Mojica 1

Joselito Mojica

Professor Flores

English Composition II, Section 511

5 December 2021

What is the Best Treatment for a Military Veteran with Post-Traumatic

Stress Disorder (PTSD) Due to Combat Exposure?

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can affect a military member

after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic incident while serving

in a combat zone. Military and civilian medical researchers have

created various tests and treatments for PTSD. The treatments

prescribed were either medications, psychotherapy, or a combination

of both. But which among those treatments is the best? Is there one

treatment that works for everybody? The best treatment for a military

veteran with PTSD due to combat exposure is through participation in

psychotherapy or talk therapy because it helps with the mental and

emotional difficulties without the hazards of medications.

Defining PTSD is the first step in fully understanding PTSD. Dr.

Rebecca J. Frey, PhD, a published author and editor of medical books,

wrote her article “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” to explain the

definition and treatments of PTSD. She defines PTSD as “a complex

anxiety disorder that may occur after individuals experience or

witness an event perceived as a threat and in which they experience

fear, terror, or helplessness. PTSD is sometimes summarized as a

normal reaction to abnormal events” (Frey 2020). As shown on Figure

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1, Frey states that, “On average, 30% of soldiers who have been in a

war zone develop at least some symptoms of PTSD” (Frey 2020). As a

military veteran, I have been deployed multiple times to dangerous

war zones and have experienced traumatic incidents throughout these

deployments. At one instance, while on a military convoy, I have

witnessed the Humvee in front of me get blown up after driving over

an Inexpensive Explosive Device (IED). Our Humvee driver stopped in

time to avoid colliding and getting blown up ourselves. At another

instance, my fellow soldiers and I were walking on top of a hill when

we heard the zinging sound of sniper bullets above our heads. We

immediately took cover, ran, and carefully proceeded to a safe

location away from the shooting. The worst fear happens when

nighttime comes because that is when rocket and mortar attacks

usually happen. The loud explosion of the mortar, barely missing my

room in the barracks, is deafening. The little rocks, from where the

rocket hits the ground, sound like heavy rain when they ricochet on

the wooden wall and tin roof. A military veteran with PTSD can relive

horrifying experiences in nightmares and even in waking hours. The

memory can be triggered by sound, smell, or image that was similar to

the traumatic experience. These re-experience episodes are called

flashbacks. A veteran with PTSD can be jumpy and easily startled.

Memory problems and insomnia are other factors that can affect a

veteran with PTSD.

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War Veterans
30%

70%

PTSD No PTSD

Fig 1. This chart shows the percentage of war veterans who developed
and did not develop PTSD.

The best treatment for PTSD is through a psychotherapy program.

Frey states that there are four different kinds of psychotherapy.

They are cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy,

discussion groups or peer-counseling groups, and family therapy.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy has two treatment approaches, namely

exposure therapy and anxiety management training. Exposure therapy

desensitizes the patient to reminders of the trauma. Anxiety

management training teaches the patient strategies for reducing

anxiety. Psychodynamic therapy helps the patient recover a sense of

self and learn new coping strategies and ways to deal with intense

emotions related to trauma. Discussion Groups or peer-counseling

groups are usually formed for survivors of specific traumas. Family

therapy is for patients whose family life has been affected by the

PTSD symptoms (Frey 2020).

Exposure therapy under cognitive-behavioral therapy can help

PTSD patients minimize and control the effects of flashbacks. Bonni

Meibers, a general assignment reporter covering Greene County for the

Dayton Daily News, wrote on her article “Oregon District shooting:

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Shooting may trigger PTSD for local vets” that military veterans with

PTSD may prompt involuntary recall of their traumatic experiences in

the war zone, if they witnessed the Oregon District shooting on

August 4, 2019. When Meibers interviewed a former US Marine member,

she stated, “When shots were fired in the Oregon District on Aug.4,

Cody Wolfe … felt like he was in the Marines again. The events of

this mass shooting triggered his PTSD, which a local psychologist

said is normal and could be triggering for other veterans” (Meibers

2019). A military veteran who was previously diagnosed with PTSD

from fighting in a war zone can relive traumatic experiences from

hearing gun shots. Former US Marine Wolfe may not be the only

veteran affected in the Oregon District shooting. It is possible that

other military veterans with PTSD were in Oregon District when the

shooting happened. These military members could have acted

unpredictably or even violently after seeing the chaos and hearing

gunfire if they had not previously learned exposure therapy.

Fig 2. Front page of Dayton Daily News showing Oregon District

Shooting (“Oregon District shooting: Shooting may trigger PTSD for
local vets”).
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Anxiety management training can reduce the effects of anxiety

attacks. Rohul Amin and Mary Ann Thomas are US Army Medical

Researchers wrote the article, “Effects of Brief Depression and

Anxiety Management Training on a US Army Division’s Primary Care

Providers (PCPs)” to explain the benefits of anxiety management

training. This training is now included in the US Army’s annual

training program. As Amin and Thomas express, “We developed

depression and anxiety management training for PCPs in a US Army

infantry division to target the provider-specific barriers to

delivering psychiatric care. This was part of the unit's September

suicide prevention month efforts” (Amin and Thomas 2020). Much

research and study are being done by the US Army to monitor and

improve the soldiers’ mental health as part of their overall well-

being. Military psychiatrists are continuously developing ways to

control the effects of PTSD. Anxiety management training will

condition the body to react peacefully and calmly when they re-

experience a PTSD stressor.

Psychodynamic therapy helps military members recover self-esteem

and learn new coping strategies to deal with PTSD. An example of

psychodynamic therapy is a program called Comic Bootcamp. Dr. Sharon

L. Young, PhD, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and professor at

University of Connecticut, developed the audiobook “Strong Ending: A

Journey from Combat Comedy”. Comic Bootcamp is a way for military

veterans with PTSD to learn coping strategies and ways to deal with

intense emotions related to trauma. US servicemember veterans of Iraq

and Afghanistan campaigns participate in Comic Bootcamp which is a

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six-week stand-up comedy class offered by the Armed Services Arts

Partnership in the Washington, D.C. area. Veterans with PTSD learn

and perform stand-up comedy and talk about their agony and suffering

through comedy and humor. Psychodynamic therapy allows military

veterans with PTSD to embrace their difficulties and understand how

to manage them.

Discussion Groups or peer-counseling groups connect military

veterans with PTSD to discuss their experiences and support each

other. An example of a discussion group that help veterans is one

formed in Palo Alto, California. Kathryn J. Azevedo, et al., members

of the Veterans Affair Palo Alto Health Care System report,

“Rethinking Violence Prevention in Rural and Underserved Communities:

How Veteran Peer Support groups Help Participants Deal with Sequelae

from Violent Traumatic Experiences”. Azevedo, et al. state, “The Palo

Alto VA Health Care System has piloted a program known as the Peer

Support Program (PSP) where certified peer support specialists hold

group sessions for their fellow veterans in … outpatient clinics”

(Azevedo, et al. 2020). Military members with PTSD who participate in

discussion groups have the chance to talk about their traumatic

experiences, empathize with one another, and support each other to

control the effects of PTSD. They express their thoughts and emotions

which can ease their pain and give them a feeling of relief.

Family therapy can help a military member with PTSD reconnect to

the life prior to acquiring PTSD. Frey exclaims, “Patients suffer

from significant social, interpersonal, or work-related problems as a

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result of the PTSD symptoms. A common social symptom of PTSD is a

feeling of disconnection from other people (including loved ones),

from the larger society, and from spiritual, religious, or other

significant sources of meaning” (Frey 2020). Military veterans with

PTSD can lose interest in hobbies and other activities that they used

to love to do before they had PTSD. Family members can help bring

back the focus and motivation to enjoy life again. Family therapy is

effective because it is a lifelong support to the military veteran.

Although medications in conjunction with psychotherapy can speed

up the treatment of PTSD, prolong use may worsen side effects and

overdose may occur. Paul J. Rosch’s “Drugs for Ptsd and Other Stress

Related Disorders” asserts that, “Surveys show that stress induced

diseases such as depression, insomnia, and particularly PTSD, have

escalated over the past two decades. They also reveal that in many

patients, treatment with drugs not only provides little relief, but

may have serious side effects that should have been anticipated”

(Rosch 2012). Unfortunately, complications, contraindications, and

adverse side effects are not evident until a vast amount of

medication has been consumed over a long period of time. In which

case, side effects have already caused other health problems. The

power of pharmaceutical manufacturers and their major goal to

generate more money instead of help cure diseases make it impossible

to totally rely on the effectiveness of medications.

While not proven to be as effective as psychotherapy, relaxation

training has been considered as an alternative treatment to PTSD. It

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is based on understanding and using physiology to control the effects

of PTSD. Instances of relaxation training are yoga, aikido, tai chi,

and dance therapy which help with the physical and emotional tensions

caused by anxiety. Hydrotherapy and massage therapy along with the

use of essential oils of lavender, chamomile, neroli, sweet marjoram,

and ylang-ylang for aromatherapy can relieve the stress and anxiety

brought by PTSD. These methods can control the aftereffects of PTSD.

It is impossible to avoid military member casualties in US wars

overseas. There are military veterans fortunate enough to survive

their injuries and live, but the memory of the traumatic events they

have seen and gone through are sometimes difficult to forget. PTSD is

a lifelong illness that military veterans endure after returning from

a war zone. Military and civilian researchers continue to develop

treatments to help military veterans with PTSD. Psychotherapy or talk

therapy is the best treatment for a military veteran with PTSD

suffered from combat exposure because it helps with the mental and

emotional problems without the dangers of medications.

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Works Cited

Amin, Rohul, and Mary Ann Thomas. “Effects of Brief Depression and

Anxiety Management Training on a US Army Division’s Primary Care

Providers.” Military Medicine, vol. 185, no. 5/6, May 2020, pp.

e719–e723. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1093/milmed/usz443 https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail

/detail?vid=6&sid=de535b8a-51af-4976-8b93-

5872b1a608b3%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU

%3d#AN=143764965&db=ccm . Accessed 31 Oct. 2021.

Azevedo, Kathryn J., et al. “Rethinking Violence Prevention in Rural

and Underserved Communities: How Veteran Peer Support Groups

Help Participants Deal with Sequelae from Violent Traumatic

Experiences.” Journal of Rural Health, vol. 36, no. 2, Mar.

2020, pp. 266–273. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1111/jrh.12362. https://eds-s-ebscohost-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=5f40ffa0-

bf40-488e-9762-69946fd93ded%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU

%3d#AN=142423019&db=ccm . Accessed 31 Oct. 2021.

Frey, Rebecca J. "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." Gale Encyclopedia

of Medicine, edited by Jacqueline L. Longe, Gale, 6th edition,

2020. Credo Reference, http://sinclair.ohionet.org/login?

url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/galegm/post_

traumatic_stress_disorder/0?institutionId=6043 . Accessed 31 Oct.

2021.
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Meiber, Bonnie. “Oregon District shooting: Shooting may trigger PTSD

for local vets.” Dayton Daily News, 19 August

2019. https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/crime--law/oregon-

district-shooting-shooting-may-trigger-ptsd-for-local-

vets/U0N2nmkySDrACwGHvSzBgK/ . Accessed 31 Oct. 2021.

Rosch, Paul J. “Drugs for Ptsd and Other Stress Related

Disorders.” Health & Stress, no. 6, June 2012, pp. 1–

13. EBSCOhost, https://eds-s-ebscohost-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?

vid=8&sid=d6385d76-91d8-49a9-994a-026717a1330e%40redis . Accessed

31 Oct. 2021.

Young, Sharon L. “Strong Ending: A Journey from Combat to

Comedy.” Journal of Veterans Studies, vol. 6, no. 1, Jan.

2020. EBSCOhost, doi:10.21061/jvs.v6i1.159. https://journal-

veterans-studies.org/articles/10.21061/jvs.v6i1.159/ . Accessed

31 Oct. 2021.