distress.

Dr. Sonja Batten, of the Department of Veterans Affairs, says the app was specifically developed with veterans in mind. 

By. kristin volk

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/health/new-app-provides-vets-a-tool-for-ptsd

Addressing PTSD With Surf Therapy

For the last handful of years, Britain and the United States have done quiet experiments with a new form of therapy for veterans suffering from combat stress, using a resource neither nation lacks along their coasts: surf.

“Ocean therapy,” or surf therapy, will surprise longtime surfers mainly because of the official-sounding name; the idea that an ocean and a surfboard can be good for the body and mind is otherwise not very new. But recent studies have tried to quantify just what happens in the water.

The United Kingdom’s National Health Service is still conducting trials in Cornwall, where waves wash in from the Atlantic, to determine whether “surf therapy” deserves taxpayer support. The idea caused outrage at the Daily Mail, where outrage is a business model.

“It’s important that the NHS uses its funds for medicine and equipment rather than watersports,” a British taxpayers’ advocate, Fiona McEvoy, told the Mail late last year. National Health defended the trials on the grounds that they were cheap — £250, or about $400 per person — and aimed at saving money on demand for antidepressants and other drug therapies.

By Michael Scott Moore

http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/addressing-ptsd-with-surf-therapy-33888/

Brain injury raises dementia risk, US study finds

PARIS -- A large study in older veterans raises fresh concern about mild brain injuries that hundreds of thousands of troops have suffered from explosions in recent wars. Even concussions seem to raise the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or other dementia later in life, researchers found.

Closed-head, traumatic brain injuries are a legacy of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Body armor is helping troops survive bomb blasts, but the long-term effects of their head injuries are unknown.

Other research found a possibly high rate of mild cognitive impairment, or "pre-Alzheimer's," in some retired pro-football players, who take many hits to the head in their careers.

The studies, reported Monday at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in France, challenge the current view that only moderate or severe brain injuries predispose people to dementia.


By MARILYNN MARCHIONE

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/07/18/science-eu-med-alzheimer-apos-s-veterans_8569979.html

‘Gym' puts brain through the paces

After a piece of airplane equipment fell during a flight and left her with a head injury, Air Force Master Sgt. Jill Westeyn sometimes forgot to look both ways when crossing the street, had trouble typing and often misplaced objects that she needed.

“I felt slower,” Westeyn said. “It took me twice as long to do everything.” Her brain scans were normal, but when it was time to mail Christmas gifts she sent the presents to the wrong family members. “I sent my mother Hello Kitty pajamas.”

Westeyn's memory, field of vision, sleeping and concentration have all improved after a year and a half of working out at the Brain Fitness Center, located in the Military Advanced Training Center, MATC, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. “I'm processing faster now, and I'm much more productive at work. Things are working better now than prior to the injury,” said Westeyn, who gets married tomorrow.

The two-year-old Brain Fitness Center is open to any servicemember who complains of issues with their thinking, memory, decision making or other cognitive skills. So far, 135 servicemembers have used the center to exercise their minds and have come through a referral or they simply walk in.

by Otesa Middleton Miles

http://www.capflyer.com/article/20110708/NEWS17/110709979/-8216-gym-puts-brain-through-the-paces

Post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep and breathing: NetWellness

Many local military veterans return from combat duty only to find themselves facing a new challenge.  Their once stable and happy civilian lives have become completely foreign to them.  The families that they left behind feel like strangers they can no longer relate to and friends they have known for years are no longer as trusted as before.

Even though these men and women try very hard, they find themselves becoming easily irritated and angry with those around them.  They have trouble sleeping and focusing on work.  They try to avoid thinking about the combat experiences they have had but the memories come flooding back.  Often times, flashbacks and horrifying dreams are experienced and in the worst cases, hallucinations can happen. Or worse yet, the despair and loneliness can drive the person to harm themselves or someone else.

All of these symptoms are related to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and many more.  Patients with PISD have overwhelming feelings of shame and guilt along with the stigma of being branded mentally ill when they seek treatment for the disorder. 

The damning feature of PTSD is that the disorder is triggered by outward occurrences, not internal physiology.  It is not known for sure why some persons develop PTSD and others do not, but it appears that it can recur over time.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – Part 1 - Fresno Military Community | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/military-community-in-fresno/living-with-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-part-1#ixzz1SUAiA1XE

http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2011/07/post-traumatic_stress_disorder.html

The Mental Toll of Trauma – CSTS Helps You Prepare, Respond, Recover

When natural disasters strike, like Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi River flooding or the earthquake, tsunami and radiation threat in Japan, we tend to think survivors’ immediate needs are: safe food and water, places to live, and tools to rebuild lives and communities.

For disease outbreaks, our thoughts may go to medical care for the affected.

The 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States and civil unrest in foreign countries might cause concern for victims and families of victims.

But, there is another dimension to the consequences of traumatic events we may not immediately think of — the psychological well-being of those involved.

http://military-online.blogspot.com/2011/07/mental-toll-of-trauma-csts-helps-you.html

In Purple Heart Medal, Researchers Seek Clues to Combat Stress Resilience & Longer Life

A study led by Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers found that aging Veterans who earned the Purple Heart show decreased mortality compared with those who had not earned the medal. Additionally, those war-wounded Veterans who survive into later life—especially those who do not develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—may provide valuable clues as to the factors that lead to resilience to combat stress.

A team of VA researchers who studied more than 10,000 Veterans of World War II and the Korean War produced these findings, which appear online in the journal Depression and Anxiety. “Among the older Veterans we studied, those with Purple Heart citations had half the mortality rate of those without Purple Heart citations,” said lead author Tim Kimbrell, MD, a physician-researcher with the Center for Mental Health and Outcomes Research, based at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.

Whether the Purple Heart holders had chronic PTSD or not, they were about twice as likely to still be alive after some 10 years of follow-up, compared with those with no Purple Heart and no PTSD. The study included Veterans who were 65 and or older in the late 1990s. It tracked their survival through 2008.

It is estimated that more than a million Servicemembers received a Purple Heart in World War II, and nearly 119,000 in the Korean War. In recent years, researchers with VA and the Department of Defense have sought insight into the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable some Servicemembers to not develop PTSD after traumatic events. The authors of the new VA study say Purple Heart holders who survive long past their war experience without PTSD may be the ideal population on which to focus such research.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/finance/?pg=%2fnews%2fread%3fGUID%3d18947419#ixzz1S7pEGjuq

Report: Study finds link between PTSD, compromised immune systems in veterans Read more: http://www.thetandd.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/article_46229f3c-ac05-11e0-875d-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1S0o2JB6J

http://www.thetandd.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/article_46229f3c-ac05-11e0-875d-001cc4c03286.html

COLUMBIA - Preliminary results of a study show a link between post-traumatic stress disorder and compromised immune system in war veterans diagnosed with PTSD.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and Arnold School of Public Health, and the Dorn VA Medical Center, shows that PTSD patients have increased levels of inflammation, caused by an increase in certain types of cells that regulate the immune functions.

The results are significant because they could lead to novel methods for diagnosis and treatment of PTSD, said Dr. Prakash Nagarkatti, associate dean and Carolina Distinguished Professor at the USC medical school, who is the lead researcher in this study.

The findings also are the basis for a new $1.72 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to Nagarkatti and his team of researchers, who will intensify their research on the pathological basis of immune dysfunction in war veterans with PTSD.

Read more: http://www.thetandd.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/article_46229f3c-ac05-11e0-875d-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1S0oEHVTq

Yoga Warriors - The Sun Chronicle Online - Features

"Breathe...innnhale...exxxhale...begin to quiet the mind," Pam Gaboury, in a soft and steady tone, encourages her small group of students at a recent session.

As is typical with yoga, there's the attention to breathing, being in the moment, releasing the stress and clearing thoughts from the day - stretching, focusing on the connection between body and mind.

For active military personnel, veterans and their immediate families, that connection may be even more integral in their overall health, indicate some recent studies including one that led to the creation of "Yoga Warriors," a program Gaboury and the Attleboro YMCA have joined up to provide free of charge to service people and their spouses, parents, sons and daughters.

"It's calming down that fight or flight" mindset, said Gaboury, a certified yoga teacher, nurse and mother of a third tour of duty son who is now serving in Afghanistan.

BY SUSAN LaHOUD

Yoga Warriors - The Sun Chronicle Online - Features

Study finds lengthy deployments contribute to mental health problems in children

The prolonged deployment of soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan during the past decade of war is taking a toll on the mental health of children whose parents serve, according to a new study.
 
The study, published this month by the American Medical Association, found 16.7 percent of the children included in the research received at least one mental health diagnosis from 2003 to 2006, mostly involving stress disorders or depression. Older children and boys in particular are adversely affected by a parent's deployment, according to the research. And children whose parents were deployed for longer periods fared worse than kids whose caretakers spent less time on active duty.
 
The study examined data for outpatient and specialty care medical visits between 2003 and 2006 for more than 300,000 children aged 5 to 17 of active-duty Army personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The length of deployment for military parents in the study was 11 months on average during the three-year period.

Mental health diagnoses among boys equaled or exceeded those among girls, except in three categories: somatoform or factitious disorders, neurotic stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Somatoform disorder involves physical symptoms that indicate an illness or injury but cannot be explained by an actual medical condition, while people with factitious disorders deliberately feign or exaggerate symptoms.

By Kellie Lunney
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0711/070611kl1.htm

Program Offers Guitar Lessons, Therapy for Military Veterans

Here in Milwaukee and in cities across the country, military veterans are on waiting lists for a type of therapy to treat war-related mental health problems. But they’re not waiting to see doctors or counselors at VA hospitals. These vets are lining up to take part in a growing program that uses music instruction and free guitars to soothe symptoms of trauma. WUWM's Erin Toner has more:

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Thirty-eight-year-old Army veteran Mark Duran recently wrote his first original song for guitar. He says it’s a musical portrait of his Basset Hound lumbering around the backyard. Duran is a graduate of Guitars for Vets, a program that started in Milwaukee in 2007 and now has chapters in more than 20 states. The program that’s growing by word-of-mouth offers free lessons and a guitar to military veterans who’ve suffered trauma. Duran was referred to the program by his VA psychiatrist as an alternative mental health treatment.

By Erin Toner
http://www.wuwm.com/programs/news/view_news.php?articleid=8757#share

High-intensity workout to optimize warfighter performance

WASHINGTON — A new high-intensity workout regimen promises to build strength and endurance. Ads tout dietary supplements as formula for getting stronger, smarter and even less-stressed-out.

A “how to” book presents a sure-fire way to bounce back from physical or emotional setbacks.

Getting to the bottom of that, and putting word out to the troops whose lives and missions depend on their ability to perform in demanding and often extreme conditions, is the mission of the Defense Department’s Human Performance Resource Center, Dr. Stephen Frost, the center’s director, told American Forces Press Service.

DOD stood up the center in September 2009 under the auspices of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences to gather and develop solid science for warfighters, their leaders and their health care providers.

Part research arm, part information clearinghouse and education center, the center provides a single DOD focal point for human performance optimization, encouraging better coordination, collaboration and communication among the services and with other government agencies, Frost explained.

Donna Miles

http://www.nwguardian.com/2011/06/30/10471/high-intensity-workout-to-optimize.html

MGIB and Post 9/11 Research Survey

The survey here has been adapted from one that was originally used to assess veterans of World War II and the 1944 GI Bill. The updated survey will allow a greater understanding of how recent veterans have utilized the latest version of the GI Bill and how the GI Bill might relate to civic engagement.
Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/vetpro2
*Contact rbuck161@newschool.edu for more information
**This survey does not have any affiliation with Home Again: Veterans and Families Initiative

Social Media Powers Laptops and More for Wounded Troops

PASADENA, Calif., June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the number of American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines suffering battlefield wounds continues to grow, today's economic challenges continue to squeeze military support nonprofits.  Soldiers' Angels Project Valour-IT -- which has supplied over 6,000 severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines with adaptive laptops and other devices to aid their recovery and reintegration -- is addressing that squeeze with a fundraising technique it pioneered: online competition.  

Held July 1-14, the Valour-IT fundraising competition will draw on blogging, Facebook, Twitter and other social media to raise money and awareness for the needs of wounded troops.  Divided among four "virtual teams" named in honor of U.S. military service branches, participants will also use flyers, word-of-mouth and traditional media outlets to spread the word.  The goal is to raise at least $100,000, which will meet increased demand for Valour-IT services through October 2011.  

"Project Valour-IT changes lives," says Soldiers' Angels founder Patti Patton-Bader. "Wounded heroes report that being able to use a laptop helps them feel whole again.  Physical therapists are actually designing therapy sessions around Wii Sports!  And something as normal as a handheld GPS reduces stress and helps a hero cope.  It's just amazing what this project does!

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/social-media-powers-laptops-and-more-for-wounded-troops-124763393.html

Oxford vet finds healing in trip back to Baghdad

Every time Oxford resident Steven Patterson looks at the small scar on his arm, he remembers the worst night of his life.

The memory comes easily. Talking about it is harder, the 26-year-old retired Army scout said.

“I can recount a little bit, though,” Patterson said during a Tuesday phone interview. Patterson served in Iraq between 2006 and 2007. He is in Baghdad this week on a return trip to Iraq that he hopes will heal the wounds left by memories of his night of scout service on Memorial Day 2007:

“There was this helicopter that went down. It was our off day,” Patterson, who has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, spoke in short, simple sentences.

“We went out on a rescue mission to recover the pilots. We ended up getting hit by two 80-pound propane tanks filled with HME, home-made explosives, and we lost five guys, including my gunner … and I was charged with the job of having to remove the bodies to take them to a more secure area.”

Read more:Anniston Star - Oxford vet finds healing in trip back to Baghdad

by Cameron Steele

Oxford vet finds healing in trip back to Baghdad: "Steven Patterson lost five of his friends on a tragic day in Iraq. This week, he's back in Baghdad, looking for closure."