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Originally Posted by ZonieDiver
Has anyone ever seen "The Best Years of Our Lives"? PTSD has been with us a while. I think the reaction of society has a lot to do with it.
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Agreed. Every war has had people with what is clincally called PTSD today. Societal values/norms for the previous generations expected combat veterans to "get over it and move on" as my grandfather (Korean War vet) used to say. On an ancillary note, I get the feeling that there are quite a few people who are using the system on the PTSD front. I know there are legitimate cases, but the diagnosis criteria is susceptible to manipulation, similar to how parents are manipulating the autism spectrum disorder for their children. I've met one too many people who sat in a tent far away (i.e., support at places like Bagram) from any combat related activity and have gotten a PTSD diagnosis. I even served with one of these individuals in A-stan in 2002/2003, and the most traumatic experience he experienced was the power going out while he played video games. These are typically college age males. I do agree that the longitudinal study is a good idea, but it seems that PTSD is so multi-factored that it will be extremely difficult to come up with a predictive matrix.