Research Paper on Transitional Nursing and Combating Veteran PTSD and Depression

Introduction

Military veterans are the most appropriate population to study in this research project. One of the main mental health issues in the military is post-traumatic stress disorder. Military veterans often end up distressed following the prolonged exposure to traumatizing events and missions. PTSD in this case for the armed forces veterans occurs from the exposure to extreme stress that leaves them in distress, a response characterized by overwhelming anxiety.

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Combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder considerably differs from normal PTSD caused by a single trauma. It is because military-related PTSD often exposes the military men and women to unavoidable and repeated and diverse forms of stress that end up reinforcing the trauma hence making it extremely difficult to treat this form of PTSD. According to (Gonzalez, Novaco, Reger & Gahm 2016) in most cases, these PTSD symptoms are often incapacitating thus adversely affecting the majority of the military persons.

Returning veterans in most cases feel overwhelmed with problems related to work, finances, friends, family as well as regarding their physical health. Such issues often divert these veterans away from therapy and assessment tasks an aspect that makes it difficult in this case to get positive samples regarding PTSD and depression. Obtaining a sample from the military population is often challenging mainly due to the experience in the war that leaves these military veterans distressed besides the recurring trauma episodes in war. One of the challenges of sample assortment from the military veterans is the character change with the majority of the veterans returning as short-tempered, easily agitated and impulsive (Steenkamp, Litz, Hoge & Marmar 2015). Another problem is the minimal compliance from the military men in such times of sample collection hence requiring utmost patience when it comes to dealing with military veterans.

Military veterans' lives often end up much disrupted by PTSD and depression. One of the significant challenges facing ex-military men and women is a family breakdown. Military veterans face distinct problems when it comes to re-entering their families with their families find it challenging to adapt alone during the times they stay deployed to war zones for lengthy times. According to (Haagen, Smid, Knipscheer & Kleber 2015) averting this challenge requires the engagement of the families in therapies especially in times of distress especially upon return from war.

Conclusion

The social functioning of military veterans' gets dramatically affected especially upon returning from war. Military veterans withdraw and tend to isolate themselves from the rest of the society. It is therefore essential to offer support to help these veterans re-enter the existing healthy relationships with friends and family. One of the practical ways to help these veterans resume into normal relations is by connecting these veterans to other veterans since it helps enhance the development of social networks.

References

Gonzalez, O. I., Novaco, R. W., Reger, M. A., & Gahm, G. A. (2016). Anger intensification with combat-related PTSD and depression comorbidity. Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice, and policy, 8(1), 9.

Haagen, J. F., Smid, G. E., Knipscheer, J. W., & Kleber, R. J. (2015). The efficacy of recommended treatments for veterans with PTSD: A metaregression analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 40, 184-194.

Steenkamp, M. M., Litz, B. T., Hoge, C. W., & Marmar, C. R. (2015). Psychotherapy for military-related PTSD: a review of randomized clinical trials. Jama, 314(5), 489-500.