November 2010 - For many Veterans, memories of their wartime experiences can still be upsetting long after they served in combat. If you are an older Veteran, you may have served many years ago, but your military experience can still affect your life today. Here are some ways that past military experience can affect you as you get older.
PTSD symptoms later in life
Many older Veterans find they have PTSD symptoms even fifty or more years after their wartime experience. Some symptoms of PTSD include having nightmares or feeling like you are reliving the event, avoiding situations that remind you of the event, being easily startled, and loss of interest in activities. There are a number of reasons why symptoms of PTSD may increase with age:
* Having retired from work may make your symptoms feel worse, because you have more time to think and fewer things to distract you from your memories.
* Having medical problems and feeling like you are not as strong as you used to be also can increase symptoms.
* You may find that bad news on the television and scenes from current wars bring back bad memories.
* You may have tried in the past to cope with stress by using alcohol or other substances. Then if you stop drinking late in life, without another, healthier way of coping, this can make PTSD symptoms seem worse. {read rest}
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
PTSD symptoms later in life
While Combat PTSD is or can be devestating, as it comes in varying degree's, any civilian in a combat theater or those anywhere who have lived through traumatic life experiences should also educate yourselves as to what PTS is, for to many have suffered the effects throughout their lives in relative silence with no where to turn and even professionals not recognizing!
Aging Veterans and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms
Research on Aging Military Veterans (8 page PDF)
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