TREATMENT & CARE

I first became interested in the subject of Post traumatic stress disorder after reading historical fiction, Regeneration by Pat Barker. The author describes several soldiers from WWI who experience PTSD and are put in a mental institution. This telling novel illustrates the attitude towards and treatment of the disorder at the time. Rather than trying to acclimate the soldiers back into society, the main goal is to make the soldier well enough to return to battle as soon as possible. While one sensitive psychiatrist encourages the soldiers to retell their war horrors to heal, an aggressive doctor forces his patients to experience painful electroshock therapy. The method of electroshock therapy is insensitive and crude, used to create the “quickest” way to recovery. As a result the patients simply become a number rather than humans with free will or thought, revealing the common careless attitude towards the disorder at the time.

The idea behind Electroshock therapy is that it erases and shocks some of your memories away. There have been several accounts of depression and confusion, post electroshock therapy. Electro shock therapy also works on a system where the patient must return for continuous shock appointments, leading the patients to become dependent on such a numbing method. The treatment also induces seizures which can be too physically taxing on an elderly person.

Electroshock therapy is still used today but considered controversial and only to be used in extreme cases. The government has centers for veterans supported by a group called the VA. Treatments on the VA website include cognitive therapy and exposure therapy which both include discussing and realizing your fears. Medication and group therapy are also encouraged by the VA. Unfortunately, the website states “we provide no direct clinical care,” suggesting that in order to receive treatment, the patients may have to pay for the medical expenses. Many people who have PTSD are unable to work or keep a steady job with the disorder and may not have enough money to receive the medical care needed. Also in the elderly, nursing homes may not all be sensitive to the needs of an inhabitant living with PTSD. While the VA does have veteran nursing homes, it still costs money. There is a program for benefits to help pay for such nursing homes but only 1 in 4 seniors in the country qualify for the income program. In my opinion these nursing homes should be free and readily available for all veterans, especially those diagnosed with PTSD.

For the elderly who are unable to live in nursing homes designed specifically for veterans, it can be difficult. Nurses often do not focus on psychological issues but mostly on physical ailments. The nurses should be made aware that the effects of PTSD can worsen over time. There is also a large percentage of veterans who have late on-set PTSD. Independent of the level of trauma, the negative effects of PTSD are much worse on the elderly. The elderly are much more vulnerable as often they are already experiencing cognitive decline.

sources:

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/about/index.asp

http://www.longtermcarelink.net/ref_state_veterans_va_nursing_homes.htm