By: Gary Maguire, M.Sc., P.T.   http://www.linkedin.com/pub/gary-maguire-m-sc-p-t/7/455/449

PhysioSympath: The Path to Resilience ©

Welcome to Military Network’s new PTSD section.  Articles that appear in this section are aimed at reducing the stigma of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), strengthening resilience and providing new strategic solutions for PTSD treatment.

Emerging neurophysiology and physiotherapy medical devices are being developed to support mental healthcare professionals.  Your comments and feedback are welcome to improve the newsletter.

STIGMA•STIGMA•STIGMA•STIGMA•STIGMA•STIGMA•STIGMA

U.S. Army Brigadier General Loree K. Sutton, M.D. says “Stigma kills”.  As director of the DoD’s Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) her leadership is directed at promoting resilience, recovery and reintegration of warriors and their families. http://www.dcoe.health.mil/WhatWeDo.aspx

If stigma kills then it is important to identify it and understand its methods.  Stigma is defined as the shame or disgrace attached to something regarded as socially unacceptable.  Currently PTSD within the military culture is seen as a sign of weakness when a warrior seeks care for their mental health.  The stigma of PTSD develops when four specific components converge.

• Individuals differentiate and label human variations.
• Prevailing cultural beliefs tie those labeled to adverse attributes.
• Labeled individuals are placed in distinguished groups that serve to establish a sense of disconnection between “us” and “them.”
• Labeled individuals experience “status loss and discrimination” that leads to unequal circumstances.

Within the military culture PTSD stigma develops when labeling, stereotyping, disconnection, status loss and discrimination all exist within a power situation that facilitates PTSD stigma to occur.  The four component methods exist to create different affects.

• Differentiation and labeling.  Identifying which differences are salient, and therefore worthy of labeling, is a social process.  There are two primary factors to examine when considering the extent to which this is a military cultural one.  The first issue is the fact that significant oversimplification is needed to create groups.  The oversimplification of military cultural thinking is: sane and mentally ill (PTSD).  Secondly, the differences that are socially judged to be relevant differ vastly according to time and place.
• The second component centers on the linking of labeled differences with stereotypes.  There is a psychological nature of the thought process taking place within the individual and the military system.
• The linking of negative attributes to differentiated groups of individuals facilitates a sense of separation between proverbial “us” and “them”.  This sense that the labeled group are fundamentally different causes stereotyping to take place with little hesitation.  The “us” and “them” component of the stigmatization process implies that the labeled group is slightly less of a soldier in nature and at the extreme not a soldier at all.  The terms “suck it up” and “soldier on” dominate the culture.
• The fourth component of stigmatization includes “status loss and discrimination” that is experienced.  It is the fear of being “labeled, set apart and linked to undesirable characteristics.”

Given the fact that these four components all can exist within a military culture that is taught to react makes PTSD stigma a very powerful killing force. According to David Bonello of the Wellness Directory of Minnesota (www.mnwelldir.org), a Vietnam veteran he states: “Soldiers are taught to react, because during war, the distance between life and death is measured in milliseconds and centimeters”.

With this training a soldier can easily develop fear and concern that their PTSD symptoms will be perceived as a sign of weakness, limit their redeployment or affect their military medical record with a diagnosis of PTSD.

What is being done to fight PTSD stigma within the military?

THE REAL WARRIORS CAMPAIGN (http://www.realwarriors.net/) seeks to combat the stigma associated with seeking psychological health care and treatment and encourages service members to increase their awareness and use of these resources.

The campaign seeks to remove the barriers that often prevent service members from obtaining treatment for psychological health issues and traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the same way that they receive treatment for physical wounds and illnesses.

The campaign features a broad-based call to action, including information for families and employers on what to expect when service members come home and how to support and encourage them to get the help they need.

The weapon of choice to combat PTSD stigma is education.

Education provides the capability to demystify PTSD.  One needs to first seek out valid resources to gain a framework for understanding. The REAL WARRIORS CAMPAIGN is a valid and reliable source.  The PTSD stigma barriers are identified and this website helps service members overcome these barriers that seek to limit them from obtaining appropriate treatment for PTSD and TBI in the same way one would seek treatment for physical wounds and illnesses.

We learn in different ways whether auditory, visual or tactile.  Choosing the best way for your learning method(s) is crucial. The REAL WARRIORS CAMPAIGN is a multimedia public education campaign designed to provide different learning avenues.

PTSD is one type of psychological health issue.  Like other mental health problems PTSD is a product of the complex interaction of biological, psychological, historical and social factors.  It is not the result of moral failing or weakness in character.

If a soldier is taught to react then they have to trust their gut instincts.  Trust in yourself to seek help without PTSD stigma winning the battle.  Trust the REAL WARRIORS CAMPAIGN and develop contact with other soldiers who have overcome PTSD stigma, sought psychological healthcare and treatment and maintained a successful military career or otherwise achieved success.

Stigma requires the necessity of power and fear to thrive.  Knowledge weakens this power; action reduces fear and anxiety, social interaction with fellow soldiers develops trust and acceptance.  Develop your own battle plan and prevail against PTSD stigma.

Our Vietnam veteran David Bonello sums it up by saying: “Many new treatments are being studied but the simplest and most straight forward means of dealing with PTSD is to be aware of one’s own mental condition, have a place to go and have a friend to call when everything seems to go wrong.”

THE REAL WARRIORS CAMPAIGN and you are real, stigma is not.

Copyright © 2010 Gary Maguire, M.Sc., P.T., PhysioSympath.  All rights reserved.

Related posts:

1. PTSD and Neurophysiology [Vol 1/Num 5]
2. PTSD and Neurophysiology [Vol 1/Num 2]
3. PTSD and Neurophysiology [Vol 1/Num 6]
4. PTSD and Neurophysiology [Vol 1/Num 3]
5. PTSD and Neurophysiology