The injuries that a service member from Texas can experience in combat are not always physical in nature. Post-traumatic stress disorder can arise from experiencing one distinct trauma or witnessing a series of disturbing events. PTSD can affect every area of your life, yet the symptoms may take a while to show themselves, sometimes months or years.
According to WebMD, PTSD can be difficult to identify because the symptoms can mimic depression and other psychological conditions. However, if you have experienced trauma related to combat and recognize the following symptoms, you should monitor them closely and report them to your doctor.
- Avoidance
Avoidance involves staying away from anything that reminds you of your trauma. You go out of your way to avoid activities, places and people that you associate with it. You may even isolate yourself from others entirely as a defense mechanism. Needless to say, this makes it difficult to maintain relationships with friends and loved ones.
- Arousal symptoms
You may feel that you are under threat of attack or experience a sense of danger. As a result, you may have trouble sleeping and difficulty concentrating on everyday tasks.
- Uncontrollable memories
You may involuntarily relive memories of the trauma. When you are asleep, you may experience these memories as nightmares. During your waking hours, you may have flashbacks. Either way, you do not have control over your recall.
- Mood changes
Mood changes resulting from PTSD can cause overwhelmingly negative feelings, such as guilt, shame or hopelessness. Your relationships with loved ones could suffer as your motivation to maintain relationships decreases. You may lose interest in activities you typically enjoy. You may experience thoughts of suicide, for which you should seek immediate help.
The information in this article is not intended as legal advice but provided for educational purposes only.