The Military Is Building Brain Chips to Treat PTSD - Defense One
Instead of implanting chips, how about we quit sending our troops out to be cannon fodder in political wars?
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http://www.policefuturists.org/pdf/207.V...
As pointed out by Summerfield (2001), post-traumatic stress disorder “is an entity constructed as much from sociopolitical ideas as from psychiatric ones” and “...the story of post-traumatic stress disorder is a telling example of the role of society and politics in the process of invention rather than discovery” (p. 95).
Some people might expect that the elderly are vulnerable to psychological damage due to trauma. Wrong. Bonanno and his colleagues (2006) found that those 65 years of age and older were by far the most resilient age group within the population. The most vulnerable age group was those 25-34 years of age.
Some other variables operate as most might expect. For example, the rich did much better than the poor, and the educated did much better than the uneducated. Asians did far better than whites, African Americans, Hispanics, and other racial/ethnic groups.
McNally et al. (2003) show that strong social networks and high intelligence protect people against PTSD.
Furthermore, even those affected psychologically by trauma need not abandon hope. For example, “4 months after September 11th, the prevalence of PTSD in the population of Manhattan living below 110th Street as measured by two cross-sectional surveys declined to 34.1 percent of the prevalence of PTSD 1 month after the event.” (Galea et al., 2004). In other words, two thirds of those showing symptoms of PTSD a month after the event were not showing such symptoms three months later.
Seventh, in most studies, three-fourths of the populations exposed to trauma prove resilient. That bit of information, although it does not sell airtime or newspaper space, is vital to keep front and center in planning for mass casualty events.
Find the whole paper here, starting at page 130
"Stress and Psychological Effects" by Bernard H. Levin and Joseph A. Schafer in Schafer, J. A. and Levin, B. H. (Eds.) _Policing and Mass Casualty Events_. Washington DC: (2007) Federal Bureau of Investigation, pp. 128-140.
http://www.policefuturists.org/pdf/207.V...
In any case just a note here to mention a remarkable healing modality that has become freely available and something valuable to add to one's repertoire of life skills. Long story short, Dr. Roger Callahan developed a set of techniques he named Thought Field Therapy ( TFT) which has proven itself to be much more effective than years of conventional therapy. He taught Gary Craig, an engineer, his process. Craig streamlined it into Emotional Freedom Techniques ( EFT); now widely available with tutorials, videos etc from a variety of sources like eftuniverse.com, masteringeft etc. It is useful for everything from recovering more rapidly from physical injury to all forms of trauma. One can apply it for themselves; there are also training programs for practitioners.
I was diagnosed in 2011 with PTSD after roughly 42 years of not even thinking about Vietnam. I only went in to find out why all of a sudden I feared sleeping. As diagnosed I argued with them and told them I do not have PTSD, no way, I hadn't even thought about Vietnam in over 40 years, I was just fine, at least until a few years after I retired. They explained it, my wife totally agreed with them, then she told them they should just interview the spouses about PTSD, not the veterans. She told them I've always been in denial. Why didn't she ever tell me (or did she)? Apparently after retirement (2001) and after completion of the retirees "honey do" list (takes about another four years), the mind needs some more challenges so it goes back and looks for unfinished business.
What unfinished business could there be in the head of a Vietnam veteran, someone that came home, hid their uniform in the back of the closet, never told anyone about his Vietnam experience, found a job, and made a new career for himself for the next 32 years? Why do some vets start getting nightmares and having vivid dreams after all that time? Why do some sit up in bed and holler, "incoming", "get down", "Fire Mission, Battery Adjust"? My worst and repeating nightmares were that I was being drafted at almost 65-70 years old. I argued profusely with them that I was a Vietnam veteran and I already served as an Executive Officer and a Battery Commander in an artillery unit in I-Corps, Vietnam. They just didn't care, they told me to just shut my mouth, go out the back door, and get on the bus, I was being sent off to basic training at Fort Ord. I even asked them if I could keep my commission as an officer when I realized I was going even if I didn’t want to. It usually made me wake up in a cold sweat.
A VA psychiatrist helped, and I took 12 weeks of night classes on coping with my new found brain defect. They also prescribed some drugs. Some side effects were sexual dysfunction, nasal congestion, fainting, sore throat, difficulty breathing, lack of emotion, insomnia, suicide (are you shittin’ me? I guess that would solve the PTSD problem), and some other things I didn't particularly want. Needless to say I refused the drugs.
I did however accept some hearing aids and batteries for life after they told me that my discharge physical back in 1969 showed I had some hearing loss even then. I never knew that. Now I don't have to just smile and shake my head up and down when I have no clue as to what someone just said to me. My experience tells me tells me that there are things inside our heads that we may not realize, which might not come out for a very long time, perhaps never if you’re just lucky enough.
The best therapy for me has been finding friends that I never realized were also Vietnam Veterans. A guy I worked with for many years was an Infantry Captain, two tours in Nam, and we didn’t find out until both of us retired. I know two chopper pilots, one with two tours, both complete psycho’s but great people and great friends. A door gunner, a crew chief, and I even found my old RTO, will see him at this year’s reunion. And I found a Marine at my VFW that was at Camp Carroll, up on the DMZ, while I was there for a short period of time. He lost more than half of his comrades and suffers from some disease that should have taken him years ago. His therapy is also being around people he can trust to watch his back and people he can talk to about his fears. Him and I now drive Corvettes, it’s something that helps us pick up women (just kidding, we’re both married {to other women}).
If I’ve overdone my welcome in this lengthy post please just ask me to delete it. Sometimes I just get wound up and need to vent. I figure most of the people on this site are willing to listen and maybe have a little respect for someone else’s opinion or ideas. I don’t get enough of that up here in Washington State.
No brain chips for me.
There's no issue with your message (if they can tolerate my anecdotes, they sure as hell can appreciate yours...)
The arguments with the Docs that I didn't have PTSD, I refused to accept it. No-one in my life at the time even knew that I'd been in the service. But finding other Nam vets that I could relate with - that was hard. Like you, I put all of that away when I came back. got some degrees, got a good career, built my own company - but the cut-off jean jackets with patches picked up at the local Army/Navy store, alcohol - drugs, the ball caps just wasn't me.
But I found a few similar to me - it's better now.
Welcome Home bud.
Don't trust the ones with power.
The government may in some minor ways reflect the public, but those who run for positions of power are selected by the insiders in the Dark Center. Voting is very nearly meaningless in this perverted, corrupted system. The insiders are not my neighbors; they are enemies domestic.
Those in positions of power who agree to just follow immoral orders whether in the military or not are not worthy of respect or admiration.
You need to get a thicker skin bub. It is your neighbors, these scumbag politicians use to get elected. There is an honest to god cabal between them, the press and the various organs of government like the schools etc to get them elected, but get elected they do. Our neighbors it is that gets them elected. Not just the inner city poor but well to do middle and upper middle white guilt ridden useful idiots that fall for one of the many feelings based pitches the libs vomit out. I cant tell you how many people over the years I have seen guilt ridden over having earned a good nest egg, even for being born white. They have been inculcated with the ridiculous notion that they somehow owe it to anyone who has less than them or is non white to enslave themselves to support them. People are filled with guilt these days and will vote for any populist race baiting lowlife that presents himself.