Ptsd purple heart latest update 2011

They will have no trouble describing the profound consequences of these injuries and their far-reaching effects on families and communities.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet our government remains painfully slow to recognize PTSD as an injury of war. PTSD is frequently misdiagnosed, and benefits for the condition are often denied by the Veterans Administration.

Last year Congress passed a law giving Americans the right to receive equal coverage from private insurance companies for mental and physical health care. It is our responsibility to provide equal benefits for mental health injuries and physical injuries, to heal all wounds of war, both seen and unseen.

Wealth and Inequality in America Posted on January 13, Prosecuting Trump would inevitably be political — and other countries have had mixed success in holding ex-presidents accountable Posted on January 11, Biden dives into battle on voting rights in Georgia speech Posted on January 10, At the time it was not specifically given to those who were wounded, although it transitioned into that over the years.

Now the Army has decided to also give the medal to those who suffer battlefield concussions even if they do not incur physical wounds. Recent studies of brain trauma have convinced the Army to revise what constitutes a concussion. Specific symptoms are required in order to be considered for the medal, and the Army is setting a high standard.

Now, it seems, it may be that however severe or limited their wounds, be they physical or through concussions, more soldiers could live longer if they receive a Purple Heart. The Department of Veterans Affairs VA concluded a study that found that aging veterans who received the medal show decreased mortality rates compared with those who did not get a Purple Heart.

Further, the study showed that war-wounded veterans who survive into later life — especially those who do not develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder — may provide valuable clues as to the factors that lead to resilience to combat stress. The question could arise, can veterans who suffered concussions before the new ruling now go back to the Army and apply for the medal?

He said the VA is concentrating on "the backlog of benefits and claims. They did not want to receive recognition. Tim Kimbrell is the lead author of the study, which can be found in the journal "Depression and Anxiety" at adaa. A physician with the Center for Mental Health and Outcomes Research based at the VA in Arkansas, Kimbrell said, "Among the older veterans we studied, those with Purple Heart citations had half the mortality rate of those without Purple Heart citations.

The findings may be good news to many elderly veterans who have given thought to just how much longer their life spans may be. Whether the medal holders have chronic PTSD or not, they were about twice as likely to still be alive after some 10 years of follow-up, compared to those with no Purple Heart and no PTSD.

The study included veterans who were 65 or older in the late s. It tracked their survival through Many older veterans will be affected by this study, one way or another. In recent years, researchers with the VA and the Department of Defense have sought insight into the medical factors that enable some servicemembers to not develop PTSD after traumatic events. The authors of the recent study say Purple Heart holders who survive long past their war experience without PTSD may be the ideal population on which to focus such research.

Kimbrell and his colleagues suggest this may be due to what they call "early attrition. Ongoing studies are needed to certify any results. Soon he was training to deactivate bombs and improvised explosive devices IEDs in the field. Although he proved to be quite talented, and ultimately succeeded in saving countless lives, he also experienced failure. No one can detect and suppress every device in the jungle. Each and every death he witnessed felt like a terrible personal failure.

He still dreams of the horrifying scenes he lived through in the war. While better in many ways, he qualified for total disability based on his diagnosis, and sees me on a regular basis. Arthur received two Purple Hearts for physical wounds incurred in and , but was denied Purple Hearts for his traumatic brain injury and PTSD because they were not considered obvious physical wounds at the time.

I appreciate the profound impact PTSD has had on his life--his daily flashbacks, impaired sleep, obsessions over what he could have done to save more lives, extreme vigilance to protect the ones he loves. Not a day goes by that he doesn't question himself. In , the Pentagon decided not to award the Purple Heart to veterans. Despite their sympathy for those who suffer from PTSD, the MOPH contend that the award is for those who have suffered physical wounds on the battlefield.

In their view, the loss of a limb or any other combat wound is a permanent loss, whereas PTSD is a treatable disease. And, they argue, some may feign illness in order to receive medical treatment at the VA. Others claim that the psychological, emotional and moral injuries of war deserve the same recognition as physical injuries. While psychiatric conditions are not visible, the cost imparted on the individual and family is devastating. Furthermore, there are sound scientific findings that PTSD and other psychiatric consequences of battle have profound physical effects on brain structure and function.

Let's face it: the brain is an organ of the body. It may be insulted by traumatic brain injury such as a concussion, or by derangement of neural circuits as is the case in PTSD. And, while some individuals may heal and adjust, for others, suffering is life-long.

Why should we discriminate between a soldier who has lost a limb, yet worked through a rehabilitation program and gone on to build a good life for himself, and one who has been severely traumatized psychiatrically, yet worked through a treatment program and gone on to do the same? Both have sustained the scars of war.