PTSD Awareness Day planned at JBSA-Randolph

Starting in 2010, Congress set aside June 27 as a day to promote awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder, a psychiatric condition that has historically been associated with military service members and veterans but can impact anyone.

Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph will have its own PTSD Awareness Day today, when professionals from the 359th Medical Operations Squadron Mental Health Clinic visit the JBSA-Randolph Medical Clinic from 8-11:30 a.m. and the Rambler Fitness Center from 12:30-4:30 p.m. to provide education and screening.

“It is paramount to have observances such as PTSD Awareness Day and, in theory, our patient-centered clinical practices should make it so each day is designated as such,” Capt. Erik Ringdahl, 359th MDOS clinical psychologist, said. “We, as providers to those who serve our country, have a duty to disseminate important information on the topic of PTSD, such as signs and symptoms, the importance of early mental health help-seeking and empirically validated psychological interventions.”

According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ National Center for PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder can occur after a person has been through traumatic events such as combat exposure, sexual or physical abuse, a terrorist attack, serious accidents and natural disasters.

Stress reactions may include fear or anxiety, sadness or depression, guilt and shame, anger and irritability, and behavior changes. Common symptoms are reliving the event, avoiding situations that remind the person of the event, negative changes in beliefs and feelings, and feeling keyed up, also called hyperarousal.

Ringdahl said PTSD is not a disease, but “a problem of recovery.”

“When individuals recognize that, the idea of seeking assistance may become more palatable,” he said.

Ringdahl explained that the science community is trying to understand how individuals develop PTSD from biological, psychological, social and environmental perspectives.

From a psychological standpoint, he said, “Whether individuals develop PTSD depends on several factors, some of which seem to include how folks make sense of the thoughts, feelings and behaviors associated with trauma, as well as how the experience influenced perspectives of themselves, others and society.”

Ringdahl said the majority of the general population will be exposed to trauma at some point in their lives.

“People are resilient, but bad things happen,” he said. “Or, by virtue of a profession, folks may be exposed to different situations or potentially traumatic events more frequently.

“Everyone is vulnerable to the psychological, social, physical and spiritual impact of stress, and it turns out that each individual is different in that regard,” Ringdahl said. “The beauty of it is that everyone has varying levels of risk factors and protective factors.”

Ringdahl said “a concerning number” of military members who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom have gone on to develop PTSD.

“This seems to be associated with the battlefield environment, exposure to trauma, mental health stigma and resistance to early mental health help-seeking, among other factors we are still trying to understand,” he said.

Ringdahl said people need not suffer long term from PTSD. He said research suggests that most individuals recover from exposure to trauma within one year and, for those who struggle, there are several empirically supported interventions.

“From a treatment standpoint, there are great interventions that have repeatedly been associated with reducing symptoms, improving quality of life and restoring one’s functional capacity,” he said.

Two of the most empirically supported psychological interventions for PTSD include prolonged exposure and cognitive processing therapy, both of which have been disseminated across the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs system, Ringdahl said.

“Decades’ worth of research indicates that the two treatments are similar in their outcomes if people live the protocol, meaning that they devote themselves to symptom recovery, not just from a mental health perspective, but also from social, physical and spiritual standpoints,” he said. “Treatment for PTSD, by its very nature, epitomizes concepts military members are acutely familiar with, such as Comprehensive Airman Fitness.”

Ringdahl said treatment may take an hour to an hour and a half once each week for 12-15 weeks and that individuals also have “out-of-session” assignments.

“Treatment is difficult,” he said. “I don’t sugarcoat that for anyone, but if the individual is willing to engage during and outside of session to his or her fullest extent, change is possible and people get better. It’s the most beautiful thing to see.”

There are also pharmacological interventions for PTSD, but Ringdahl said they are generally not as effective without co-occurring psychological interventions, particularly with respect to long-term symptom management and recovery.

“Medications have their place, but don’t teach skills,” he said. “People diagnosed with PTSD need skills to recover and sustain their hard work.”

Ringdahl said he hopes PTSD Awareness Day “will help people understand that they are not alone and that recovery is possible.