Strike said:
Of course, none of this answers the question of why the spouses are being diagnosed with PTSD more frequently than in the past.
Might I suggest an answer so simple that I can't believe no one brought it up yet? Could it be education? Serving member comes home from deployment (healthy, injured, etc) and notices spouse acting differently. I'm not talking about getting annoyed by the serving member wreaking havoc on the routine that the spouse has had for the past 6 months or so. I'm talking about the soldier noticing the very symptoms they've been told to keep an eye out for in themselves and co-workers during their redeployment debriefs. Being aware that there might be a deeper problem, they take steps for their spouse to see someone.
Simple as that. On top of that, several MFRCs brief families on what the symptoms of PTSD and/or depressive illnesses are to be looked for. So they are also more aware.
So, sound good? Thoughts?
Sounds great. I think it's great that you bring the MFRC connection into the mix.
Health professionals who work with the families of deployed members have long recognized the effect that deployments/injuries can have on the families back home. Programs and counselling services are made available because the seriousness of the impact on spouses has been recognized. I also haven't heard one person in this thread dispute the fact that the spouses of injured CF personnel experience emotional trauma and stress- and I don't think you'll ever hear a logical person even remotely associated with the military ever say such a thing.
I once worked with a very caring psychologist who was very quick to stress that you must always treat the symptoms - not the label. Every psychologist or psychiatrist could, through individual bias or interpretation- assign a different diagnosis to the exact same patient. Psychiatry is an inexact science.
Some might call it PTSD, or some might call it panic attacks, some might call it severe situational stress. The point being, every one of us can likely come up with a definition from a fairly credible source that will fit our own personal idea of what PTSD is, or make an argument for it.
If the treatment of the symptoms are the same, does it matter?
This is not meant to be a flippant remark. It is a serious question. Is it more validating to have such a diagnosis assigned-rather than have it simply labelled as very well deserved situational stress?
I'm on the fence on the whole issue of spouses claiming PTSD, simply because there are so many variables involved. I will emphatically state that I know spouses can have severe reactions and emotional fall-out from facing the injuries sustained by wounded soldiers. I was a military spouse- I know that just worrying about my husband on deployment was stressful enough- never mind if he had been hurt. Am I ready to call it PTSD though- not yet. To me-it kind of takes away from the seriousness of what the actual initial victim experienced. My opinion only-still ruminating on it.
I understand that an actual DSM-III diagnosis will make a difference when it comes to disability claims through SISIP and VAC-for the CF member.
There have been implications in this thread that spouses can benefit financially from a diagnosis of PTSD that stems from the trauma of seeing a loved one wounded in action or while serving. Any basis to these implications? I'm aware that a fixed additional amount is applied to disability awards in recognition of the impact that a member's injury has on the family-but that is through the member's disability award. To imply that a wife or husband of a wounded soldier will benefit financially from a diagnosis of PTSD seemed out there to me.
