Stress Disorder More Common in Women

[zipperhead_cop]

In my Department, and with most around Ontario, we have peer counselling programs.  It is an informal set up, but essentially it consists of officers that are available to speak to other officers on a confidential basis.  In this way, we have an outlet to purge our feelings, but we are with someone who "gets it" so you know they are really hearing what you are saying.  You don't have to waste your time giving background information to some outsider who probably won't understand in the long run. 
I apologize if such a program already exists, and I am not aware of it.  However, it would seem to me that who better than soldiers, particularly ones who may have worked through (are still working through) their PTSD issues, to render assistance and understanding to each other?  And if there was a parallel group for spouses of CF personnel, then perhaps that could also be an effective medium for coping as well? 

 

[schart28]

OSISS is fine but they have their limitations. There is the CF/VAC assistance services. They will refer you to an appropriate specialist for consultation. Its free and confidential.

You can reach them at 1 899-268-7708

 

[zipperhead_cop]

Further to my last. I failed to see Tess' link to osiss.  Having accessed it, I apologize for my redundancy. 

 

[the 48th regulator]

OSISS is fine but they have their limitations. There is the CF/VAC assistance services. They will refer you to an appropriate specialist for consultation. Its free and confidential.

You can reach them at 1 899-268-7708

Whatare their limitations?  You are aware that OSISS also acts in conjunction with the VAC, in essence you are sending people into the same direction.

They were brilliant for me, and many like myself.  I saw no "limitations".

Be interesting to hear what challenges you  had.

dileas

tess

 

[battleaxe]

I've explained twice. A regiment is a big family. In families THERE ARE NO SECRETS. Wives talk to wives, kids talk to kids, girlfriends talk to girlfriends. SOMEONE ALWAYS KNOWS, and there is always someone willing to crank up the rumour machine. Coming from the medical side of things, as you keep saying you are, unless you've lived in a combat arms unit, you won't understand what I'm telling you.  Could someone else help me out here?  For I am a bear of very little brain, and don't communicate my point very skillfully.

I have never lived in a combat arms unit...and I can only imagine the strong friendships and close bonds that the experiences you all go through together must create.  It is because I have never lived in that environment that I asked about the culture of it. 

Thank you for trying to explain... and I do understand what you are getting at when you say there are no secrets in the environment in which you work. 

It just seems, from reading some of the posts, however, that this very closeness - and the culture of the combat arms environment - is often the very cause of some of the problems (re: willingness to seek help for mental health issues) that we are discussing in this thread.

Why not?  Your peers have gone through the same situations, while overseas, and with their family.  Who better to talk to than your friends.

48th posted this in response to my question:  How it is that someone ALWAYS knows in your unit Kat Stevens-does it have to be that way?

Until I read the latter part of this thread, I would have been in agreement with 48th.  I would have thought, always had thought, that talking to people who had shared the same experiences and had been in the same dangerous circumstances would have been one of the better ways to decompress and deal with some of the after effects of combat and war. I still do think that, actually, but now think that maybe those discussions are best left for forums such as OSISS-where everyone is bound to confidentiality and more apt to be understanding-rather than the general workplace.

With my posts about confidentiality and anonymity, I was reacting and seeking a solution to previous statements in which people spoke of being reluctant to seek care because they didn't want to be labelled and compared to others in their unit who had been judged as scammers and frauds.  It was the inuendo and talk/rumours, within the units, that was creating an obstacle - an emotional obstacle, but a deterrent nonetheless- to some people seeking the care they required.

I was seeking insight as to why this has to be the case. 

If people fear the social backlash, there is a way to avoid having others in the know.  From experience - I needed help with a few issues when I fell ill- but I worked in the very hospital where the mental health services were offered.  I would have been mortied to have been treated by people I could potentially run into every day, so I called the CF/VAC assistance line (Schart28 mentioned this earlier) and I was set up with counselling in another location.  It worked well, and as I took the appointments in the evening, nobody even needed to question any absences from work.

I hate that it often has to be a secretive thing. Realistically, however, as the stories in this thread show, there are people who will judge others... and there are still people (myself included) who are afraid of being judged.  There are ways that people can get around this fear and seek the treatment they need. Confidentialtiy is possible, I believe.

One last thing.  You said in your post "Coming from the medical side of things, as you keep saying you are..."

Do you doubt this?  I hadn't considered that people might think I'm misrepresenting myself. 
Please, let me know.

 

[Kat Stevens]

No, I said "as you keep saying you are" because, well, you keep saying you are.

 

[the 48th regulator]

Do you doubt this?  I hadn't considered that people might think I'm misrepresenting myself. 
Please, let me know.

Hmm,

I thought I made my feelings crystal clear, let me cut and paste, in case you just glossed over my post...

Yes we have heard about your experience, which is why I am rubbed the wrong way when you have made statements like;

Quote from: battleaxe on December 04, 2006, 20:15:50

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.


Let us bring this back to the sort of the topic, if we will.  What do you think of the lads coming back, mauled and torn.  Their spouses having to endure the pain, knowing it has happened, then seeing the result.  Their husband is not the same Physically.  Then after a while they both realize that they are not the same mentally.  Do you still not believe that both require the help, that is offered?

Quote from: battleaxe on December 29, 2006, 20:08:32

Those who broadcast and brag about defrauding the system - I would have thought this behaviour improbable and kind of self destructive
until I heard of one guy who told his co-workers that he had 'won the lottery' (to be fair, this is info from someone I consider reliable- so you could say it is gossip as well) - choose to forgo confidentiality - and open themselves up to speculation and judgement.  That is their own doing. 

You are only perpetuating the myth with the "I once heard someone tell me that another guy did this".  No different than the challenge I offered to others on this forum when statements like this were made.

Again,

When you make sterile, judgemental, and opinionated statements like this, then you must separate the fact that you belong to the medical community.  Because unless you are in the field of making studies in the disorder and publishing official findings, you are creating fear in people like myself of seeking treatment, as I would only expect to be treated, along with my spouse, unfairly.

Was that clearer?

dileas

tess

 

[TCBF]

The only way a spouse could claim PTSD through VAC is if the spouse was military.  A civ spouse could be diagnosed and treated for PTSD, but seeing as how he/she are not VAC-able, the tab - if any - would be picked up by their employer/prov health plan.

 

[niner domestic]

Here's a story on the release of a study conducted by the US Mil.  It studies the linkages between PTSD and heart disease (so far in a male only cohort from WW2 and Korea).  The researchers do acknowledge that further studies are needed for women and vet with a dx of PTSD. 

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070101/war_trauma_070101/20070101?hub=Health

 

[the 48th regulator]

The only way a spouse could claim PTSD through VAC is if the spouse was military.  A civ spouse could be diagnosed and treated for PTSD, but seeing as how he/she are not VAC-able, the tab - if any - would be picked up by their employer/prov health plan.

Wrong,  Correct

Spouses, can be treated via VAC, if in conjunction with a member who is diagnosed PTSD.  As long as the Psycholigist makes the recomendation, that this will help the member, then the spouse can also be treated and covered under VAC.

This was told to me by my Doctor, during my treatment.

dileas

tess


Must have coffee before pressing post key.......

 

[Hot Lips]

ps- of course its more often reported in women. If it were not for the wives of those who suffer from it, most men would not report their problems either.

+10...historically men have not sought out help for their health concerns/issues...so perhaps the data is skewed...and of course more than one study or report is required for information to be considered valid...
The variables are many in the instance of stress disorders so like I say the validity of certain studies is questionable...
PTSD simplified...different things affect different people at different times for different reasons...

Be well
HL

 

[schart28]

No referral needed. I've been to Ste Anne Centre and the spouses have access to various counseling session and also in the community.

Wrong,  Correct

As long as the Psycholigist makes the recomendation, that this will help the member, then the spouse can also be treated and covered under VAC.

This was told to me by my Doctor, during my treatment.

Must have coffee before pressing post key.......

 

[battleaxe]

No, I said "as you keep saying you are" because, well, you keep saying you are.

Fair enough...as I look back through my posts, I see that I did go on about it.  :-[ Thanks for the reply-I was just checking.

Anyway, and on topic this time,

I came across this article in Homemakers.com:  http://homemakers.com/homemakers/client/en/Health/DetailNews.asp?idNews=1940&idSM=197.

It would also go well in The Home Front forum - the article is about women dealing with stress and it uses a military scenario (wife at home, husband on deployment)  to explain the importance of support and friendship and how it enhances one's ability to deal with stress-and the hormones involved in the process.

The part of the article I want to comment on is this:  "New studies on women and stress provide strong evidence that those long gabfests with your girlfriends are vital to your health and may well help prolong your life. In June 2001, the renowned Harvard Medical School's Nurses' Health Study concluded that women's social networks play an important role in enhancing our health and quality of life."

Military wives (I'll say wives because this article talks specifically of women) are often removed from their normal support networks and families due to postings.  MFRC is on the right track by providing family support but it is often hard for shy or working spouses to access the programs and form local support networks. Also, new Moms are often housebound and out of touch, and being away from family and new to an area doesn't help.

Just another thing to keep in mind- military life imposes unique stressors that impact on how well spouses are able to deal with things.

 

[TCBF]

"Spouses, can be treated via VAC, if in conjunction with a member who is diagnosed PTSD.  As long as the Psycholigist makes the recomendation, that this will help the member, then the spouse can also be treated and covered under VAC."

- I stand corrected.  Thank you for the good int.

Tom

 

[the 48th regulator]

Cheers,

I dunno what the hell got into me when I posted wrong,  You were bang on with what you were saying.  I crossed it out so people didn't think I was creating a conspiracy.

dileas

tess

 

[the 48th regulator]

OSISS is fine but they have their limitations. There is the CF/VAC assistance services. They will refer you to an appropriate specialist for consultation. Its free and confidential.

You can reach them at 1 899-268-7708

Whatare their limitations?  You are aware that OSISS also acts in conjunction with the VAC, in essence you are sending people into the same direction.

They were brilliant for me, and many like myself.  I saw no "limitations".

Be interesting to hear what challenges you  had.

dileas

tess

Hi schart28,

Still wondering where you found challenges with OSISS.  Only way they can improve is if people who have found faults come forward.  Out of all the government sponsored groups who work in conjunction with VAC, I believe they are the most progressive.  However, if there is fault we have to let them know right away. Maybe we can pass on some information to them.

I await your answer.

dileas

tess

 

[TCBF]

Cheers,

I dunno what the hell got into me when I posted wrong,  You were bang on with what you were saying.  I crossed it out so people didn't think I was creating a conspiracy.

dileas

tess

Heck, I post wrong plenty myself - often confusing my opinions and beliefs with facts.  Perhaps I am a closet campus radical?

;D

Tom

 

[schart28]

Hi tess,

Happy new year...

If we go back to basic. OSISS is: The Operational Stress Injury Social Support (OSISS) Program provides confidential peer support and social support to CF personnel, Veterans, and their families, affected by an operational stress injury like anxiety, depression, or PTSD resulting from military service.

Social support is offered by individuals who have themselves experienced an operational stress injury, and by family members who fully understand, through their own experiences, operational stress injury issues.

The OSISS peer support program is available throughout Canada to serving CF personnel, Veterans and their families."

This said..I indicated that they have their limitation in the sense of helping psychologically someone. This is why I indicated the CF assistance program.

I know that OSISS personnel goes beyond the above mandate and help in filling out documents.  I got much more information in filling out documents from another group than OSISS. As one told me, they are limited in what they can say and do, since they are part of DND. This is a big handicap for them. People tend to be worried and "mefiants" towards them.

I've attached their Interim Policies.

Hi schart28,

Still wondering where you found challenges with OSISS.  Only way they can improve is if people who have found faults come forward.  Out of all the government sponsored groups who work in conjunction with VAC, I believe they are the most progressive.  However, if there is fault we have to let them know right away. Maybe we can pass on some information to them.

I await your answer.

dileas

tess

 

[the 48th regulator]

Happy New Year!

What about the peer support groups they organize, the counselling session, the availability to contact one of the peer supporters when you are in need of support in the form of speaking to someone, or advice on treatment.

I found absolutely no limitations, witht he help they offered in aquiring treatment for myself, they infact helped move things along much quicker when I found roadblocks with VAC.

You obviously have not used OSISS to their full extent.  Therefore you should not be making statements to their limitations.

Once again, I believe you are incorrect,

dileas

tess

 

[schart28]

Hi, Groups were held for 4 months, then nothing. They never did any counseling sessions, do you mean the various specialist they have come in for speeches? As for support, they are no medical specialist to make any advice on treatment. That's the limitation I was referring too.

It certainly seems that they are more organized in your area. Which area are you?

Happy New Year!

What about the peer support groups they organize, the counselling session, the availability to contact one of the peer supporters when you are in need of support in the form of speaking to someone, or advice on treatment.

You obviously have not used OSISS to their full extent.  Therefore you should not be making statements to their limitations.

Once again, I believe you are incorrect,

dileas

tess