By Victoria Tilney McDonough — 2012
Psychologist Richard Tedeschi shares his research and insight into the concept of growth as a potential consequence of grappling with trauma.
Read on www.brainline.org
CLEAR ALL
We can all learn something from the unique challenges of veteran Tim Smith and other service members who start companies.
Because PTSD is a natural response to danger, it’s almost unavoidable in the short term and mostly self-correcting in the long term. Only about 20 percent of people exposed to trauma react with long-term (chronic) PTSD.
I’ve done a little bit of work with soldiers returning from Iraq and have worked with domestic violence shelter workers on issues of vicarious trauma.
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Breaking the cycle of war making: our country will not find peace until we take responsibility for our wars.
Like most Americans, veterans have benefited from a robust labor market. But skills learned in combat do not always translate to private-sector jobs.
Veterans are often reluctant to seek help because of the stigma surrounding mental health issues and are likelier to respond to an approach that emphasizes discussion of here‐and‐now issues of adjustment to civilian life rather than mental disorders.
You can build back your life
Those involuntarily separated with an honorable discharge are also given specific military benefits to make the shift from the military to civilian life a little bit easier.
Thousands of veterans who served in the wars that began after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks struggle with issues that are often invisible to those around them. Some are suffering from health problems and trauma, and others from feelings of displacement and alienation.
Coming from all over the country, these women, who ranged in age from their mid-30s to mid-50s, all shared one important characteristic: They had all served in the United States military, and now as civilians they were learning to adjust to life out of the uniform.