Pros and Cons of Using Anti-Depressants in the Treatment of Soldiers with PTSD

Abstract

In this paper, we have discussed the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the context of soldiers. The topic is discussed with the help of understanding of pros and cons of using antidepressants for solving PTSD issues among soldiers. We have analyzed different studies in this context and therapies that can assist medical personnel for solving the issue of post traumatic stress disorder among soldiers.

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Review of the Literature1

Discussion4

Factors That Causes PTSD5

Reasons Why Soldiers Suffers From PTSD6

Pros and Cons of Anti-Depressants in the Treatment of Soldiers with PTSD7

Prevention and Treatment for the Soldiers Who Suffers From PTSD10

Therapies for the Treatment of PTSD12

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies12

Exposure Therapy13

Problems and Conditions14

Psychological Issues15

Solutions to Control PTSD15

Conclusion16

End Notes18

Pros and Cons of Using Anti-Depressants in the Treatment of Soldiers with PTSD

Introduction

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was introduced under the mental health nomenclature in the year 1980 along with the manual of APA's (American Psychiatric Association's) statistics and diagnostics. Symptoms that occur in response to a particular stressor, however, have existed for centuries and have been referred to by terms such as nerve trauma hypothesis, shell shock, and stress response syndrome. An individual suffering from PTSD must is exposed to a traumatic event, including but not necessarily restricted to combat, that is outside the realm of ordinary experience to meet the criteria for PTSD. Consequently, PTSD and the recently included diagnosis of acute stress disorder are distinctive in the DSM system because, unlike the majority of DSM diagnoses, the causal origin of these disorders is explicitly delineated in the diagnostic criteria5.

The trauma criteria now specify that the affected person has to experience, witness, or be confronted with events, which may include one or more of the situations such as injury, actual or threatened death, and/or threat to the physical integrity of oneself or of others. Further, the person may also experience fear of anything, helplessness, and / or horror that may relate to the traumatic event or events.

Review of the Literature

Limited research examining the prevalence of PTSD is available in developing countries. Not surprisingly, research that has been conducted examining the occurrence of PTSD in developing countries, particularly countries with high levels of conflict or oppressive regimes, has found high-prevalence rates of this disorder. For example, the occurrence of PTSD in Kosovar Albanians was 25%. A similar prevalence of PTSD of 24.8% is observed in Rwandans. Finally, rates of PTSD found in Afghan samples in the 2000s have ranged from 20.4% to 43.1%.

Epidemiological surveys of PTSD among soldiers are lacking. Surveys conducted among soldiers in the United States support that many of them experience traumatic events, with prevalence estimates for trauma exposure ranging from 13% to 81%, depending on the sample used and traumatic events assessed. Soldiers who experience traumatic events seem to be vulnerable to the development of PTSD with the risk that PTSD will develop after a major traumatic event among soldiers estimated at 36%. There have been a few studies examining the prevalence of PTSD among older adolescents in US. These studies have observed occurrence rates of PTSD ranging from 6% ...